1. REDIRECT Tony Hawks

Tony Hawks
Born	Antony Gordon Hawksworth (1960-05-12) 12 May 1960 (age 52) Brighton, Sussex, England
Other names	Tony Hawks
Occupation	comedian, author
Known for	Morris Minor and the Majors, Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime), Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, Round Ireland with a Fridge
Website
http://www.tony-hawks.com/

Antony Gordon Hawksworth, better known as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author.

Early life[link]

Born in Brighton in 1960,^[1] Hawks was educated at Brighton Hove and Sussex Grammar School (1971–76) (became Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College in 1975) and Brighton College (1976–78).^[2] He stated during an appearance on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue that he briefly attended the University of Manchester.

Career[link]

Hawks first attempted to break into show business as a serious singer-songwriter, but it was with a novelty record that he had his first brush with fame. As leader of the trio Morris Minor and the Majors, he reached number 4 in the UK charts with the Beastie Boys parody, Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime) in 1988. It went on to sell 220,000 copies, and was number one in Australia. The follow-up, a pastiche of Stock Aitken Waterman called This Is the Chorus, fared less well.

A TV series followed from this, Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors, written by and starring Hawks. In it the fictional bandleader attempted to maintain his pop career while running a garage. It ran for one series in 1989.

Hawks performs stand-up comedy, and is a regular on TV and radio panel games in the UK, including I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Just a Minute, The Unbelievable Truth and Have I Got News for You, although he first came to prominence as one of two resident performers — the other was Jo Brand — on semi-successful BBC monologue show The Brain Drain.

He has also appeared in Red Dwarf in a number of supporting roles, on several occasions as a voice artist for intelligent machines. Hawks provided the voice of a vending machine in "Future Echoes" and "Waiting for God" and the voice of a suitcase in "Stasis Leak", and appeared onscreen as The Guide in "Better Than Life", The Compere in "Backwards", and Caligula in "Meltdown". On the 29th May 2009, Tony featured in an episode of Carpool, with his Red Dwarf co-star Robert Llewellyn.

He also provided the voice-over for a restaurant ad in the episode "Me²", although this role was uncredited. In the first few seasons of "Red Dwarf," Hawks performed a warm-up act for the live audience before taping began to get them laughing. His continuous presence during the early seasons of the series led to his being nicknamed "The Fifth Dwarfer"^{[citation needed]}. More recently he has appeared in the television series Grumpy Old Men and a contestant on the BBC quiz show School's Out.

In November 2010 he was a guest on a number of TV and radio programmes to discuss the film version of Round Ireland with a Fridge including Simon Mayo's Radio 2 show, Loose Ends, Radio Wales and Radio Scotland. He was also a contestant on a special edition of Mastermind for Children in Need and featured as part of Comic Relief 2011.

In March 2011 Tony travelled to Japan to appear at the Okinawa International Film Festival where Round Ireland with a Fridge was nominated for Best Comedy.

In the Autumn of 2011 Tony completed his first national theatre tour for a decade, taking his one man show Random Fun to 30 towns and cities around the UK. He was also a guest on many TV and Radio shows during the tour including BBC Breakfast and The Wright Stuff.

His new feature film version of Playing the Moldovans at Tennis will be released in spring 2012.

Books[link]

Hawks has written five books:

• Round Ireland with a Fridge: His first book was an account of his attempt to hitchhike around Ireland with a fridge to win a bar bet. It sold over 800,000 copies. (ISBN 0-09-186777-0)

• Playing the Moldovans at Tennis: His second book, also the result of a drunken bet (with the comedian Arthur Smith), this time involved an attempt to beat each member of the Moldova national football team in a game of tennis, based on the theory that people good at one sport aren't necessarily good at others. (ISBN 0-09-187456-4)

• One Hit Wonderland: His third book, describes his attempt, over 10 years after his first, to write a second hit song. This culminates in him performing on Albanian television with Norman Wisdom and Tim Rice (ISBN 0-09-188210-9)

• A Piano in the Pyrenees: The Ups and Downs of an Englishman in the French Mountains: An account of his purchase of a house in the Pyrenees in the south of France, after deciding that the two things he wanted in life were to meet his soul mate, and to purchase an "idyllic house abroad somewhere abroad". (ISBN 0-09-190267-3)^[3]

• The Fridge Hiker's Guide to Life

Hawks has also contributed to the collection The Weekenders.

