Tony Hawk v3.0

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July 2007
CAMBODIA DAY 1 - July 23, 2007

NOTE: A little background: Tony is currently on a trip to Cambodia on behalf of the Laureus Foundation, of which he is a member. Laureus promotes the use of sport as a tool for social change and celebrates sporting excellence. Tony has previously traveled to Sierra Leone on behalf of Laureus.

Our first day in Phnom Penh started upon our 9am arrival after 24 hours of travel via LAX and Bangkok. Our bag was lost. We checked in and went exploring. After a few blocks of walking and incessant offers of tok-tok rides (small motorcycle-powered rickshaws), we headed back to the hotel in hopes of some guidance… and a place to buy shorts to survive the heat.

We met up with our Laureus counterparts and they hooked us up with Kathy, an Australian import that came for a vacation and ended up staying a few years helping abused children. She took us to the mall, famous for having one of only two escalators in Cambodia. Visiting villagers are so confused by the moving stairway that they have attendants posted there on the weekend to help you on & off. We each bought a pair of cargo shorts and the entire department store staff gathered around to watch us pay a whopping $40. Lhotse then bought flip-flops since she was stuck in heels since we left home. All five of the women at the store aided the purchase by standing around her as she tried a pair on. With our new outfits, we did a little sightseeing on our way back to the hotel and promptly passed out. Here are a few observations from our short stint as tourists:

- Many storefronts offer $7/hour foot massages
- Traffic is mostly scooters and there are no controlled intersections
- Shoe-shine boys are not picky about what type of shoes they service. My Adios would be gleaming if I had agreed to any of them.
- Cambodia is the new hot destination for international pedophiles (according to Kathy, who has helped bring many of these creeps to justice).
- Cokes are 40 cents from street vendors and $2 at our hotel.
- Transformers is out on DVD! So is Evan Almighty, Shrek The Third and every season of Entourage (including ones that have currently aired). John From Cincinnati was not available, but they will have it soon.
- You can get 6 DVD’s for $10
- my Iphone doesn't work here, but Lhotse's does... WTF

Still no sign of our bag; Thai Airways has no tracking system and there are only two flights a day from Bangkok. We managed to get up in time for a traditional Khmer dinner (which tastes like Thai food to me), and pass out again.

Our second day was one of the heaviest of our lives; details to follow.

Love,

Tony & Lhotse

Click here for Cambodia photo gallery

CAMBODIA DAY 2 - July 24, 2007

Jet lag started our day somewhere around 4am. After a quick breakfast and finding a creative way to use our limited wardrobe, we went to check out the soccer stadium where we will be getting a demonstration of the Spirit of Soccer program in a couple days. Scotty Lee, a former British aid worker and soccer fanatic, set up a program here to educate kids about the dangers of land mines while giving them a complete soccer program, including coaches and organized matches. One child dies every day from the abundant land mines left around the countryside by the Khmer Rouge regime. Scotty has also informed me that we will be playing an exhibition match for the press on Thursday. I informed him that I completely suck at soccer and he didn’t wince. This should be fun.
I found some skateable cement around the perimeter of the stadium, so I might be doing an impromptu street (freestyle?) demo on Thursday as well.

We left the stadium and Scotty suggested we go see the Stung Meanchey trash dump, where all of the Phnom Penh garbage is laid to rest and an entire community is based around picking through the waste. About 200 families live next to the site, waiting for the trucks to arrive so they can be the first to pick through tons of garbage in search of anything recyclable. Our tour guide was Scott Neeson, a former producer at Fox Searchlight, who was passing through here in 2003 on a sabbatical and decided to give up his Hollywood career to help the children of Stung Meanchey. He has since formed the Cambodian Children’s Fund and created two boarding schools that have rescued over 200 kids to date. 90% of these children are violently abused and sick, and many are sold to sex traffickers or simply snatched from the dumpsite never to be seen again. Many of the parents use the children as workers to go collect bottles and plastic bags so that they can sleep the heat away in their hammocks, as the fathers drink all day. The most common living situations are extended families, living on a 6x6 wooden platform, tented with tarps, cardboard and random discarded lumber. 4 to 11 people live together in these “houses”. We heard one mother complain to Scott that he had taken most of her children away (to be educated, nursed back to health, and given a chance at a better life) and that she didn’t have enough workforces to go collecting. She had managed to get out her hammock and away from the television (the television, in the middle of the trash dump, was equally alarming and confusing) in order to get in his face to voice her concerns. We saw another couple with a newborn baby who greeted Scott with such reverence that you would think he is their only hope for survival. We found out later that when the woman went into labor, the baby was breach and she was hemorrhaging severely. They were denied entry to the hospital for lack of money, and somehow reached Scott in the middle of the night. He got them into the hospital and paid the $15 fee for an emergency C-section. Everyone knew Scott and nearly every child would surround him and repeatedly ask to “take me to study.” I don’t know how he chooses which children to take in, but he is the only messiah of this strife. There is a group of religious zealots that come in a few times a year and “baptize” the children of SM, marking their foreheads with crosses and giving them powdered formula. What they don’t see after they leave is that the families mix the formula with the only water available, making most of the kids get violently ill. Scott hopes one day to catch the “saviors” and straighten them out.

