"I honestly have lost a lot of business recently. I do a lot of skate events and a lot of speaking engagements. And really a lot of that's my bread and butter. So, they've all been obviously canceled," stated Hawk, who spoke to CNBC on the phone from his San Diego, California home.
" just trying to figure out new ways to stay in business. I mean, just in terms of revenue streams or opportunities, different collaborations with brands maybe that I had never worked with before and still trying to plan for the future," Hawk said. "If you were going to be identified as a skater, you wanted to wear Vans, and skating came to define my life. And so through my early years, there was only Vans. And through the years, obviously I went to different shoe sponsors and different connections. But I always respected Vans for staying true to the core and skating no matter what," he told CNBC by phone.
Hawk is also involved in Foot the Bill, an initiative set up by Vans that sees small skate stores create custom-designed shoes, with the footwear company letting those businesses keep the net proceeds up to a total contribution of $4 million. He nominated San Diego store Carlsbad Pipelines, his first skate shop sponsor, as a recipient.