Influences[link]

Hawks chose The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle as the book he would take with him to a desert island.^[4]

Film adaptations[link]

The full-length feature film version of his book Round Ireland with a Fridge, starring Tony, Josie Lawrence, Ed Byrne and Sean Hughes, was released in Autumn 2010. Filming on the follow-up, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, with Steven Frost, Angus Deayton, Morwenna Banks and Laura Solon, has just^[when?] been completed.^{[citation needed]}

Other activities[link]

Tony Hawks donated half of the royalties from his book Playing the Moldovans at Tennis to a trust fund for Moldova,^[5] which was used to open the Hippocrates Centre, a medical centre that provides rehabilitative therapy for disabled children from socially vulnerable families. Hawks continues to support Hippocrates through fundraising and personal involvement.

Hawks is the co-founder and public face of the "Tennis for Free" campaign which aims to make Britain's existing municipal tennis facilities available to all.^[6]

Hawks is currently collaborating with Chesney Hawkes on various songs available from a MySpace website.

He is frequently confused with Tony Hawk, largely because the latter's video game franchise uses the possessive apostrophe ("Tony Hawk's"). Hawks maintains a list of emails intended for the skateboarder and his mischievous responses to them^[7] on his website. On 2 January 2008 he appeared on an edition of Celebrity Mastermind, with Tony Hawk as his chosen specialised subject.^[8] Hawks noted that his correspondents "might be able to do backside varials but they can't spell to save their lives."^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tony-Hawks.com (Official Website)
• Tony Hawks' Twitter
• Download Tony Hawks' music free
• Tennis For Free website
• Tony Hawks and Chesney Hawkes MySpace page
• Round Ireland With A Fridge
• YouTube interview with Tony Hawks

Tony Hawk

Hawk in November 2006
Personal information
Full name	Anthony Frank Tony Hawk
Nickname(s)	The Birdman
Born	(1968-05-12) May 12, 1968 (age 44) Carlsbad, California, United States
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Skateboarding
Medal record Summer X Games medal record Competitor for  United States Gold 1995 Rhode Island Vert Gold 1997 San Diego Vert Gold 1997 San Diego Vert Doubles Gold 1998 San Diego Vert Doubles Gold 1999 San Francisco Vert Doubles Gold 1999 San Francisco Vert Best Trick Gold 2000 San Francisco Vert Doubles Gold 2001 Philadelphia Vert Doubles Gold 2002 Philadelphia Vert Doubles Silver 1995 Rhode Island Park Silver 1996 Rhode Island Vert Silver 2001 Philadelphia Vert Best Trick Bronze 1998 San Diego Vert Bronze 1999 San Francisco Vert

Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision. He is widely considered one of the most successful and influential pioneers of modern vertical skateboarding.^[1]

Raised in San Diego, California, Hawk was described as being "hyperactive" as a child. His parents supported his skateboarding because it served as an outlet for his excessive energy, and as Hawk's skills developed, he became a professional skateboarder at age fourteen. In 1999, he became the first skater to land a 900. In 2002, he created the Boom Boom HuckJam, an extreme sports exhibition and tour which launched in Las Vegas.

Throughout his career, Hawk has made numerous appearances in films and other media, as well as his own series of video games. He has also been involved in various philanthropic activities including his own Tony Hawk Foundation which helps build skateparks in underprivileged areas, and also including collaborations with other athletes in the charity Athletes for Hope.

Early life[link]

Hawk was born in Carlsbad, California, to, Frank Peter Rupert Hawk. ^[2][3] When Hawk was young, he was described as being "hyperactive,"^[3] and his mother says that he was "so hard on himself and expected himself to do so many things."^[1] One time, Tony struck out in baseball and was so distraught that he hid in a ravine and had to be "physically coaxed out" by his father. His frustration with himself was so harsh that his parents had him psychologically evaluated at school. The results were that Tony was "gifted," and school advisors recommended placing him in advanced classes.^[1]

Hawk attended Jean Farb Middle School from 1980 to 1981, and recently went back there for the show "Homecoming" where he set up a ramp and did a demonstration.

