Tony Hawk’s Blood-Infused $500 Skateboards Sold Out Instantly: ‘No Clones’
Tony Hawk is widely regarded as one of the best skateboarders of all time. It stands to reason that any skateboard he’d come out with is one most skaters would want a piece of. But would they want an actual piece of Hawk himself?
Hawk made headlines recently for releasing a skateboard infused with drops of his own blood. Let’s take a closer look at this controversial skateboard and why it made so many waves.
The story behind Tony Hawk’s blood infused skateboard
According to CNET, a company called Liquid Thirst teamed with Hawk to produce these custom-made skateboards. While it no doubt left some people scratching their heads as to why anyone would want an item like this, plenty of other people saw the value in it.
Hawk donated two vials of blood for the project. The process went as follows: Hawk donated his blood, which was then mixed in with paint. The paint was applied to the board and sold at $500 a pop. Only 100 editions of the board were produced.
Posting a video of the blood withdrawal to Instagram, Hawk let his fans take a peek behind the curtain as they saw the blood taken out of him and mixed in with the skateboard paint. Hawk also made a joke about the fact that owners of the custom-made, limited edition boards would then have his DNA in their possession. He yelled, “No clones!”
No matter what you think of an item like this hitting the market, one thing was for sure: it was wildly popular with Hawk fans. The board sold out almost instantly.
The details behind the board
The company behind the skateboard is known as Liquid Thirst. They announced the name of the skateboard as the “Hawk Blood Deck.” A portion of the sales will go to a nonprofit called 5 Gyres, an environmental organization looking to limit plastic production, and Hawk’s charity, The Skateboard Project.
The design of the board is unique, to say the least. It contains the company’s slogan “Murder your thirst” with a drawing of the company’s “mascot,” for lack of a better term: a character called the “Thirst Executioner.” The character has a can of “Liquid Death” for a head while it clutches the skull of a hawk.
As noted, the skateboard sold out fast. But while few people took issue with the product, there was another blood-infused item that got a much harsher reaction.
Some people have pointed out the hypocrisy behind Tony Hawk’s blood-infused skateboard
Hawk’s blood-filled skateboard is an odd project, to say the least. But interestingly enough, Hawk isn’t the only celebrity this year dabbling in the “putting blood in a designer product” trade.
Rapper and artist Lil Nas X offered fans an opportunity to buy some blood as well. He teamed with a clothing company to produce sneakers that contained blood in each shoe. The blood belonged to employees of the clothing company as opposed to Lil Nas X himself, however.
The shoes were eventually recalled after Nike filed a trademark lawsuit against the company – the sneakers were modified Nikes – but there was plenty of controversy surrounding them. They were called “Satan Shoes,” with a Satanic theme. While those shoes sold out as well, some criticized Lil Nas X for his association with them. Even South Dakota governor Kristi Noem took issue with the item, publicly speaking out against them.
It’s odd that one entertainer’s artistic statement using blood and clothing wasn’t okay while another who combined blood and a skateboard didn’t receive nearly the same amount of pushback. In both cases, one thing is true: it was a genius marketing move, as plenty of people are talking about both Hawk and Lil Nas X due to their respective stunts.