We put on work boots (mine were 3 sizes too small) and made our way through the mountain of sludge and garbage. Many kids followed us (thanks to Scott’s presence), completely barefoot while trampling over needles, feces and whatever else thrives in the bottomless muck. The trash felt like quicksand under our feet, so we were warned to watch for “sinkholes” and to keep moving. We saw a fresh delivery from the dump truck and the scavenging that ensues. Scott said that this is most dangerous at night, the drivers can’t see the kids, and they regularly get run over. By the time we got to the center of the site, I realized we had only been in this madness an hour; it felt like a full day.

By the time we made our way back out, my feet were completely smashed, our boots were covered, and our mouths tasted like we had received Cleveland Steamers among other excretions. We drove back to the city in silence. The street vendors and tok-tok drivers no longer look so impoverished to us. Scott then took us to his all-girl CCF school and we got to see the effects of his work. Every girl there was rescued from the dump, all smiling, greeting us in English, and eager to show off their facility. 11-year-olds looked like they were 6, and 16-year-olds looked like they were 8. They were al learning the basics, and many were learning vocational skills in preparation for jobs in the city. Some were already working in nice restaurants in the Phnom Penh area. We were thankful that Scott showed us the bright side to a seemingly hopeless situation. Ironically, CCF has nothing to do with Laureus, but it was one of the most inspiring charities we have ever seen. $100/month sponsors one child, including clothing, food, education and nursing. We left the happy children with a sense of hope, but it was hard to shake the images we had collected along the way.

The rest of our day was filled with extravagance - in the form of hearty meals, DVD viewings, our found luggage and heavy sleep.

Hug your kids (and ours if you see them),

Tony & Lhotse .

Click here for Cambodia photo gallery

CAMBODIA DAY 3 - July 25, 2007

We spent the morning at the museum, where the only thing older than the artifacts was the paint on the interior walls. There were many Buddha heads, large and small. One structure was baffling, so we decided it was a royal toilet where solid waste goes in the center and liquid waste drains around the side and out of a funnel. I couldn’t figure out how to escape the contraction while keeping your feet dry though.

We were joined that afternoon by Sir Bobby Charlton, the English football (soccer) legend and fellow Laureus Academy member. He is met with such reverence that I am starting to believe that this trip was based on his availability, which is understandable considering we are visiting the Spirit of Soccer project. We were briefed about the schedule for the next few days and then headed to “S21,” the most famous Khmer Rouge torture facility in Cambodia. It was originally a school for gifted children until the Khmer Rouge turned it into a place of pain, suffering and death. Cambodians under suspicion of having political ties, individual thoughts or a good education were subject to constant interrogation and cruel punishment. The only motive was to keep them alive long enough for them to give up names of any other potential scholars. It is estimated that less than 1% got out alive. The rooms were filled with dirty mattresses, shackles and various torture weapons. Other rooms had walls of pictures of many of the victims as they were processed upon entry. There were signs all over of a man’s smiling face with an “X” through it and Khmer writing underneath. I found out that it meant, “no laughing.” Not sure who could walk through this facility and crack jokes or find any of it funny, but someone did along the way and the signs had to be put up. This is not the
”holiday in Cambodia” we expected, but I now appreciate the meaning of the Dead Kennedy’s song more than ever.