He turned pro by the age of 14^[1] and was the National Skateboard Association world champion for 12 consecutive years.

The 900[link]

On July 27, 1999, Hawk was the first skater to land a 900. He successfully landed the trick, which involves completing two-and-a-half revolutions with the skateboard, on the eleventh attempt. After completing the trick, he commented, "This is the best day of my life."^[4] Nearly 12 years later Hawk was still able to land his famous 900 and posted a video of the trick via his Twitter account stating "I'm 42 and I did a 900 today."^[5]

Endorsements[link]

Boom Boom HuckJam[link]

In 1998, Tony Hawk started freestyle motocross, skateboarding, and BMX with a show in Las Vegas and then on to 31 cities around the USA and eventually to Six Flags amusement parks.^[6]

Video Game Series[link]

A video game series based on his skateboarding debuted in 1999. Since then, the series has spawned 16 titles, including main series titles, spin-offs, and repackages. The latest game of the series is the Tony Hawk: Ride, which involves riding on a skateboard-shaped controller.

Hawk's role in the series was usurped by customizable player characters in later installments,^[7] but he has remained a prominent character. In the 2003 game Tony Hawk's Underground, he is a minor non-player character whom the player meets in Tampa, Florida and skates against. Impressed with the player's skills, Hawk grants them entry into a skate competition.^[8] He later appears in Moscow to teach them the "360 Varial Heelflip Lien" move.^[9] Hawk and other skaters are briefly playable near the end of the game when they skate in a promotional video for the player's skate team,^[10] and in all gameplay modes except the story mode.^[11] He appeared as a kid in the Backyard Sports series Backyard Skateboarding.

Amusement Park Ride[link]

A series of amusement park rides known as Tony Hawk's Big Spin were built in three Six Flags parks in 2007 and 2008. The ride was originally billed as the "total Tony Hawk experience" and was designed to have the look and feel of a giant red-and-black skatepark. It offered a full "extreme sports" experience, with monitors in the queue lines displaying highlights of the history of action sports and a large spinning Tony Hawk figure crowning the ride. The ride was later demolished to make way for a new ride known as Superman: Ultimate Flight (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom) announced to be open in Spring 2012. Additionally, a water park ride called Tony Hawk's Halfpipe was opened at Six Flags America in Bowie, MD.

Film and television appearances[link]

In 1986, Tony Hawk was a featured skateboarder and skater-double for Josh Brolin in the movie Thrashin'. In 1989, he appeared as a skateboarder in Gleaming the Cube. In 2002, he appeared in Neal H. Moritzs's and Christopher Gilcrest's film xXx playing the role of one of Xander Cages stuntman friends, and later in the movie, a skateboarder at a party. In 2004 he played himself in the Australian skateboarding movie Deck Dogz. In 2006, Tony Hawk appeared in a cameo on the film Drake & Josh Go Hollywood as himself; when Drake & Josh steal his car to escape from two crooks with the Geo (iPods) that carry illegal information for counterfeiting money. Tony Hawk also asks for the cops to give Drake & Josh a police escort to Sunset Studios, for a performance on TRL. Hawk has had a cameo in the movie, The New Guy. Hawk appeared in Jackass: The Movie with Mat Hoffman and Bam Margera, skateboarding in a fat suit and Jackass 2, while skateboarding through an obstacle course. Tony appears in the film following the 2006 Gumball Rally, 3000 Miles, again with Bam Margera. He also plays the police officer who arrests Ryan Dunn in the movie Haggard: The Movie. Hawk also made a brief cameo appearance in Lords Of Dogtown as an astronaut, where he is shown comically falling off the skateboard as he is a "rookie". He played himself in an episode of Rocket Power.

Hawk was featured as an extra in the "Weird Al" Yankovic video "Smells like Nirvana". He can be seen sitting in the bleachers during the crowd sweep near Dick Van Patten. He also made a cameo appearance in the Simple Plan music video for "I'm Just a Kid", he can be seen, in a crowd, watching kids at a high school skating..

