The first global superstar of the extreme-sports world, and the most successful and influential skateboarder of all time, Hawk was born in San Diego on 12 May 1968. He got his first board aged nine - a cast-off from his older brother Steve - turned pro at 14, and was world champion at 16. He was the first skateboarder to earn $1m a year. He has invented more than 50 tricks, and was the first skater ever to perform a "900" (two-and-a-half aerial turns), a trick that took him 10 years to master. He retired from competing in 2000, but continues to travel the world and perform at exhibitions, when he's not at home in California looking after his three sons.