The legendary skateboarder partners with The Sandbox, the blockchain and NFTs technology playground, and token platform Autograph to create the largest skate park in the Metaverse.
From the social networks of The Sandbox they confirmed by means of a video the collaboration of the best skateboarder of all times, Tony Hawk, for the creation of the biggest skatepark in the Metaverse.
It will be called “Tony Hawk LAND” and will have the collaboration of three organizations: The Sandbox, Tony Hawk Inc and Autograph.
To learn more about this legend of the sport, he is currently 54 years old and was born in San Diego, California, USA.
He was a professional athlete from the age of 14, when he got the first promoters to finance his career. At the age of 16 he was already considered the best skateboarder in the world.
In 1985, the first trick of 720º (720 degrees, or 2 full turns). In 1999, he became the first skateboarder to land the first skateboarder to complete a 900º (900 degrees, 2.5 turns), which was considered an impossible achievement up to that time in the skateboarding world. This happened at the Best Trick at that year’s X Games of that year.
He has also invented a variety of tricks such as the Madonna, Benihana, Airwalk variations, Stalefish, among others.
World champion for 12 consecutive years, he also made a successful career of his name and talent off the track.
At the age of 24, he founded the company Birdhouse with teammate Powell Peralta and launched his career as an entrepreneur and investor.
In 1998, he founded Hawk ClothingIn 2001, this skateboarding clothing and footwear company was sold to QuiksilverIn 2001, the Australian multinational company in which Hawk is the undisputed leader along with the “king of surfing”, the also American Kelly Slater. He was also one of the first skateboarders to have his own model of professional shoes, produced by AirwalkIn 1999 he signed an agreement with Activision for the creation of a videogame, Tony Hawk ‘s Pro Skater for Nintendo 64The first part of the successful video game series that ended in 2010 when Tony Hawk: Shred was released for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. These great games were inspired by a dream Tony had where he could perform huge jumps and unreal tests.
Returning to current events and the now entrepreneur and investor Tony Hawk’s deal with The Sandbox, in the official release it was learned that it will be a 6×6 plot and as part of the game’s functionality, players will receive the tools to create their ramp challenges, skateboarding and unlock digital equipment.
This is where the two collaborations of The Sandbox and Autograph come into play.
The first, self-defined as a mix of “virtual real estate and amusement park”. Based on Ethereum blockchain technology, users can exchange cryptocurrencies to access virtual zones. Virtual assets (NFT), created by players or companies, can also be monetized by selling them to other users.
The second, partially owned by Tom Brady, focuses on NFT collections related to famous sports stars such as Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods and Wayne Gretsky.
Autograph will design a collection of 3D Tony Hawk avatars, as well as some of his most iconic skateboards, digital gear and clothing for use in the virtual world’s largest skate park.
One NFT from the collection will surely be more coveted than others, for example, a digital replica of the skateboard he used in the 1999 X Games where he performed the previously impossible X Games 1999 where he performed the previously impossible 900° trick will be one of the most coveted NFTs by skateboarding fans.
There have already been official communications from both Hawk and the projects involved. The legendary skateboarder said, “I’ve been a fan of new technologies all my life, since the first video games and home computers with CGI capabilities, so I’m fascinated by the metaverse and excited to bring our culture to the virtual landscape of The Sandbox.”
Sebastien Borget, co-founder of that virtual space, commented: “Tony Hawk embodies the perseverance to constantly strive to improve and never give up, and that led him to be a skating legend and a successful entrepreneur”. He also added, “We share his passion for innovation, creativity and the drive to constantly create something – that’s the energy that fuels our entertainment metaverse.”
Finally, Dillon Rosenblatt, co-founder and CEO of the NFTs platform commented that, “At Autograph, we strive to create experiences that would otherwise be impossible for fan communities and this is a step towards our goal of connecting them in a unique way and at scale with Tony Hawk and each other.” He concluded, “We are thrilled to be working with The Sandbox and Tony Hawk on this activation and many others.”
Written by Rodrigo Catalan (TW: @RodrigoCatalanB) for NFT Express.