By Michael Y. Park, Bon Appétit
Photo: Matt Duckor
Tony Hawk is widely considered the greatest professional skateboarder of all time, and was a driving force in turning something once relegated to drained pools and abandoned parks into a multibillion-dollar worldwide sport. We caught up with the 44-year-old on the phone as he prepares for his gig as an ESPN commenter for the X Games, which start on April 18:
My morning routine really depends on whether I have to get the kids going in the morning. If I do, I'm up at 7 and immediately make them lunches (and myself coffee) and try to figure out what do about their breakfast. Sometimes I make them something quick: an egg and cheese bagel in the microwave, a technique I've learned through the years.I try to get the bagels from Albertson's. They prefer plain, I prefer wheat -- they're very finicky. Sometimes I'll make them on a croissant if that's what I have on hand. Usually I use a smaller bowl and scramble one egg and put strips of cheddar on top of it and microwave it. Then I can scoop it out out of the bowl and it's perfectly shaped for a bagel.
If I'm left to my own devices, I turn on Howard Stern, and if it's a repeat day, then just music. I ease into the morning -- my energetic music I save for skating. Lately, it's been the new Paul Banks, which is the guy from Interpol's solo album, Grizzly Bear, stuff like that. I have such an eclectic collection of music, though. We'll play Joy Division and Kraftwerk -- we dig deep for random stuff like that. I usually try to shower and shave and brush my teeth before I'm out the door -- except on the days with the kids, when there's no time for me in the morning.
[For my breakfast], it really all depends on what the agenda of the day is. Sometimes I'll go down the street, where there's a good Mexican place that people don't realize serves breakfast and get a breakfast burrito with black beans to go. If I'm going to my office, I'll just eat it in the car. If not, it's close to home, so I eat at home.
The pinnacle breakfast is a croissant and cappuccino, one sugar. My girlfriend loves these Trader Joe's croissants, but you have to put them out overnight, so you have to plan ahead. I have the croissant with Bonne Maman jam.
I discovered Bonne Maman in France in the early '90s during a skate exhibition, and was surprised when I found it in the States. Eating it now reminds me of that time and place, when everything was new and undiscovered in skating, and we were at this sort of strange skate camp that was in a small town. And as much as we were uncomfortable living there, we were excited to have such a great opportunity to skate and travel. I was suddenly able to appreciate international foods. Up until then I really had been stuck in an American diet -- everything was starch-based and not very flavorful, and I was not as willing to expand my horizons when I was just at home. So in France at the skate camp was the first time I was able to focus on making breakfast on a daily basis. Up to that point I was in a different city every day, and we were at this camp three weeks, four weeks. It was the first time we were more domesticated in an overseas environment.
The only other morning routine is when I have to get up super early to catch a flight. In that case, I get my clothes on, get a bag, and go.
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