The world-champion freestyle skateboarder and the man who brought the ollie - the trick that revolutionised the sport by taking it from the ground to the air - to street skating shares the history of skateboarding, as he tells the dramatic story of his life.

At the age of 13, Rodney took the freestyle skating world by storm. He won 35 world titles in less than five years. But through it all, his father looked down on his son's love for skating and pressured him to walk away from the sport and leave behind his fans and status as the most famous skateboarder of his era. After years of stress and conflict, Rodney gave in and promised his father he'd quit for good. But by the time he finally broke free from his suffocating and abusive home life, the popularity of freestyle had waned and given way to vert and street styles. So Rodney picked up his board and started from scratch. With the help of mentor Mike Ternansky, Rodney used his freestyle background to usher in a whole new era of street skating.

Today Rodney is more popular than ever. The videos in his series Rodney Versus Daewon are among the most popular skateboard videos ever produced. He won the 2002 Transworld Skateboarding readers' choice award for favourite street skater and is the most popular character on the top-selling Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video games.

The world's leading professional skateboarder and a hero to thousands of Generation Xers, Tony Hawk relives a lifetime of incredible highs and lows in the sport. Tony Hawk, aka The Birdman, has won more than 60 contests, invented close to 50 new manoeuvres and made skateboarding history at the 1999 international championships by landing the first ever 900 degree turn. A veteran of some 20 TV commercials for clients such as Gap and Disney, he is one of the leading heroes of modern-day youth culture. Growing up in Serra Mesa, California, Tony was a hyperactive, tantrum-throwing child, whose only outlet was through boarding. Initially mocked for being an unorthodox 'circus skater', before long the doubters were learning the tricks he had pioneered. Tony had invented a new style of skateboarding. His life has been a rollercoaster of incredible highs and spectacular crashes. Tony's quest to land the fabled 900 resulted in broken bones and spells of unconsciousness too numerous to mention. A millionaire at the age of 18 in the 1980s on the back of the boom in skateboarding, Tony fell into near destitution almost overnight when the fad died away. However he successfully reinvented himself as an extreme boarder in the 1990s and now owns two multi-million dollar companies, Birdhouse Projects and Hawk Clothing, has just produced the bestselling cult skateboarding movie 'The End' and released his own PlayStation game. In Hawk Tony goes behind the scenes of competitions, demos and movies and shares the less glamorous demands of being a skateboarder. With brutal honesty he recalls the stories of love, loss, embarrassing 80s clothes and determination that have shaped his life. Depsite the many ups and downs of his career, Tony Hawk's dedication has made him a god to generations of skateboarders and countless other Generation Xers. His story is a touching tale of perseverance and determination.

Three days before the 1969 Super Bowl, Joe Namath promised the nation that he would lead the New York Jets to an 18-point underdog victory against the seemingly invincible Baltimore Colts. When the final whistle blew, that promise had been kept. Namath was instantly heralded as a gridiron god, while his rugged good looks, progressive views on race, and boyish charm quickly transformed him - in an era of raucous rebellion, shifting social norms, and political upheaval - into both a bona fide celebrity and a symbol of the commercialization of pro sports. By 26, with a championship title under his belt, he was quite simply the most famous athlete alive. Although his legacy has long been cemented in the history books, beneath the eccentric yet charismatic personality was a player plagued by injury and addiction, both sex and substance. When failing knees permanently derailed his career, he turned to Hollywood and endorsements, not to mention a tumultuous marriage and fleeting bouts of sobriety, to try and find purpose. Now 74, Namath is ready to open up, brilliantly using the four quarters of Super Bowl III as the narrative backbone to a life that was anything but charmed. As much about football and fame as about addiction, fatherhood, and coming to terms with our own mortality, All the Way finally reveals the man behind the icon.

"I guarantee it." Three days before the now-legendary 1969 Super Bowl III, quarterback Joe Namath promised the nation that he could lead the New York Jets to a clear underdog victory against the seemingly invincible Baltimore Colts. In what has been remembered as perhaps the biggest upset in football history, that game catapulted the young superstar to not only football immortality but also into a stratosphere of celebrity the likes of which only a few athletes have ever achieved. But before all that, 'Broadway Joe' was just Joe, the small-town kid from Beaver Falls, PA with an arm so impressive that it caught the attention of University of Alabama's Bear Bryant. Following a knockout four-year run at Alabama, Namath was ceremoniously courted by every professional football team. Yet it was the New York Jets who offered a then-unheard-of figure, $427,000, to bring football's Golden Boy to the upstart AFL. In an era of raucous rebellion, shifting social norms, and political upheaval, Namath's roughish charm quickly became symbolic of the commercialization of pro sports, while his progressive views on race further pioneered integration on the gridiron. By 26, with a Super Bowl title under his belt, Namath was quite simply the most famous athlete alive. Although his legacy has been cemented in the history books, underneath the eccentric yet charismatic personality was a player plagued by injury and addiction, both sex and substance. Doctors treated him with a stiff cocktail of painkillers, some strong enough to literally knock out a horse, and Namath matched these prescriptions with his own medication, Johnnie Walker, which fueled countless nights that began alongside the likes of Sinatra and Mantle, and ended in bed with the moment's most fashionable model or actress. When his injuries permanently derailed his career, he turned to Hollywood and endorsements, not to mention a tumultuous marriage with Deborah Mays and fleeting bouts of sobriety. Now 74 years old and dry, Namath is finally ready to pull back the curtain on a life that might have seemed charmed, but in reality was anything but. Rich with personal history, private insights, and deep reflection, Namath is prepared to reveal the man behind the icon in this memoir that is as much about football and fame as it is about addiction, fatherhood, and coming to terms with one's own mortality.

Test Your Tony IQ ...

Don't worry, this isn't some busted quiz that counts for anything. It's a simple true or false test about the most famous skateboarder in the world. There's a lot about Tony Hawk's life that might surprise you. He didn't skate out of the crib landing every trick he attempted. He had tons of ups and downs on and off his skateboard -- sometimes he landed and sometimes he slammed. Here he takes you behind the scenes of the skateboard world and describes what it's like to be Tony Hawk: Professional Skateboarder.

True or False

a. Tony Hawk ate chewing gum from between Steve Caballero's toes.

b. As a child, Tony was so competitive that he pelted his mother with tennis balls in order to win a tennis match.

c. Tony failed to land a trick for more than fifteen years.

d. Tony was such a spastic nightmare as a child that he was expelled from his preschool.

e. Tony was such a small kid that he looked three grades younger and was often picked on by bullies.