Fo-Hawk Rising: From Beach Bum to Headliner

"I've always had a mental wish list of tricks, such as the 900, varial 720, kickflip 540, ollie 540, and slowly over the years I checked them off one by one until the 9 was the only one left.  Everything else now is purely for fun." - Tony Hawk, Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder

I'm finally getting back to my recap of various shows and experiences.  Tony Fo-Hawk is on break to enjoy some snowboarding so this is a good time to discuss the hell of a summer he had (fall was good as well, but I'll cover that later).  I had already talked about the creation of his Airship Pirate number.  Before that, he was working on another new act for the Wet 'n' Wild Tuesday Tease.

Photo by KWN Design

The arrival of summer meant surfing for Tony.  I had planned a surfer act of my own, but this seemed more like his thing (although I reserve the right to return to the idea).  The Companion's favorite song is "Surf Wax America" by Weezer so I really wanted to use it.  However, the song is actually sarcastic, which made me take pause.  Could Tony lip synch these words when they're supposed to mock? The tune was catchy though; I couldn't get it out of my head.  Thankfully there was a solution: Jack Johnson.

Before he became known as a musician, Jack Johnson was a pro surfer—the youngest to make finals at Pipeline Masters.  His songs are a bit too mellow to do an act to on their own, but I found a song he wrote about the waves and mashed it up with "Surf Wax America".

My breasts are too sensitive and large for me to be comfortable with duct tape binding.  Therefore, I knew the illusion was going to be compromised because who surfs with their shirt on?  I thought about buying a wetsuit, but they weren't in my budget and my binder would still show through.  I decided that the audience could suspend their disbelief, especially if I went even sillier with the "nudity" down below.

See what I mean?
Photo by KWN Design

"Going Surfing" provided a much needed lightness since I had been working on two ambitious numbers for the SteamTease.  In August, Tony and I teamed up to do our "Jesus of Suburbia" act for a Broadway-themed Tuesday Tease.  I'll never get tired performing because it's so cathartic.  That same week, Tony continued with the musical-inspired acts and did Hamilton for Mustache Envy.

Not throwing away his shot
Photo by Cher Musico

Since seeing them at my bust-out, I've admired Mustache Envy.  I've performed in their Panty Raid shows a couple of times, but I didn't think Tony would be in a Mustache show.  Nevertheless, I submitted his two most ambitious—and uncharacteristic—acts: the Airship Pirate and Hamilton.  I was so honored to find that not only was Tony hired on to do Hamilton, but was named a headliner alongside the amazing Patrick Mikyles!

Because it was my most PG of acts, I took the opportunity to invite my co-workers along to experience a drag show.  Some of them may have been in for a culture shock, but I think—I hope—they had a good time.  I sure did.  It's always great to see fans of the musical rap along.  There were these two girls who knew every lyric, and they approached me with excitement afterwards, telling me that they were blasting the soundtrack earlier in the day. 

One of the reasons I love doing nerdlesque so much is because I can reach those people who may have obscure interests.  Tony isn't really a nerd (unless you count his action sports obsession), but I'm glad he can reach out to people too.  I’ll cover some of his more recent shows, but I’m really proud of how far he has come in less than a year.

As I said, he's currently on a break, but you can catch me in a brand-new nerdy act tomorrow at Tuesday Tease!