On television, he has also appeared in Action (TV series), What I Like About You, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, The Tom Green Show, The Naked Brothers Band and Zeke and Luther, So Random, and All That. Hawk was a guest on the kid's show on Nickelodeon, Yo Gabba Gabba.^[12] In 2000, he played himself in Max Steel. He also guest voiced on The Simpsons episode "Barting Over", where he played himself, along with fellow San Diegans Blink-182. In the episode, Hawk lends Homer a new board from his brand where complete rookies are able to perform at the top levels. He ends up having a comical play off with him after Homer begins to show him up. On the PBS Kids show Cyberchase, he guest starred as Slider's long-lost father, Coop. In the CSI: Miami episode "Game Over" he played a game programmer who was murdered. In 2008, he played on Million Dollar Password. Hawk also played on Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader. Tony Hawk helped design the world famous Canvey Island skate park in 1982 and has hosted Cartoon Network's "Hall of Game" sports award show on February 25, 2011. Hawk was also on the Live-Action/Animated Talk Show Take Two With Phineas and Ferb. Hawk appeared on the internet cooking show Epic Meal Time on October 28, 2011 to celebrate the show's one year anniversary, where he can be seen in the final scene eating a deep-fried pizza cake. He also guest starred on the ABC comedy, Last Man Standing. He also played a skater in Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol.

Skate videos[link]

This section requires expansion.

• 1984: The Bones Brigade Video Show (Powell-Peralta)
• 1985: Future Primitive (Powell-Peralta)
• 1987: The Search for Animal Chin (Powell-Peralta)
• 1988: Public Domain (Powell-Peralta)
• 1989: Ban This (Powell-Peralta)
• 1992: Feasters (Birdhouse)
• 1992: Untitled (Birdhouse)
• 1993: Ravers (Birdhouse)
• 1998: The End (Birdhouse)
• 2001: One Step Beyond (Adio)
• 2007: The Beginning (Birdhouse)

Personal life[link]

Hawk with Lhotse Merriam in 2007.

Hawk married Cindy Dunbar in April 1990.^[13] They had a son, Riley Hawk (born December 6, 1992) whom they named for one of Hawk's ancestors.^[14] Riley also skates for Lakai Limited Footwear and Baker Skateboards.^[15] The couple divorced in 1993.^[3] Hawk married Erin Lee in 1996. They had two sons, Spencer (born March 26, 1999) and Keegan (born July 18, 2001). Lee and Hawk divorced in 2004.^[3] Hawk married Lhotse Merriam on January 12, 2006, on the island of Tavarua, Fiji.^[16] The couple's first child, a daughter named Kadence Clover Hawk, was born on June 30, 2008. The couple announced their divorce on February 7, 2011.^[17]

Tony launched the Tony Hawk Foundation, which has given away more than $3.4 million to help build well over 400 skateparks around the U.S.A. The Foundation supports projects in low income areas and helps underprivileged kids. In 2007, Hawk, Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Mia Hamm, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded the charity Athletes for Hope^[18] which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and aims to inspire all people to volunteer and support their communities.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tony Hawk

• Official website
• tonyhawkfoundation.org
• Tony's Birdhouse Skateboards website
• Tony Hawk at the Internet Movie Database

Bob Burnquist
Burnquist skating in Brazil, 2008
Born	Robert Dean Silva Burnquist (1976-10-10) October 10, 1976 (age 35) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Citizenship	United States and Brazil
Occupation	Skateboarder Co-owner of Burnquist Organics
Years active	1992–present
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Spouse	Verônica Nachard
Children	2, Lotus O'Brien Silva Burnquist, Jasmyn
Website
BobBurnquist.com

