I can remember when Tony Hawk was still an unknown in the skateboard world. Of course, he’s become a something of an icon in the 20 or so years since I last rode a Powell Peralta. And his clean cut image has done wonders for skating, not to mention his eleventy billion dollars in video game sales. But I recently read about his newest venture, the Tony Hawk HuckJam series bicycle.
I’m sure there is going to be some sort of freestyle BMX bike, aimed squarely at taking dollars out of Dave Mirra’s pocket. From the article, it appears that we’ll see a cheap one showing up at the X-Marts, and a more expensive line showing up at sporting goods stores. I’m not seeing any mention of bike shops though.
While I hate to sound negative, this smacks loudly of a big checkbook looking to pimp Tony’s name. Sure, he’s gotta pay the bills and feed his family. But are we really to expect something new and different? They are promising “innovative paint finishes, new types of frames, and cutting edge decal and graphics packages”, but that sounds like marketing-speak for slapping some new artwork on mass-produced Chinese product.
I can only hope it’s something more than that. Credibility can’t be bought or sold, but is easily lost.