The rest of our day was spent reflecting on what we saw (déjà vu), until it was time to meet the U.K. Ambassador at his private residence for a reception. Sir Bobby was in town and the politicians seized the opportunity. We met many Cambodian dignitaries and U.S. diplomats in our short visit. As Bill & Ted would say: “it was most dignified.” We also had to give short speeches about our motives for visiting Cambodia. Sir Bobby is a tough act to follow in that regard, so I resorted to brief thank-yous and a joke about forgetting my skateboard… it killed.

We escaped the gathering before it evolved from light conversation into taking advantage of free drinks.

Here are a few traffic observations from that day:

- If you can fit it onto a motorcycle, you can transport it (regardless of weight or length). This includes furniture, car parts, hundreds of dead chickens, and families (the record being six people on one scooter that spanned three generations)

- Intersections are hardly a reason to slow down, even though none of them have traffic lights.

- Nobody blinks an eye when there is a truck coming at them on the wrong side of the road, or someone turns left right in front of them.

- A fatality accident can be settled on the spot with the victim’s family for $2000 or less (as we read in the newspaper from an incident the day before). I suppose all car insurance in Cambodia are “no-fault” policies.

- Marked lanes are simply general suggestions. Nobody stays in theirs, and many drive on the other side of the road if they are going a short distance on that particular street; this saves them the burden of turning left.

- Many parents wear full-face helmets while traveling with their unprotected infants or toddlers.

- There is very little honking among all of this madness .

Click here for Cambodia photo gallery

CAMBODIA DAY 4 - July 26, 2007

Our day started early - a 5:30am departure from the hotel (but we
still haven’t adjusted to any time zone so we were already up). We
caught a “chartered” flight to Battambong in order to visit the main
Spirit of Soccer project. The plane looked old, but the pilots seemed
confident. They said to be prepared for an abrupt takeoff because
sometimes cows and/or sheep wander out onto the runway and they have
to take evasive action. We are a long way from restricted tarmacs and
militant FAA rules… but it ended up being a smooth 1-hour flight.

We hit the ground running by getting into various vehicles and
driving an hour to the main Spirit of Soccer School. It lies upon a
small patch of land that was recently de-mined. Danger lurks all
around in the form of thousands of hidden landmines, so the main
directive of Spirit of Soccer is to educate the kids about these
lethal souvenirs from the Khmer Rouge regime. The kids have coaches
that engage them in soccer and teach them about landmines during
their breaks. The kids were already in full swing when we got there,
all smiles and happy for us to join them in their soccer drills. We
then observed a class (in Khmer) on landmine safety, and the kids all
seemed to know the protocol for when they see mines or find
themselves in a dangerous area. The school vibe was summed up on the
coach’s shirts: “Don’t play with landmines, play soccer.” I feel like
the latter could be replaced with virtually any other [safe]
activity, but these kids do love soccer. The coaches do a great job
in keeping every activity fun… even the serious stuff.

We got back in the cars and drove another hour to a landmine removal
site. This was the real deal, and MAG (Mine Action Group) took charge
of the rest of our activities. We were shown the site, briefed about
the different types of mines, and brought out to the field wearing
the necessary gear. Our MAG debunked the myth that there are certain
types of mines that don’t explode when you step on them; they are
triggered once you step off. They said this is a Hollywood idea,
making for great drama when someone steps on a mine and hears a
click, allowing them to make crucial life-or-death decisions while
stalling their fate. Not true; these things explode as soon as soon
as you step on them. They don’t give you a “grace period” to sort out
your life.

The most disturbing aspect of the removal process (besides the danger
factor) is the enormity of the problem. There is a vast countryside
in this area that is completely off-limits because of the landmines
planted 30-40 years ago. This means access to basic needs – water,
food, health care – is completely cut-off in some regions. New
technology (and limited budgets) hasn’t helped much. These guys are
still using old-school metal detectors to find them and blowing them
up with remote detonators. In fact, they found two the day we were
there and allowed me to [remotely] blow one up. It was hard to be
civil and contain my excitement when faced with a Road Runner chance-
of-a-lifetime. This is a place where explosions happen daily and are
generally a bad thing, but it was fun for my inner child to blow
something up.

Our trip got cut short due to impending weather (gotta make that
flight back), so we hopped in the cars and made our bumpy way back to
the airport. The flight back was equally smooth, with our diligent
pilots avoiding every looming thunderous cloud on the way. We got
back to Phnom Penh by 3 pm, but it felt like midnight. I'm ready to go
home now... 24 hours to go, I wanna be sedated.

