Tony Hawk asks fans to text him and is actually replying
Influencers have been changing how the public can interact with celebrities over the past couple of years in interesting ways and Tony Hawk is testing out a new service letting him get more personal with skaters.
The skateboarding legend tweeted out a phone number last night urging fans to text him and people were surprised with the answers they were getting.
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It started with Hawk posting the phone number along with a video of him skateboarding and explaining that it isn’t a scam.
Text me at +1 (760) 492-6712
(for real; it’s me)— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) October 18, 2019
It’s not a scam, and I promise not to share your info. Let me explain while I skate: pic.twitter.com/ORE5A5vKuq
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) October 19, 2019
People were obviously very skeptical at first about whether Hawk would actually be the one responding considering he has over 4 million followers.
Someone quickly pointed out he’s using a service called Community that allows influencers to see texts from fans without giving away their actual phone number.
Just an FYI, this appears to be part of a new influencer communication tool called Community that is in early access, which means that while it’s not his real number, it’s legit in that he’s testing new ways to communicate with fans: https://t.co/Y5JH3sjhw5
— Dylan Martin (@DylanLJMartin) October 18, 2019
According to Wired, Ashton Kutcher tested the service out back in January. When someone texts the number provided, they’re hit with an autoreply prompting them to click a link to subscribe to this service and be able to receive texts from the influencer.
Thanks lol pic.twitter.com/PmHlEeXszs
— Jake Holley (@JakeHolleyMedia) October 18, 2019
bummer i told a bot about my first kickflip and what it meant to me.
— KJ (@goingbykate) October 18, 2019
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The skate legend really was responding to people though. Take a look for some of the responses he sent out below.
Was just trying to have a human connection. ? pic.twitter.com/4wDbJYyRgU
— Mike Walsh (@WalshMike) October 18, 2019
Your message got buried in my text avalanche so here is the answer: yeah it’s super weird, especially coming from a sport where there was no chance of fame or fortune when I started. It’s also weird to put your phone number out there and receive 20k message within a few hours…
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) October 19, 2019
The debate is settled! pic.twitter.com/7Q710UnQ3O
— JUSTxUS (@JUSTxUS310) October 18, 2019
Seems legit. pic.twitter.com/cgw0YBXGS2
— moira (@MoiraDahm) October 18, 2019
Others had a ton of fun with trolling Hawk but it doesn’t look like he responded to those ones.
— nadia (@adiosnadios) October 18, 2019
Dear Nigerian Prince, please give Tony Hawk his phone back.?
— Alexander Malesh (@Malestro) October 18, 2019
— ?yeehaw adam? (@fobicecreamcone) October 18, 2019
Have you tried texting Tony Hawk? Tell us your story in the comments below.