Tony Hawk Suffers A Potentially Career-Changing Injury

Tony Hawk is best known as legendary skateboarder, but throughout the past few decades, he has also launched video games, clothing lines, and skateboard products. Additionally, through The Skatepark Project, the father-of-four works to give back to his community by building skate parks in low-income neighborhoods.

With such an incredible career and legacy, it's no surprise a feature documentary on Hawk, "Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off," is set to premiere on April 5. Executive producer of the HBO documentary, actor Mark Duplass, revealed in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter, "[Director Sam Jones] has managed to make a film that somehow transcends the sport of skating and becomes a unique and very human portrait." In a statement of his own, Jones explained, "To get to know him as a human being has been the great journey of this film, and to share my love of skating in this way is the culmination of my creative endeavors."

But sadly, as Hawk prepares for the landmark documentary, he has been sidelined by a very serious injury.

On March 8, Tony Hawk took to Instagram to reveal he broke his femur bone. The accompanying x-ray image made it clear that this was not a mere fracture, as the bone appeared to have snapped completely in half. Despite what looks like an incredibly painful injury, the legendary skateboarder added a follow-up video of him walking down the hallway with the help of crutches. 

In typical Hawk fashion, he wrote in the caption of the post that, although the "recovery for a broken femur will be much harder" due to its "severity" and his "age," he's "up for the challenge." He also explained why he continues to engage in such a risky sport at 53, writing, "I have found my sense of purpose and shaped my identity through skating ..." Hawk added that the only reason he would stop skating would be if he was "physically unable." This particular injury might prevent him from ever being able to skate at "full capacity" again, but he reassured his fans that he would "be back."

Of course, this is far from Hawk's first skateboarding injury. One recent incident was in June 2020, when he fractured two fingers on his right hand, according to a Twitter post. Further back, he fractured his skull and broke his pelvis, among many other injuries, according to Bleacher Report.