Tony Hawk & Ben Harper Kick Off Boards + Bands Auction Benefitting At-Rick Youth
Skateboarder Tony Hawk and Grammy Award-winning musician Ben Harper kicked off the third annual Boards + Bands Auction on August 12 at the London Hotel West Hollywood, pairing A-list music talent with some of the biggest skateboarders in the world through artful collaboration. The event brought superstars from the worlds of skateboarding and music together to create one-of-a-kind artifacts for charitable auction to help youth around the world experience the benefits of skateboarding.
Hawk invited a select group of professional skateboarders to donate their personally ridden skateboards and submit the name of their favorite songs. Harper then sent those boards on to the appropriate artists with one simple message: “Please write the lyrics to this skater’s favorite song on his skateboard, and we’ll use it to create more skateparks for kids.” During the event, the duo unveiled the list of celeb participants in the 2015 Boards + Bands auction including Nyjah Huston + Metallica, Chris Cole + Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Riley Hawk + Ozzy Osbourne, Chaz Ortiz + Tom Petty, Paul Rodriguez + Jay Z, Tony Hawk + U2, Doug Saladino + Pearl Jam, and more.
The collection is available for auction at www.BoardsAndBands.org, with all proceeds benefitting the Tony Hawk Foundation, a charitable, non-profit organization that promotes and provides technical assistance and funds for high-quality skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States that promote healthy active lifestyles that enrich the lives of youth through skateboarding. Since launching the program in 2012, The Boards + Bands initiative has raised over $139,000 to benefit the Tony Hawk Foundation.
