Tony Hawk Skateboards At White House

WASHINGTON — Hey, kids, don't try this at home. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk on Friday took a brief ride at the White House as part of a Father's Day celebration.

Hawk, 41, skated in the grand foyer and the nearby Old Executive Office Building, with the permission of White House officials.

The skateboarding icon, also known for his popular brand of skateboarding video games, posted photos to his Web site and Twitter page.

One photo shows Hawk on his skateboard with his hands in the air in what appears to be a hallway.

"...and here is my exit," he wrote in a message on Twitter, which linked to a picture of him skating. "Supposed to return at noon for the First Fathers event if they let me back in."

Hawk posted other insights from his Washington visit on his Twitter page, telling fans about eating Frosted Flakes cereal inside the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. In another tweet, he says "back at White House, Tweeting live from the Diplomatic Room. Unbelievable."

Hawk joined other dads, athletes and celebrities at a Father's Day forum hosted by President Barack Obama. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay helped man the barbecue grills for a White House picnic for the attendees, which included NBA players Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and Etan Thomas of the Washington Wizards.

"The Prez addressing all of us fathers before we split up to visit DC charities," Hawk tweeted. "D Wade & Etan T make me feel short."

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On the Web:

http://www.tonyhawk.com/

http://twitter.com/tonyhawk

Comments

[Christian Cullen]

I bet they don't show his " olly " off the Lincoln headboard!

[cobobs]

Starched shirts just had heart attacks.

[janie@atthelake]

Bummer, not good for the office of the President. Doesn't look good.

[zola77]

why?

[Christian Cullen]

See comment directly above.

[janie@atthelake]

Because its alittle too casual for the White House. Believe me I support this President.­..to me this is kinda like the plane flying over New York, or the photos from the Clinton administration with Linda Bloodsworth (sp?) jumping on Lincoln's bed.

[infodoc1]

How dare he besmirch those hallowed halls of corruption by riding a skateboard!

[liliperl]

Tony Hawk's skateboarding reminds me of Vaclav Havel who did the same thing after the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia when he became the Prsident. He had spent some time in prison just before the revolution and within weeks he was the President.
The skateboard helped him to move faster at the Castle Hradcany; he felt disoriented because of the differences between his prison cell (everyting was at hand in a smal space) and the Castle (with dozens of halls and offices)
:)

[csmcmillion]

You are in your 40s now Tony. Time to grow up.

[Catfish1968]

and stop making millions of dollars skating and doing what you love? Yeah, right.

[ObamAtomic]

What ,do you lost your senses of human?
He's a professional skater.

[dazed]

Hey Jealousy

[Jezdukowski]

Hate on, hater. Probably couldn't even stand on a skateboard, let alone ride one...

[tek kwene]

Tony Hawk just made civics, community service, and being an involved dad really cool for some youngsters. Awesome.

[limber]

If you become Yo-Yo Ma, you can come to the White House and play. If you win a basketball championship, you can maybe hang out on the White House court with the President, shoot some hoops. If you are a poet, you read. If you're the top gardener, you might get to spend some time in the garden.

Tony Hawk's a skateboarder. He asked permission, they said sure. I think the floors can take it. It's not like any punk with a skateboard can swing by, and as far as I know Tony didn't skate through a foreign delegation or economic conference.

How is it bad that kids will see that, if you work really hard and excel at your profession, the White House might grant you permission to have a little bit of fun? I think it's a cool message! You can have a non-mainstream job and if you happen to be incredibly good at it, the top politician in the land just might let you do something neat and special. It's a message that even unconventional accomplishments have their merits, and deserve the occasional award.

[exile]

as far as I know Tony didn't skate through an economic conference.

send him in... NOW !!

teach them pasty white eCon gurus how to MAKE FREAKIN MONEY

[teachpeace]

I have always adimired Skaters. It is not easy, I've tried...

[Bookkillrr]

Our Prez be coo.

[Jezdukowski]

Way coo. Unlike that Connecticut hillbilly fratboy clown...

[napasonoma]

Imagine a country where kids spent all that time and energy --- that they use skateboarding --- on intellectual pursuits. Wow, we might even get those GPAs higher than third world countries.

[Raiseup151z]

Imagine you getting a real life and enjoying your time here on earth... Wow that will be fascinating.

[DaneAZ]

I am older than Tony Hawk and I can assure you that skateboarding is a lot of fun!

[Jezdukowski]

Sure is! Better than wearing goofy pants, chasing a ball around a well manicured lawn, or playing drunk softball with your co-workers.

[OldPirate]

Imagine all of the people in Napa and Sonoma using thier land to grow organic food for the hungry and needy in third world countries rather than trival projects such as wine.

[Jezdukowski]

My guess is he/she is completely lacking in the imagination department. That actually requires using your grey matter...

[ILOVEBUSH08]

That's just stupid, let third world counties grown their own food. This is America, we can do what we want with our land! I'll have a glass of wine now...

[OkieIntellectual]

Absolutely! And how about instead of giving away millions of dollars in athletic scholarships each year, we reward kids for using their brains. I mean seriously, there are thousands of bright kids who don't get to go to college each year because all the money goes to the ones who can run a ball up and down a field instead.

[Jezdukowski]

I respectfully disagree. What you're saying (or so it seems) is athletes can't be intellectuals and intellectuals can't be athletes? The true athlete/ intellectual is a mixture of both, all in balance. Good lord, I'm beginning to sound like Mr. Miagi...

[jcwtts1]

says the guy who can neither run, throw, nor catch.

[slipthalo]

Colleges are limited on the number of scholarships they can give each year for sports and a lot of those who go onto college on a sports scholarship wouldn't have been able to do it without that scholarship. There are also grade standards in place to get that scholarship and retain it each year.

[Billy Hell]

and get fatter too

[JEP57]

Most Republicans and conservatives probably think Tony is pretty cool and have seen him in the X Games or Gravity Games if they had teenagers back then who watched it. Sports are neither liberal or conservative. The Whitehouse is a place of business but it's also a residence where people can have fun. This conservative has no problem with role model Tony Hawk skating around and having fun.

[Jezdukowski]

Good for you. A well reasoned conservati­ve... something that is sorely lacking in our national dialogue. I may not have always agreed with Buckley or Goldwater, but they made some darn good arguments, I truly hope the party can return to these ideals again.

[lazercat2008]

First Willie Nelson on the roof and now this.

[Smurfaveli]

Anyone complaining about this should go to Pat Buchanan's house and yell "Get off my lawn" with the other grumpy old white men.

[Jezdukowski]

I got 10 bucks that says this will be the top story on fox this weekend. Complete with all that feigned "outrage" about how disrespectful this is. Ha! L o s er s.

[ruffmama]

it's already on Drudge

[Jezdukowski]

You actually GO to that site? ///shivers///