Skateboarding superstar Tony Hawk reveals who he’d kill in a race war

Tony Hawk is arguably one of the most beloved sporting figures of the modern era. He popularized skateboarding as a sport, continues to raise its profile, and, at 58, remains a prominent ambassador for the sport – and he still skates!

He’s also beloved in the world of video games for his long-running and critically acclaimed Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise, which has also gone a long way to familiarizing a generation with skateboarding terms like ollie, revert, and kickflip. And, on top of all that, he just generally appears to be a really nice guy.

All of which led up to this immortal exchange on Twitter in 2018: Someone posted an image of Wesley Snipes in New Jack City crying, captioned “when the race war is happening and I gotta kill tony hawk”. Hawk himself responded, “I appreciate the hesitation though”

“The best answer you could ever say!

Now, eight years later, Hawk has finally been asked a follow-up question on the Vic Mensa Show. Vic Mensa said: “Black Twitter famously said they’d be heartbroken to have to kill you in a race war. You said, ‘I appreciate the hesitation’. Who would you kill in a race war?”

Hawk paused to process the question, then burst into laughter, saying “WHAT?!”. Then, gathering himself, he gave his answer: “white supremacist.” Mensa burst into laughter too, saying this was “the best answer you could ever say!”

Those in the comments celebrated, with many saying this is why they like Hawk so much. One said: “That’s my childhood right there I always knew he was going to be on the right side of history,” another, “And this, gentlemen, it’s why Tony Hawk is the GOAT,” and a third, “Tony hawk is just a loved legend.”

But, naturally, there were also those infuriated by Hawk’s answer. It’d be too dispiriting to quote them all, but here’s a taste of their anger: “You deserve every injury you ever suffered in your life , you walking dead piece of s–t, how does it feel to have a completely broken body and soul?”

Fortunately, we know exactly how Hawk feels about life. And, perhaps unsurprisingly for a man who’s found wild success and adoration doing what he loves, he’s pretty positive: “The fact that I get to make a living skateboarding at my age is absurd… I would do it for free any day of the week… I do feel like, in so many ways, I’m living the dream or, at some point, creating the dream for myself.”