Tony Hawk Hospitalized For 'Worst Injury Of His Career'

Tony Hawk has recently suffered the most severe injury of his career, but he does not plan to let it dim his shine.

Hawk, who became the first recognized skater to complete a 900 in 1999 at the X Games 5, has gone on to become one of the world's greatest skateboarders in history.

The 16 X Games medalist took to his social media with a forthcoming post about the details of his leg injury, including jarring X-Ray photos.

On Tuesday, March 8, Hawk updated his personal Instagram page with the announcement that he has suffered a broken femur.

The 53-year-old attached photos of his X-rays and of him placing weight on his broken legs. He then opened up in his captions about not letting his setback prevent him from skating.

The fourth-place winner of the SKB Vert Best Trick event acknowledged that his healing process might not be a walk in the park due to his age, but he won't go down without a fight. His caption partly read:

"Yesterday sucked. I broke my elbow 20 years ago and managed to make a full comeback; this recovery for a broken femur will be much harder because of its severity (and my age). But I’m up for the challenge."

The Skatepark Project founder credited his skateboarding career for helping him shape his identity, find his sense of purpose, and nourish his mental health. He added that he would not quit the sport until he was physically unable. 

Hawk admitted that his shattered femur presents the most significant test of his will. He boldly stated that he would not give up on his skateboarding dreams but might have to scale back his level of performance. He wrote:

"A broken leg—with plenty of hardware—will probably be the biggest test of that creed. I’ll be back... maybe not at full capacity, but I resigned to that notion years ago as I approached “mid-life."

Hawk did not leave his fans and family out of his post and expressed his gratitude to them for their patience and well-wishes over the years. He assured them he would see them all again, writing:

"Thanks to my unyieldingly supportive, tolerant family—and all of you—for the love and support through the years; I wouldn’t be here without you. See you on the other side."

Hawk previously showed that skateboarding could be a dangerous sport for even the most talented players when he showed off his dislocated fingers in 2020.

The Blast shared that the "Lords of Dogtown" actor showed off a gruesome image of his broken fingers in an Instagram post in June that year.

Hawk posed in front of a mirror in the emergency room, displaying his battered hand and crooked middle and ring finger. He held a sour expression on his face conveying that he was feeling far from great.

The "Gleaming The Cube" star also included a photo of the surgeon who gave him a much-needed fix-up. His fingers looked better in the image but remained swollen.

Hawk captioned the post with," [middle finger emoji] 2020 …but thanks to Dr. Cho for putting my fingers back where they belong. Here’s to more healing for everyone in the next half of this year (and beyond)."

Hawk dropped some gems on retirement to Olympic snowboarder Shaun White when he announced that he planned to hang up his sports cape after competing in the 2023 Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

The Blast disclosed in February that the skateboard legend advised White, who placed fourth in the event, to keep snowboarding even if he does not participate in competitions anymore.

In a message posted on the Olympics website, the "Bones Brigade" star encouraged the five-time Olympian to keep riding for the love of it. The post read:

"My advice to Shaun White, when it’s all over, would be this: keep riding But do it for fun. That’s what fuels you. It’s about that extension of yourself and that outlet."

Hawk noted that he is living proof of how long one can remain in their sports field and indicated that it's not about winning but maintaining sanity by enjoying riding.