Click here for Cambodia photo gallery

CAMBODIA PART 4 - July 25, 2007

On our last day we finally got to see Spirit of Soccer
in full form. We went to their official training grounds and saw all
of the Phnom Penh teams in training mode. Sir Bobby and I had a brief
press conference, but it mostly involved all of the journalists we
had already met and/or had been traveling with.

We went outside to play with the best kickers in the program, meaning
that Scotty set me as goalie in hopes of watching me get humiliated.
Sir Bobby lined up the kids and gave them pointers on how to kick it
straight past me. I managed to block a few. I was a bit reserved in
my dives for fear of slamming into the goalpost headfirst. I didn’t
have an instinctive gauge on how wide the goal was for obvious
reasons… mostly lack of experience (none at all, to be exact). I got
my chance at redemption in the form of penalty kicks against their
star goalie and I squeaked a few past him. Galaxy here I come.

It was inspiring to see such organization and excitement
surrounding Spirit of Soccer. The kids were happy, active and –most
importantly- safe thanks to the program. Their future looks promising.

The rest of our day was spent getting photo ops skating
around the city and eating like locals. I was so taken by the local
food that I decided to be brave and search out some fried crickets as
a snack. We went to the main marketplace and I found my treasure,
right next to the fried roaches and spiders. Something wasn’t right
about seeing the BIG arachnoids fried up in a basket next to my
seemingly mundane (and small) crickets. I bought some of each, but
lost my nerve once the thick spider stared up at me from my bag of
goodies. I gave them to our Tok Tok driver and he was happy to chomp
them down right on the spot. He savored each spider leg like he was
breaking apart a fine lobster, saving the head & body for last. I am
pretty adventurous, but that turned my stomach. I went back to the
hotel and got a Kit Kat.

We got our stuff packed and left that night. Thanks to
Scotty, Kat and Ben for hosting us. We signed up to sponsor a CCF
child the night we got back. We do hope to return one day… I might
even eat a fried insect next time.

Click here for Cambodia photo gallery

November 2006 - April 2007
HOME AND ALL OVER THE PLACE

The past few months have been strange. My wife and I made a conscious effort to stay home through the holidays and into the new year in order to spend time with the kids and for me to get some footage for the upcoming Birdhouse video. Just when I thought things were slowing down a bit, a flood of appearance requests came and I was back on airplanes every other day. Still skating as much as ever, but doing it in much different venues as before. A big reason for my journal absence is that I can’t write too much about the big events because they were for television and the producers don’t want anything given away before they air.

Here is a summary of what I’ve been up to (along with my lovely wife):

• Our 3rd annual Stand Up for Skateparks event. Held in Beverly Hills (again) where we raised over $900,000 for public skateparks in low-income areas. Highlights included an A-list vert demo (Andy Mac, Bucky, Bob, PLG, Mat Hoffman, and Shaun White), a re-united Anarchy Orchestra with Perry Farrell on guest vocals, and many celeb sightings (including BJ Novak from The Office)

• Bam’s wedding. In case you missed it on MTV, Bam and Missy got married. Bam built a monolithic mini-ramp that we christened the day before the ceremony, and then Iggy Pop played the reception. It was relatively tame considering the Jackass & Viva La Bam crew in attendance.

• A celebrity NASCAR race in Charlotte that included average laps of 150mph, a totaled car (not mine), and a flood of adrenaline. The “Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Challenge” will be shown on ABC this summer.

• An appearance on Oprah’s new reality show, “The Big Give.” All I can say is that it was last-minute (I found out 3 days beforehand) and that we skated and raised money for a group of very needy kids near Houston.

• The 2007 Laureus Sports Awards in Barcelona, Spain. It rained for four straight days and Kelly Slater wasn’t there to accept his award for best Action Sports Athlete. At least we got to sit with newest academy member Marcus Allen and Dr J for dinner.

• R turned 14 and S turned 8! R is now more like a messy room-mate that needs rides all the time.

• Working on our next game – untitled as of this writing – and playing a lot of Guitar Hero with S & K.

• Snowboarding in Crested Butte, CO and Mammoth

• Helping to form Athletes For Hope, a charity hub for philanthropic professional athletes, along with Lance Armstrong, Andre Agassi, Mia Hamm, and Muhammad Ali among others. We made the official announcement on Good Morning America in NYC on April 25.

