MINI USA and Tony Hawk Announce Partnership
Last year I met Tony Hawk at the premier of the F56 MINI in LA. We chatted about naming MINIs and about driving our kids to school in the back of a Countryman. I came away not just impressed with Tony’s down to earth attitude but his genuine excitement for MINIs in general. Clearly none of that was lost on MINI executives. Today MINI is announcing a full partnership with Tony Hawk that will see Tony get more corporate support for his Birdhouse Skateboards Summer Tour and the Tony Hawk Foundation while MINI gets one of the coolest guys on earth as a spokesman. Look for Tony throughout the summer at a couple big MINI USA events.
Official Release: MINI USA is proud to announce a partnership with action sports star, Tony Hawk. Unable to contain the excitement on both ends of the table – or ramp – Tony and the MINI team pulled off an exhilarating, one-of-a-kind skateboard stunt to announce the partnership. Check it out now at MINIUSA.com/tonyhawk.
The partnership doesn’t stop there. MINI will become the official vehicle of Tony Hawk’s Birdhouse Skateboards Summer Tour, meaning some of the world’s best skateboarders will be motoring from city-to-city this summer in a fleet of customized MINI Countryman. In addition, Tony will make a number of appearances at MINI USA events and design a co-inspired, limited-edition skateboard that will be auctioned off for charity and given away as prizes at events around the country.
“Tony Hawk is an original and an icon, who, over the years has built a loyal community of individuals around him and his brand who share a common interest and an active lifestyle,” said Lee Nadler, Manager of Marketing Communications, MINI USA. “The MINI brand and the MINI community share many of those same passions when it comes to originality, customization and style. Our partnership was a natural fit.”
In addition to sponsoring this summer’s Birdhouse Tour, MINI USA will also support the Tony Hawk Foundation by sponsoring the Stand Up for Skateparks event at the 11th-annual action sports carnival on September 21, 2014 in Beverly Hills, Calif. The event will showcase the best talent from the world of skateboarding and BMX. MINI will also be donating to a number of live and silent auctions to benefit the Foundation, which awards grants to underprivileged communities to help fund the building of skateparks around the country.
“Owning and driving a MINI is like skating and being a part of the skateboarding culture and community,” said Hawk. “MINI and skating are about design and self-expression; they are about building a community around something that is otherwise very individual.”
Both considered icons by their loyal fan base and communities, Tony Hawk and MINI have shared a unique alliance since last November when Tony purchased – and jumped over – his own MINI John Cooper Works Countryman
<p>Meh. Tony who? Yeah, I know he’s big in skateboarding but I haven’t touched a skateboard since I was 9 and I think people who can afford to trick out a MINI don’t strike me as the demographic that follows skateboarding. Maybe I’m wrong.</p>
<p>Many skateboarders may be too young to buy a car today, but many also will be old enough in just a few years. Appealing to younger people is probably a good idea; in my neighborhood the vast majority of MINI owners are soccer mom’s who’s kids just left for college. The next biggest group is retirees.</p>