Rodney Mullen

My hero is Rodney Mullen because of his humble attitude and his amazing way of freestyle skating. One day I was with my friends watching some skating videos, and they were all good but nothing spectacular, until we watched a video of Rodney Mullen doing some of the most amazing things with his skateboard that I have ever seen in my life! After watching that video he instantly became my idol and my hero.

Rodney Mullen has influenced my life in many ways. He has showed me to stick with something your good at, and to just be yourself by not try to copy what everyone else does. He has also showed me that hard work pays off because when he was a kid, and everybody else was watching T.V. or out partying, he was always out with his skateboard trying new tricks and then working hard to perfect them. And by going out and doing this every spare second he had, he became a very successful professional skateboarder.

Mullen, along with many other professional skateboarders have influenced and helped out many communities around the world. He has participated in charities, where he spent the day signing autographs, performing live skate demos, and giving away free accessories such as shirts,hats, and skateboards. Another way he has influenced communities is by giving young kids somebody to look up to and admire not only because of the way he skates, but also because of his kindness and the way he acts towards kids and adults. I especially like the way doesnt act like hes so much better than everyone else by talking to people down at their own level and not trying to make himself feel bigger. Also the way remains humble troughout all circumstances no matter if he wins or loses.

This man turned pro when he was thirteen. He started skateboarding on January 1st 1977 at the age of 10 after months of pleading to his father for a skateboard (his dad was a doctor and did'nt want him skating but after new years festivities his dad promist him a board and when he woke up could'nt go back on the promise) Much of the tricks we do on the streets today come to us courtesy of Rodney Mullen.In the 80's he skated for "Powell Peralta" as a member of the "Bones Brigade", where he performed smooth freestyle lines for thier many videos of that era. He also stared in 1988's hugely popular "Gleaming the Cube." During the 90's He skated for "Plan-b" and this is where he did his most technical and impressive tricks.Plan-b's videos were one of the best of the early 90's. This is when Rodney got his most "tech. eg." "1 1/2 kickflip to casper slide", "casper slide 360 flip out" and the ballet like freestyle opening to his section on "Second Hand Smoke".