Just say the name "Tony Hawk" and most of America knows exactly who yo'’re talking about. The skateboarding legend has been deemed the most recognizable sports figure to today's youth in a national survey, and it's easy to see why. He became the world’s greatest skater at age 16 and has ruled the extreme sports world for the last few decades, most notably for landing the first 900 at the 1999 X-Games. At 41, he still skates daily and stays busy running his empire, Tony Hawk, Inc. (THI), from its headquarters in Vista. His celebrity status has brought him White House and red carpet invites, commercials, movie and television roles, endorsements, a wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Hollywood—well, you get the idea.

But beyond all the fame and fortune, he's truly just a local boy at heart. His family moved to Carlsbad when he was in high school, and even though he attended San Dieguito and Torrey Pines high schools, Carlsbad was his playground. "Growing up, I was at the skate park after school until dark or later every day," he says. "I loved the challenge of it. You can't learn everything, and there will always be something new to try."

Hawk has always been an innovator, constantly creating new tricks and trying to reach milestones. "I love that it's artistic and athletic, and it's also a collective effort to progress," he adds. "There are certain milestones [skaters] have in mind, so when someone makes that mark, everyone else is excited for skating in general. I love the camaraderie even though it's an individual sport."

Part of that progressive nature is what has made Hawk's company what it is today. Under the THI umbrella are video games, skateboards and bikes, the Boom Boom HuckJam Tour (a choreographed skateboard, BMX and motocross exhibition), clothing and shoes, a film production company and a weekly radio show on Sirius Satellite radio. He has even written a best-selling autobiography, Tony Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder.

The self-proclaimed techie has always stayed on the cutting edge, ready to welcome the next opportunity that comes his way. Perhaps the biggest milestone for THI in 2009 is the Nov. 17 release of the video game Tony Hawk: RIDE, which features a snazzy skate deck with motion-sensing technology that allows you to pull tricks like a pro, right in your own living room. "This new video game—I'm so out of my mind excited about. I thought of it a while ago, but I knew the technology wasn’t out there yet."

Hawk's kids keep the test game in their bedroom and have already put it to good use. Riley, 16, is following in his father's footsteps, even creating tricks of his own. "He's going to be a better skater than me—no doubt," Hawk says proudly.

His bunch also includes sons Spencer, 10, and Keegan, 8, and daughter Kadence, 15 months, with wife Lhotse. Lhotse's background is in extreme sports as well, having co-founded the International Free Skiers Association. The pair met several years ago while she was doing public relations work for ESPN, and they married in 2006. "She loves the adventure of it as much as I do,” he says. “We met on the road, and we haven’t stopped moving since then."

When Hawk travels, he tries to do everything at once, doubling up his events with foundation work. In fact, it may be that work that he is most proud of, combining his two greatest passions: skateboarding and children.

The Tony Hawk Foundation has given money to more than 400 skate park projects across the country in low-income, inner-city areas; so far, 319 parks have opened, catering to about 2.9 million youth. That's impressive. "If you look at skate parks, they're in use sunup to sundown, and usually it's crowded," he says. "You see empty baseball fields all day long— even basketball and tennis courts. They just don't get as much use as a skate park."

One of his proudest moments of 2009 was the opening of a skate park in Compton, the notoriously gang-ridden city. "The next great pro skater could be from Compton because they have this place provided for them," he says. "Even though we have over 400 skate parks, this one was close to my heart. I think it opened up people's eyes to what we're actually doing out there."

Hawk believes skateboarding should have an acceptance factor equal to traditional sports. "If kids don't find their place in mainstream sports, they're not inspired. Growing up, skateboarding was an outcast activity. When I went to Torrey Pines High School, I had to hide my board," he laughs.

Hawk is still hiding boards, but all for fun these days. He has one of the largest followings on the social network Twitter with more than 1.5 million people following his daily postings and free giveaways (twitter.com/tonyhawk). One of his favorite things to do is to hide one of his Birdhouse skateboards or HuckJam bikes along a street somewhere in North County, tweet the location, and see how quickly someone can find it and tweet back.

"People think it's a grand marketing tool, but I just do it for fun," he says. "I couldn't believe how many people are following me on Twitter, so one day I decided to drop a skateboard off Palomar Airport Road and post the location on Twitter." By the time he had driven to his office 10 minutes later, he'd received a tweet with a picture of a girl holding the skateboard.

Hawk has definitely developed quite a following and is a hero and role model to millions of youngsters like the ones benefiting from his fun giveaways. In fact, during our interview at Tamarack Beach, a mom walking by stopped to speak with him. "I just wanted to thank you for being a great role model for my son," she said. "I'm not thrilled about all the emergency room trips [from skating], but I'm thankful because it got him out of gangs. Skateboarding has given him a more positive way to spend his down time."

And while Hawk is a hero to many, he has a hero of his own—legendary cyclist and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. When Armstrong invited him to be a founding member of Athletes for Hope along with other A-list sports figures such as Muhammad Ali and Andre Agassi, he jumped at the chance. They help fellow professional athletes get involved in charities and support each others' causes to make an even bigger impact.

One of Hawk's most humbling experiences was visiting a pediatric oncology ward with Armstrong. "When Lance walked in, it was amazing to feel the energy among the kids and staff," he recounts. "When we sat down at lunch I told him how humbling it was for me to see the impact he's had being the face of cancer awareness, and I'm trying to raise money for people to pour cement for kids to roll around on. But that day he told me that the number-one cause of cancer in children today is obesity. He said, 'You're getting them active, and in turn preventing cancer.' I'm helping kids be healthy. That was the most validating thing anyone has ever said to me."

Once you begin to grasp all that Hawk has accomplished, it's hard to think of anything else there is to achieve. "I just take it day by day," he says. "I've never put huge goals in front of me, but I don't rest on previous accolades, either. I just like seeing what could happen—how far we can take this.

"The fun thing for me is that every day is a complete surprise—the things I get to do just because I'm a skateboarder," he adds. And does he ever think about how he's gotten to be where he's at today—one of the most popular sports figures ever? "Every day," he says. "Every day..." •

What Tony Hawk Loves about Carlsbad

Hawk may spend half his time traveling, but when he is home, he loves to take advantage of all that coastal North County has to offer. His favorite surfing spots are Terramar, Warm Waters and Ponto Beach—all Carlsbad hot spots.

Is Carlsbad one of the last small-town beach cities left? Tony Hawk thinks so. "Everything is so developed from Cardiff and south," he says. "You can still find uncrowded beaches here around Tamarack, and you can find parking for the most part. Especially as you head south from Tamarack toward the cliffs, you can access the beaches pretty easily and find relatively uncrowded surf."

On an average day, you'll find his active brood hitting the waves at their favorite Carlsbad surf spots, hanging out at the local skate parks, and making a pit stop at their favorite Carlsbad restaurant, Overseas Chinese. "I really think it's one of the best Chinese places around—totally legit. And then there's Greek Corner Café; love that place, too."

But Hawk's life is anything but average, which is why the McClellan-Palomar Airport has come in handy all the years he has lived in Carlsbad and Encinitas. "The [airport] has been the saving grace of my life because I travel so much," he says. "I can get up to L.A. really easily, and from L.A. I can get anywhere. There are only 30 people on each flight and no security hassles."