• Being the spokesperson for Toys R Us' Maximum Safety for Active Kids campaign. Rooftop and I attended the kickoff presentation at the Toys R Us in Times Square on April 28. We encouraged safety in skateboarding, bikes and scooters while making fun of each other onstage.

• Trying to learn Roast Beef 5’s. At first it was a joke, but now it’s a mission.

Sorry for being out of touch… more to come soon.

Stay strong, Ray!

Tony

October 27, 2006
SUPER EXTREME JAPAN SAY GO!
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY FOR THIS STORY

(note: Tony is in Japan filming for a future TV show)

We got off our flight and were driven straight to a point break outside of Fukuoaka (pronounced however you like) to meet the rest of the crew: Benji Weatherly, Kalani Robb, Todd Richards, J.P. Walker, Tosh Townend and Chad Bartie. It was the most crowded lineup this side of Swami's. The only difference is that you can COMPLETELY cut someone off and they just smile when you paddle back out around them. The other difference is that they don't worry about who they are running over as they take off, meaning that I had to dive for my life a few times and Todd got a slice through his ankle from a dude's fin.

We surfed until frozen (no wetsuits, but manageable), grabbed some Bao at 7-11 and drove into the city... only to grab our snow gear, turn around and drive to an indoor jib park called "Big Air." They have a peoplemover instead of a lift and there is only enough room for one jump. You speed check and you're done. They also had a rail and a box if you chose to spend your run doing one of those. It was like taking one [tiny] jump section at Snow Summit and putting it indoors with a low roof. Lhotse chose to sit it out because they only had snowllerblades to rent (no skis). I have never carried so much gear for one trip... we hit the skatepark tomorrow morning, and then off to the wave pool. Extreme guts rider crazy time!.

OH GUTS RIDAHS!
(part 2)

Our second day was spent at a skatepark outside of Fuk-u-oka where I found a vert wall to ride. Chad and Tosh worked the tiny street area (consisting of exactly one bank and two rails), and Kalani was a danger to everyone around him... but mostly himself. We then drove 4 hours to Miyazaki and spent the night there. The next morning was RUSHED. We did interviews until the moment the wave machine turned on, and I somehow ended up as the guinea pig. The left fires first and I was in position, so off I went. I got a little behind the curl, but it wasn't nearly as scary as everyone had warned me about. That is, until they turned it up and I found out the hard way. Dropping in on a head-high wave knowing that it is only three feet deep underneath you (and getting shallower by the millisecond) keeps you slightly conservative on your approach. And it sucks to go over the falls while too many cameras are pointed at you and some amazing
surfers are only a few feet away. It was fun though. The session was set for 2 hours, but we had to leave halfway through to make our flight to Tokyo. I left just as we were getting used to it and I could hear the hoots from Kalani's best tube ride as we left the dome that looked too much like The Truman Show. It was a whirlwind of three days, and I learned that man-made versions of nature (snow, surf) are fun for a short time.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY FOR THIS STORY

September 25, 2006
HECTIC WEEK CONTINUED
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY FOR THIS STORY

Current mood: Motivated

Monday - Fly from Missoula to Boise; drive 2 hours to McCall, skate the park, drive back to Missoula.

Tuesday - Fly from Boise to Winnipeg (via Denver!); skate an indoor park in Winni until midnight (well... everyone else did. I finally got some rest).

Wednesday - Shoot opening sequence for Secret Skatepark 3 DVD in downtown Winnipeg; skate "The Forks" skatepark in Winnipeg; shoot a sequence of me, Bam, Mike V and Sheckler playing Tony Hawk's Project 8 at the local skate shop, go back to The Forks to skate with the locals (after school got out).

Thursday - Fly to Memphis via Chicago, arriving just before midnight.

Friday - Drive to Oxford, MS to skate the park with only one dude there; take a break at a local bar/eatery; return to the park after school gets out and skate until dark; drive back to Memphis.

Saturday - Leave our hotel at 4:00 AM to catch our flight to Maui (via Chicago), arriving in the afternoon; hit the beach and fall asleep before 9:00 PM.

Sunday - Do some scenery shots on Wailuku (while almost getting hit by oncoming traffic), skate Paia park in Maui; bodysurf in Paia; do wrap-up interviews at hotel until dark.

