Tony Hawk to Receive Clio Sports Lifetime Achievement Award
Legendary Skateboarder to be Honored at Ceremony Hosted by ESPN’s Katie Nolan on June 13th at Capitale in New York City
New York, NY—May 22, 2019 —Clio Sports, the competition honoring creative excellence in sports marketing and advertising on a global scale, today announced that skateboarding legend Tony Hawk will receive the Clio Sports Lifetime Achievement Award at the sixth annual Clio Sports Awards on June 13, 2019, at Capitale in New York City.
The Clio Sports Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates an individual whose outstanding creative contributions have permanently shaped sports culture, pushed boundaries and paved the way for new talent in the industry. Hawk was selected to receive the honor for his decades-long role as a trailblazer, inventor and marketer who popularized skateboarding and made the sport more accessible to athletes around the world.
“In a volatile sport like skateboarding, creativity is the key to longevity. There’s no guarantee that you can maintain your level of skating or success for more than a few years,” said Hawk. “Being relevant by building a business around the sport I love has been a dream come true, and I am honored to be recognized for turning my passion into a career.”
Hawk dominated his field in competition for more than two decades and has since used his business acumen to build a sports empire. Whether it’s completing the first documented 900 (a 2.5-revolution aerial spin), winning over 70 professional titles, or creating the Boom Boom HuckJam extreme sports exhibition, his contributions to skateboarding are unmatched.
Not content to rest on his athleticism, Hawk has been instrumental in popularizing the sport through business ventures like Birdhouse, an equipment and apparel company; a best-selling series of eponymous video games with Activision; and the Tony Hawk Foundation, which has provided nearly $8 million in funding for the construction of public skate parks in low-income areas in all 50 states and other parts of the world.
Hawk is currently president of Tony Hawk Inc., a worldwide leader in action-sports video games, merchandising, events, endorsements, film and digital media; and co-founder of D/CAL, a hybrid brand consultancy and creative agency. At the helm of these ventures, Hawk’s keen eye for translating his personal brand into an internationally relevant product is more impactful than ever.
“Through his creative contributions, Tony Hawk has done more to advance sports culture and sports marketing than almost any other athlete,” said Nicole Purcell, president of Clio. “His name and brand are synonymous with the cool, laid-back skateboarder lifestyle that he introduced to so many people, but we know that image is built on hard work, dedication and a remarkable ability to identify and cultivate what’s cool. We’re so excited to be celebrating his legacy at the Clio Sports awards this year.”
Previous Clio Sports Lifetime Achievement Award recipients include iconic sportscaster Stuart Scott, renowned racecar driver Mario Andretti and John Miller, the influential CMO of NBC Sports & Olympics.
The Clio Sports Gold, Silver, Bronze and Shortlist recipients were announced on May 15, 2019. Winners of the coveted Clio Sports Grand trophies will be announced on stage at the awards ceremony, hosted by ESPN’s Katie Nolan.
About The Clio Awards
The Clio Awards is the premier international awards competition for the creative business. Founded in 1959 to celebrate creative excellence in advertising, the Clio Awards today honors the work and talent at the forefront of the advertising, sports, fashion, music, entertainment, and health care industries. Clio recognizes the world’s most innovative work annually at Clio Sports in May, the Clio Awards in September, which includes Clio Music; at the Clio Entertainment Awards in November; and online with Clio Fashion & Beauty and Clio Health. Noting the diverse and ever-changing creative landscape, Clio acquired and revamped global ad database Ads of the World and re-launched its content platform musebycl.io in 2018, to celebrate creativity 365 days a year.
