San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Catching up with Tony Hawk and family at home in Encinitas.
Early last year, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and his wife, Catherine Goodman, were having dinner at the Oscars. Now they’re enjoying quality time on RV trips with their children.
In early July, Tony Hawk and Catherine Goodman rounded up their six children — Riley Hawk, 28, Spencer Hawk, 21, Miles Goodman, 21, Keegan Hawk, 19, Calvin Goodman, 18, and Kadence Hawk, 12 — for a road trip across the western United States in a recreational vehicle.
“In the beginning of the pandemic, it became pretty clear that the kids were so desperate to get out,” Goodman said. The twoweek road trip began in San Diego County and consisted of stops in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota and Colorado — all states that the family had never explored.
Hawk and Goodman, who married in 2015, are no strangers to travel. Pre-pandemic, Hawk, a professional skateboarder, would spend half the year traveling for work, which included attending skate competitions and fundraising events and shooting commercials, and Goodman, a theater and film producer, would often join.
Quarantine offered family members, who are usually dispersed across different states, the opportunity to be under one roof at their home in Encinitas. “The pandemic has granted us more time and pushed a much more consistent schedule for us,” said Hawk, noting that his previous extensive schedule meant always being on call and flying to different places at the drop of a hat. “It was all a little too hectic, and it was really hard to carve out quality time with the kids.”
With the increased time spent at home, Hawk and Goodman have witnessed an improvement in their relationships with their children and also gained a lucid understanding of their interests and needs.
Hawk, 52, is especially grateful for the extra time with Kadence, who is turning 13 in June. “I didn’t know how challenged she was, and I probably wouldn’t have known the depths of it had I not been home,” he said.
Stronger sibling bond
Being home together has also made the couple more pleasantly aware of the strength in their children’s relationships with one another. Goodman, who has two children from a previous marriage, and Hawk, who has four children from previous relationships, value the compatibility of their mixed family, especially during such restricted times.
“It’s been refreshing to really realize how well all of our kids get along and how great they are together. Not all siblings have these dynamic bonds — especially stepsiblings — so we’re thankful for that,” Goodman said.
During a time when many families have struggled with the chaos of working and taking classes under the same roof, Hawk and Goodman have found grace in their 5,080-square-foot oasis. At different points, three of their children contracted COVID-19. Luckily, the size of their house allowed everyone else in the family to spread out and avoid getting sick.
The family was able to have Christmas dinner together on their large outdoor patio and still remain socially distant while two of their children both tested positive for COVID-19. “Christmas was especially challenging, making sure that nobody felt left out even if we couldn’t be near each other physically. Cathy and I were a good team as co-parents, dividing responsibilities and making time for each other amid the chaos,” Hawk said.
“Caring for my sons while they were in isolation in my home had its own strange issues. Not being able to be close with them and being in a constant state of emotional checkins, food delivery and contamination management was a new and unexpected role as a mom,” said Goodman. “I am just endlessly grateful that they were fine. Mostly the experience made me very aware of how hard this must be in homes where families have to share small spaces, plus the countless inequities that this virus highlights.”
Busier than ever
Although they have more time to spend at home, Hawk and Goodman are busier than ever, with Hawk filming commercials; fundraising for his foundation, the Skatepark Project; serving as a board member with his wife for Skateistan, a nonprofit organization that empowers children through skateboarding and education in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa; and working on various projects for film and television. Together, the couple are working on “Slam,” a Broadway musical with live skating that will debut once the theater industry reopens. “The most surprising aspect right now is that my schedule is more busy than it’s ever been, but I am sleeping at home,” Hawk said.
Just 10 miles away from their home in Encinitas is Birdhouse, Hawk’s personal skate ramp. Since doing most of his work from home, Hawk has been able to spend more afternoons skating with his kids and learning new tricks.
“I feel like I’ve gotten my groove and rhythm back with skating, and I’m able to explore tricks that I used to do, that I used to take for granted, that I haven’t done in a long time,” Hawk said. “Before, I had to find these windows of time to skate and it was much more forced.”
Goodman, on the other hand, has found more time for wellness, which means more morning jogs and workouts on an exercise bike. There is also a new infrared sauna in the backyard, assembled by their children, of course.
“I try to run every day, but it ends up being more like three to four times a week, and I try to eat reasonably well,” she said. “Wellness for me has been more about making sure everyone is doing OK emotionally and being there for everyone with whatever the changing needs of the day are.”
Time together and apart
Mellow time together has been a win-win for Hawk and Goodman, who previously spent a lot of time together, but via extensive planning and business trips. “We’ve learned that we can rely on routine and that we don’t have to force these windows of being alone,” said Hawk, who has realized he is able to be effective and financially successful without having to travel as much.
“Going forward, I’m not going to jump on every single flight across the world to go do something,” he said. “Instead, I’ll consider what else can be done at home that will bring just as much to our family.”
Many couples have struggled with the amplified shift toward limited privacy since being quarantined indoors together, but Hawk and Goodman have learned to prioritize time together just as much as time apart. “It’s easy to become hyperaware of everything going on. ‘What are you doing? Why aren’t you paying attention to me?’ So it’s important now more than ever that we respect each other’s personal time,” Hawk said.
Holt wrote this for The New York Times.
“It’s been refreshing to really realize how well all of our kids get along and how great they are together. Not all siblings have these dynamic bonds — especially stepsiblings — so we’re thankful for that.”
Catherine Goodman