Rodney Mullen

This is a recent photo of Rodney Mullen (http://www.rodneymullen.net/pictures/)

Rodney Mullen was born in Gainesville, Florida on August 17, 1966. At the age of ten he purchased his first skateboard. His father was opposed to letting him buy a skateboard and made a deal with young Rodney. The deal was that Rodney was allowed to skateboard until he hurt himself, then he would have to give it up. Rodney went to some competitions and was noticed by Bruce Walker. Rodney was sponsored by Walker Skateboards for a while. At the young age of thirteen, Rodney went professional. When he became a pro, he was sponsored by Powell Peralta’s Bones Brigade. While sponsored by Bones, Rodney Mullen was in five videos. In 1982 he was in “Skateboarding in the 80’s.” In 1984, he was in “Bones Brigade Video Show.” In 1985, he was in “Future Primitive”. In 1986, he was in “The Search for Animal Chin” and in 1988, he was in “Public Domain”.

Nine years after turning pro, Rodney left Bones for World Industries. At World Industries he was in another three videos: in 1989 it was “Rubbish Heap”, 1997 was “Rodney Mullen Versus Daewon Song” and in 1999 he was in “Round 2: Rodney Mullen Versus Daewon Song.” In between his skating for World Industries, he was sponsored by Plan B. During his time with Plan B, Rodney participated in four videos: 1992 “Questionable”, in 1993 “Virtual Reality”, in 1994 “Second Hand Smoke” and in 1997 “The Revolution.” The founder of Plan B, Mike Ternasky, pushed Rodney Mullen to street skate. In that time period, most skaters did tricks moving slowly and on flat ground. Mike Ternasky wanted Rodney to try out tricks going fast and using terrain like curbs and rails. Rodney Mullen became extremely good at this style of skating. Many tricks that street skaters do today were invented by Rodney Mullen, the most popular one being the “tre” flip (also known as a three-sixty flip).

This is a picture of one of the tricks he invented (http://www.rodneymullen.net/pictures/)

Many people say that Tony Hawk was the most inspirational skater, but I beg to differ. Sure, Tony increased the popularity of the sport, but Rodney Mullen actually improved it. What fun would skateboarding be without all the cool tricks he invented? He invented at least thirty-two different tricks. Rodney has created the way people skate today which makes him a huge hero to skaters. If you have ever seen Rodney skate, he makes you want to grab your board and go crazy. His skating style makes everything seem so amazing. Every time I see one of his videos I get a huge craving to skate. The ease at which he completes his tricks is insane. So is Tony Hawk really the most influential skater out there?

These are the types of tricks he is famous for. (http://www.rodneymullen.net/pictures/)

A hero in my mind is a kind person who is humble and cares for others. Sometimes a hero could also be distinguished by their actions. Rodney Mullen is a hero; that is the only way to classify him. He is a kind person who is never cocky. Rodney has improved and pushed skateboarding forward. Without him, kids would still be spinning around on slick pads. It is impressive in itself that he became a pro at age thirteen. Rodney has defied the odds of his parents oppressing his dream. Last of all, he has put out many inspirational videos that have given me and other kids ideas and motivation for skateboarding.