Monday - Fly home; get ready for Birdhouse video shoot on Wed/Thu/Fri and then SST2 video premiere on Saturday. My phone will be turned off as of 10/8... leave a message, but I don't promise a return call anytime soon.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY FOR THIS STORY

September 25, 2006
CRAZY WEEK
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY FOR THIS STORY

Current mood: Exhausted

This last week has been among the most hectic in my life... when it rains, it pours. But it's been fun. Here is a brief rundown of how to get run down:

Monday - record Demolition Radio show in the morning, skate the ramp before it leaves for MT, fly to NYC.

Tuesday - meetings in NYC, accept a "Sports Legends" Award at the annual Buoniconti Fund dinner (benefitting paralysis research) along with Lance Armstrong.

Wednesday - fly home from NYC, pick up boys from school, chill with them until bedtime, drive to LA.

Thursday- commercial shoot for Downhill Jam in downtown LA, Jackass 2 premiere that night, big after-party.

Friday - commercial shoot for Project 8 in Westwood, drive home.

Saturday - 4am wakeup for a 6am flight to Missoula, MT, drive 2 more hours to Polson and skate the park there - our first official stop on Secret Skatepark Tour 3.

Sunday - demo in Missoula, MT; it was the biggest turnout we've ever had for a skatepark demo (est. 8,000 - 10,000 spectators) and the whole thing went OFF.

The fun doesn't stop. I'm getting up early tomorrow to fly to our next "secret" destination. Here are some photos from the past week to check out. -- Tony

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY FOR THIS STORY

July 19, 2006
BBWTF JAM

This has been a tour of patience, endurance, tragedy and bad luck. The crowds don't know any better because we manage to pull the show off every time. But here are some behind-the-scenes facts:

• Jesse injured his back before we ever left. He tried to tough it out but his pain was too debilitating. Paul Zitzer came in and learned the routines in half a day, and then we convinced him to join us on the entire trip.

• Paul hit Neal head-on in DC and did a half-gainer (sp?) all the way down the tranny. He then got KO'd the next day after under-rotating a melon 5.

• Jeremy Carter, who was coming in to replace Drake, passed away on July 4. R.I.P.

• Tom Stober, who was coming in to replace DMC, knocked his teeth out and ruptured a disc in his back before ever getting to our tour. DMC made arrangements to stick with us, even though he was responsible for running the bmx events at the Dew Tour.

• A psychotic episode of undetermined causes kept someone else away.

• Threatening skies tend to keep crowds away from many of our venues, but it never actually rains during our shows.

• Instead of rain, we get gusty winds that sometimes blow your board away whenever you try something really hard. But the moto guys don't complain, so I have no right... their risks of getting caught in a gust are far greater.

• Rising temperatures as we head south. Did someone say global warming? Some kids were puking in Atlanta from heat exhaustion. I don't expect Texas to be any cooler.

The good news is that the shows are getting better and better. DMC pulled a clean 900 in DC (right after Paul's concussion), Andy Jones is doing backflip variations, Derek came in at the last minute and is killing it every show, I feel like I finally found my pump again (it has laid dormant for a couple years now, due to my loop mishap), Sergie has 5's on lockdown and occasionally makes it one-footed, Ellis is back from his loop injury and MC'ing his own runs during the show (my favorite quote to date is "let's hear for me!"), and the crowds are as loud as ever. It's hard work, but it's still the most fun we could have. Thanks to anyone that came to see us, or is still planning to. And a special thanks to Lowell for keeping the tour alive. The show must go on. -- Tony

April 4-8 , 2006
Quiksilver Heli Trip
Tyax, Canada

We just got home from Tyax, Canada (somewhere Northeast of Whistler BC), on a Quiksilver getaway. The main purpose was to ride in helicopters, find fresh powder, land on scary peaks and ride down... just to get picked up and do it again. I snowboard, L skis. Even though we went to Alaska for the same purpose not too long ago (that trip is featured in this month’s Men’s Journal magazine), each mountain is a unique experience.

The conditions were so good on the last day that we got two “first descents,” which means it was the first time anyone has ever rode down that face. We even got to name them (Raimano’s World and Bob’s Bowl, after two other members of our crew). L might have torn her meniscus on our second day so we have to go get evaluated. For the record, she beat me down half of the runs before getting jacked. We descended a total of 80,000 feet over three days and I am as sore as a full on BBHJ tour. Catching a heel edge at full speed and being thrown into involuntary backflips (aka a "tomohawk") didn't help my already stiff neck.

