Tony Hawk has recounted his latest experience being nearly recognised by strangers, only to be left “perplexed” when he was again told he resembles himself.
Over the years, the professional skateboarder, 53, has shared a number of instances in which people have approached him to tell him that he looks like Tony Hawk, with the now-ongoing cases of mistaken identity becoming well-known among his fans.
According to Hawk, the most recent interaction took place after fans did recognise him while in an elevator with the skateboarder, and took the opportunity to joke about the encounters.
“This just happened, and maybe this is where it all ends: Got an elevator with three people. One guy (with his wife), sarcastically: ‘Anyone ever tell you you…’ and stops,” Hawk shared on Twitter on Wednesday. “Me (amused): ‘Yes, but you’re the first today.’ His wife: ‘I’m sorry, I tried to stop him from doing the joke.’”
Unfortunately for Hawk, the interaction didn’t end there, however, as the third person on the elevator then proceeded to ask him what the joke was after the couple had exited.
“Me: I get mistaken identity a lot,’” Hawk said he replied, to which the man asked: “Mistaken for who?”
After Hawk replied: “Tony Hawk,” he revealed that the man then acknowledged the resemblance. “Him: ‘Haha you do look like him!’” Hawk recounted. “Elevator stops again, he exits on his floor. I am left alone, heading upwards and feeling perplexed.”
As of Thursday, Hawk’s tweet has been liked more than 151,000 times, with fans both amused and exasperated by the skateboarder’s latest encounter.
“Everybody knows who Tony Hawk is but nobody knows who Tony Hawk is,” one person tweeted.
Another said: “Mr Hawk, I want you to know that if we ever crossed paths I’d look you right in the eye and say ‘Hello Tony’ and then keep walking wherever I was going.”
“This is easily my favourite ongoing joke on Twitter,” someone else admitted.
According to another fan, they would like a documentary “solely dedicated to these types of interactions” with Hawk.
Others suggested that Hawk should handle the encounters moving forward by wearing shirts identifying him. “You need ‘I’m Tony Hawk’ shirts,” one person suggested, while another said: “You need to sell a T-shirt with your picture on it that says: ‘This is what Tony Hawk looks like.’ Send the proceeds to your favourite charity.”
According to Hawk, who frequently shares the cases of mistaken identity with his followers on social media, many of the encounters have taken place in airports, with the skateboarder revealing one interaction in 2017 between himself and a TSA agent who was checking his ID and who expressed surprise over his last name being the same as “that skateboarder Tony Hawk”.
After Hawk noted that the TSA agent was correct, the airport employee replied: “Cool, I wonder what he’s up to these days.”
Last year, Hawk also revealed that the ongoing joke means that many people now approach him to joke about the encounters. “Three different people boarding this plane - in three different ways - have told me that I look like Tony Hawk as they walked by my seat. My wife turned to me after the last one and said: ‘You started it,’” Hawk wrote on Twitter, before adding: “To clarify, each person was joking, but unaware that they were redundant.”
While Hawk’s fans find amusement in the various scenarios, others have promised to recognise Hawk if they ever run into him.
“I study a picture of Tony Hawk daily so I’m not one of those people he tweets about if I ever run into him,” one person jokingly tweeted.
In a follow-up tweet shared after his latest encounter, Hawk encouraged his fans to watch the HBO documentary about his life Until The Wheels Fall Off.
“I promise there aren’t any tales of mistaken identity,” he added.
