Birdhouse tour
Aaron ‘Jaws’ Homoki
Hey man, give us a little of your
background…
I started skating when I was 12. My older
brother got me into it. I’m from Phoenix,
Arizona. It doesn’t rain much out there, so
we had a lot of time to play outside and we
just would skate all the time.
I got some sponsors when I turned 17 and
then I was able to travel. My mom just
wanted me to graduate high school.
How long you been riding for Birdhouse?
As a professional, seven years, but in total
10 years.
How’s it been for you?
It’s really awesome. Those dudes are all
my best friends. I can call them at any time
about anything. I can sit in a van with them
for weeks on end and not get sick of them.
I think that since Tony has started to focus a
lot more on team, he’s now more involved.
We always just joke around. We call him
Dad and stuff, so, yeah, it really is like a big
family.
Was the first time encountering Tony
Hawk intimidating?
Totally. I got a random phone call one day
and I answered it and it was Tony Hawk. I
didn’t believe it at first. I thought someone
was f**king with me. I was like, “What the
f**k are you talking about?” He goes, “Oh, I
got your number from Steven Herring.” He
was the team manager at the time. From
there, I was like, “What the f**k?” Then went
on a trip with them. I was definitely star
struck at first.
You were what, 20 at the time?
£ Jaws // Backside Air
Yeah. We went on a trip to Australia and that
was the first time I met him. I just remember
we just went out to dinner. It took a little
while. To start with you’d be like, “Oh, damn,
it’s f**king Tony Hawk,” but after a while, it’s
just like, “Oh, it’s Tony. Big Tone.”
Now you’re just calling him Dad!
Yeah, yeah, dude. It’s so weird, man. It’s so
cool. He really is the man. He’s one amazing
human. t