Getting home from Tyax sucks… it involves a heli back to Whistler, drive to Vancouver, a night at the airport hotel, and finally a commercial flight home. Now it’s time to get L's knee checked and get back on my skateboard. Here are some visuals from our adventure:

January 12, 2006
Wedding day
Tavarua Island, Fiji

I got married! and Rancid played at the wedding! It was awesome. Here is the email we sent out to friends and family when we got back:

“She got married?”
"yeah, mah-leed.... to oily beau hunk!"
(but our wedding was much better than the one in Sixteen Candles)
Just arrived home from our Fiji nuptials. Hope to see you soon!

Love and hugs and spitting barrels,
Tony & Lhotse Hawk

December 10, 2005
Band Together fundraiser
Studio City, CA

I received a cryptic invitation late recently to an event that was explained as a “video game competition for charity” in which I was requested to be a “team captain.” The invite supposedly came directly from Bruce Willis, and the benefited charities were Habitat For Humanity and the Bruce Willis Foundation. I was skeptical – not because of the charitable aspect, but because they wanted me to compete in video games (and consoles) that I wasn’t familiar with. Details emerged slowly as the date for the PlayStation BANDtogether (the official name) event approached. They finally told me they’d chosen Jak-X racing for PS2 and Wayne Gretzky Hockey for PSP. Jak-X was easy to figure out, but Gretzky is pain in the ass for someone like me who doesn’t play any traditional-sports video games, especially ones where scoring is rare. I practiced as much as I could during the last few days before the event, but I honestly didn’t improve much at Gretzky. I learned to keep the other team from scoring, and that’s about it. I was nervous as we arrived at the red carpet, since I was supposed to lead my team (whoever they might be) to victory.

My fears were subdued once we got inside. It was apparent that very few of the contestants play video games at all, and our team was solid – Tim O’Connor (pro skater and MTV personality), Dylan and Cole Sprouse (from Big Daddy and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody fame), and Alexis Waite (pro snowboarder). Quiksilver, one of the main sponsors of the event, had assembled our squad. Other notable (competing and non-competing) celebrities were Kelly Osbourne, Travis Barker, David Spade, Krista Allen, Dave Navarro, Nick Stahl and all of the Willis girls. There were five teams total, and four different elimination challenges – meaning that the lowest score in each challenge would get the boot. The surprise was that two of the challenges had nothing to do with video games: a free-throw competition and, for the finale, a Karaoke face-off, with the winner to be decided by applause. Tim was chosen to be our Karaoke ringer in case we made it that far, because he was the only one on our team brave enough to sing in front of a crowd.

Jak-X was the first challenge and we kicked ass. Our score was nearly three times more than anyone else’s. Next.

Free throw was tricky because we had to take turns, only throwing one ball at a time. There was no way to get into a groove, but we held strong. We tied for the highest score and a second team was sent home.

Gretzky was weird because it was played on a PSP, which is not a real crowd-friendly screen. We had one minute to score as many goals as possible, and we chose Cody to play the whole round. This challenge was clearly Sony’s attempt to promote the game, even though it’s not intended for this type of format and nobody in the crowd could see what was happening on each screen. Cody held off all attempts of goals by the other team, but he didn’t score any. In fact, nobody scored (how exciting!), but one team got scored against, and they were cut. This could only mean one thing…we’d made it to Karaoke. The other team? Well, let’s just say Bruce Willis’ daughters were “lucky” enough to have a Sony rep as one of their members, giving them a “fortunate” advantage in the video game challenges.

Tim got up, and the sounds of “I’m Just a Girl” by No Doubt echoed through the hall. As he sang the first line, Dylan turned to me, deflated, and said, “We lost.” But I knew Tim would be terrible and hoped it would be so hilarious that we’d win on comedy alone. He made it through the whole song, missing a few lines, but managed to finish with impressive splits and a sultry pose. Rumer Willis then got up and belted “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar, and nailed it, complete with dance moves and backup singers. It was now up to the crowd.

The applause was actually very good for Tim. Either they felt sorry for him or admired his courage…we didn’t really care which. Rumer’s applause was just as loud, but for very different reasons. It was declared a tie only to be decided by the man of the hour – Mr. Bruce Willis. Talk about home-field advantage.

Well, we did our best, and the event raised a lot of money: $100,000.

Until next time, I will be taking voice lessons and practicing Sony-produced games.