Tony Hawk, HuckJam ready to soar

Carrie Porter

Published August 14, 2008 at 7 p.m.

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Kevin Staab, above, and Tony Hawk perform a trick on a half-pipe.

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Boom Boom HuckJam.

Say it again. And again, until it sounds like a drum beat.

Then you're ready to chant with national skateboarding icon Tony Hawk when he brings his touring show by that name to Fiddler's Green on Saturday.

Hawk and his pals - skateboarders, BMX riders and freestyle Moto-X athletes - will turn the amphitheater and its parking lots into a concrete playground for a choreographed showcase, played out on a $1 million vertical ramp and accompanied by a DJ spinning a live soundtrack.

It's one of the tour's 24 stops crammed into little more than a month, testament to the fact that the show's 40-year-old namesake has no intention of slowing down.

Yet the father of four took a few minutes to talk with the Rocky this week. While his newborn daughter could be heard in the background, Hawk discussed the merits of Neosporin, the Olympics' mistake and how the fear of falling never let him fail.

Hawk's resume is legend among both teens and Madison Avenue, where he has parlayed his half-pipe wizardry into an income reportedly in the range of $10 million a year. Yet despite his own clothing line, film production company, video game series and charity organization, Hawk still measures his good fortune on a smaller scale.

"Having all the success, as fun as it is, doesn't mean everything," Hawk said. "The biggest thrill for me is that I get to keep doing what I love but don't have to worry about the next mortgage payment."

The sentiment echoes back to his initial love affair with the sport, which began when he visited the local skateboarding park as a kid.

"When I saw people flying out of empty swimming pools, I knew I wanted to fly like those guys," he said.

From an early age, Hawk would go to his "sanctuary" after school and stay until dark each day.

"So many milestones in my skating career occurred at that skatepark, and I have so many fond memories of it," he said.

Yet the reputation of skateboarders kept some of his friends away. Hawk said the sport has come a long way since his childhood.

"My friends' parents didn't want them skating, and it was not always a viable option for kids to get into," he said. "My parents were very supportive, and I got lucky in that respect."

Since then, events like the X Games - which helped vault Hawk back into the spotlight - have propelled skateboarding's popularity skyward.

"The view of skating is much more positive than it has ever been, and there are a lot more opportunities in the industry to have a career," Hawk said.

"There are more kids skating now than playing Little League, and the stars of our sports seem approachable to kids," he said. "The stars are not jaded by million-dollar contracts, and that doesn't happen in other sports."

And despite having no place at this summer's Olympics, skateboarding has a rising future with younger viewers that demands greater respect, Hawk said.

"Where else can you see three hours of badminton than at the Olympics? It is their loss," he said.

No matter Hawk's age, skateboarding will never get old for him.

"It is the idea that I can always learn something new, and no matter how far you get in skating you can always improve," Hawk said.

The inventor of more than 80 skateboarding tricks - including the once-inconceivable 900, two and a half revolutions airborne on a skateboard - Hawk said each new move starts with trial and error.

"You have got to have the confidence to at least try something and know that you will succeed at some point," he said.

"Needless to say, I keep a tube of Neosporin with me."

In effect, he said, the scrapes and cuts from each fall serve as testaments to his place as the best skateboarder around.

"You're only as good as your last trick," Hawk said.

Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam

* When: 5:30 p.m. Saturday

* Where: Fiddler's Green, 6350 Greenwood Plaza Blvd.

* Tickets: $30, or $89 for a pack of four tickets

* Information: 303-830-8497

Breaking down the HuckJam

Described as Barnum & Bailey on plywood, this traveling spectacle of extreme skaters, bikers and motocross racers comes to Colorado as part of a whirlwind tour of 24 shows in 36 days. All you need to know about this year's Boom Boom HuckJam:

What is it?

A choreographed display of tricks and stunts by skateboarders, BMX riders and motocross riders performed on a massive half-pipe that's 131/2 feet high, 50 feet across and 72 feet long, backed by a huge Jumbotron. Not a competition but a showcase of jaw-dropping extreme sports eye candy, the show can feature multiple skaters and riders on the ramp at the same time, plus free-style elements where the athletes can show off their best tricks.

A little history

Tony Hawk launched his Boom Boom HuckJam as a one-off show in Las Vegas in 2003, but the concept quickly grew into a full-fledged tour, hauling ramps and bands across the country. After stints indoors at arenas and as part of a Six Flags amusement park promotion, the HuckJam has moved outside, taking over the parking lots at state fairs, sports arenas, amphitheaters and stadiums.

Who's performing?

Hawk will be joined on the ramp by:

* Kevin Staab - The 42-year-old skating legend is a former pro and one of the skatable characters you can choose to be in Hawk's series of video games.

* Sergie Ventura - Reportedly stealing the show on this tour, this skater nicknamed Baby Jesus broke the Guinness Record for the world's highest air on a skateboard back in 1996.

* Neal Hendrix - The 35-year-old skater has been competing since '91, once hitting the European circuit less than two weeks after fighting off a fast-moving staph infection that landed him in the hospital.

* Jesse Fritsch - The skating pro also co-hosts Tony Hawk Demolition Radio each week on Sirius Satellite Radio.

* Kevin Robinson - The 36-year-old father of two competes in body-building competitions when he's not dominating the vert ramp on a BMX bike.

* John Parker - One of only six athletes who have been in every X Games, Parker is a pro's pro at big-air tricks on a BMX.

* Dennis McCoy - At 40, McCoy's one of the oldest BMX competitors around, but he's well-schooled in all aspects of the sport.

* Drake McElroy - The 26-year-old is one of the top freestyle motocross riders on the circuit.

* Greg Garrison - You can catch this freestyle motocross star in action on the DVD 775: No One and Everyone, which chronicles the most progressive riders of the "775" area code of Reno, Nev.

The anatomy of a name

What's with this mouthful of a title? A breakdown:

* Hucking - That's skate talk for launching yourself off seriously huge jumps, usually manmade obstacles.

* Boom Boom - That refers to the beats cranked out by the band or the DJ, in this case, DJ Mike Relm, who has toured with the Blue Man Group.

* Jam - Any gathering of skateboarders or other extreme athletes intent on showing off all the tricks in their repertoire.

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