MCDONOUGH, Ga. — A McDonough man has been skating for 23 years, but he never imagined his life's passion would lead to this.
Decades after Mike Manion started skateboarding in Henry County, his dream became a reality when he was picked as the 2023 Tony Hawk Skatepark Hero -- a competition that ran from March through July.
“You always dream about this -- like how cool would that be,” Manion said.
Manion competed against 60,000 other people from across the country.
“I posted every day, once a day, with skate clips and links with how to vote for me and things like that,” Manion said.
While Manion was surrounded by family and friends on July 28, he received the news of his life. He was officially announced the winner.
“We had a whole building full of people just screaming and jumping up and down,” Manion said.
Manion not only won the title, but also $10,000 and even a skating session in September with the legend Tony Hawk himself. Hawk even sent a video congratulatory message to Manion.
“To actually hear him acknowledge you is pretty crazy," Manion said. "He’s definitely a hero -- Tony Hawk is the man."
Through donations from voters, the Skatepark Hero competition raised more than $700,000 for Tony Hawk’s Skatepark Project which builds new skateparks in underserved communities.
Manion knows firsthand the importance of access to local skate parks.
“Once you put a park in a community, even the people who aren’t into skateboarding they start getting into, it they start coming together," he said. "Before you know it, you have a huge community of people doing it."
Now, Manion explains he hopes to bring others into the skating community -- to make skating even stronger here in Georgia.
“I just want to make sure I do the right thing and give back,” he said.
Manion said his goal is to open a new skatepark in his hometown of McDonough. There are some Skatepark Project parks already established, like one in the Old Fourth Ward. For more information click here.
To learn more about the Skatepark Hero competition, visit the link here.