Summer X Games medal record
Competitor for  Brazil
Gold	2000 San Francisco	Vert Best Trick
Gold	2001 Philadelphia	Vert
Gold	2003 Los Angeles	Vert Doubles
Gold	2005 Los Angeles	Vert Best Trick
Gold	2007 Los Angeles	Skateboard Big Air
Gold	2008 Los Angeles	Skateboard Big Air
Gold	2010 Los Angeles	Skateboard Big Air Rail Jam
Gold	2011 Los Angeles	Skateboard Big Air
Silver	2002 Philadelphia	Vert
Silver	2002 Philadelphia	Vert Doubles
Silver	2006 Los Angeles	Vert
Silver	2009 Los Angeles	Skateboard Big Air
Silver	2009 Los Angeles	Skateboard Big Air Rail Jam
Silver	2010 Los Angeles	Skateboard Big Air
Bronze	1997 San Diego	Vert
Bronze	1998 San Diego	Vert Doubles
Bronze	1999 San Francisco	Vert Best Trick
Bronze	2001 Philadelphia	Vert Best Trick
Bronze	2006 Los Angeles	Vert Best Trick
Bronze	2010 Los Angeles	Vert Best Trick

Robert Dean Silva Burnquist (born October 10, 1976), better known as Bob Burnquist, is a Brazilian professional skateboarder.^[1][2][3] In 2010 he became the first skateboarder to land a fakie to fakie 900. This also makes Burnquist the 5th person in history to have ever landed the 900.

Background[link]

Bob Burnquist was born in Rio de Janeiro to a Swedish-American father and a Brazilian mother.^[3] He became adept at skateboarding in São Paulo. As an adult he emigrated to North America; he holds dual citizenship in Brazil and the U.S.

Career[link]

Burnquist's biggest success to date came at the vert contest at the 2001 X-Games. Before his final run (the last run of the event) he was sitting in second place behind two-time defending champion Bucky Lasek. Burnquist produced a flawless run, including multiple tricks that had never been seen before and, as a result, were unnamed. During the run, commentator Tony Hawk went hoarse and nearly lost his voice while screaming in disbelief. Burnquist was rewarded with a 98, the second highest score ever given in any X-Games skateboarding event, behind only Bucky Lasek's score of a 98.50 the year before.^[4]

Burnquist's specialties are in switch stance skateboarding and creating innovative vert tricks. He has always tried to find new ways to make his tricks more creative and more difficult. He has a signature trick called "one-footed smith grind". Burnquist has also been featured in the hit video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and appeared in all of its sequels with the exception of Pro Skater 3, due to license restrictions as a result of his appearing in another skating game, X-Games Skateboarding, during that year. He returned as a featured character in the series starting again with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 and has since appeared in all the series' games following that.

In 2004, Burnquist made a guest appearance as himself on the popular TV series, Kim Possible and also won a gold medal in the 2005 X-Games Best Trick vert contest.

Burnquist is the only skater to go over a loop ramp with a gap in it (OP King Of Skate). Not only was the loop gapped, but Burnquist also did the gap switch. He is also the first skater to go through a loop while riding switch stance, and the first to go all the way around a full pipe just by pumping up to speed inside it. In 2000, Burnquist won the X-Games' best trick contest, with his famous fakie 5-0 with a fakie Kickflip off of the grind bar. He created a trick called "Burntwist", which is in the Tony Hawk's series.

Burnquist completed a BASE jump after attempting a 50-50 into the Grand Canyon. The first attempt nearly cost Burnquist his life after he missed the rail and fell out of control before regaining himself and successfully deploying his parachute. After some adjustments to the take-off ramp his second attempt went off flawlessly. This stunt was shown in an episode of the television show Stunt Junkies.

He formerly lived with professional skateboarder Jen O'Brien, and their daughter Lotus. He now lives with Veronica Nachard and their daughter Jasmyn (born 2007) in Vista, California, where he has a world-renowned vert ramp in his backyard.^[5] This ramp has been skated by dozens of famous skateboarders, including Colin McKay, Tony Hawk, Rune Glifberg Bucky Lasek, and Lincoln Ueda, and has been featured in hundreds of magazines and videos, including Tony Hawk's Trick Tips and Thrasher Magazine.^[6] Burnquist's latest addition to his backyard skate-park is one of the world's few permanent Mega Ramps.^[7]

He had also started the Bob Burnquist Foundation to bring knowledge about organic farming and gardening to schools, and was one of the founders of the Action Sports Environmental Coalition, a nonprofit organization that brings ecological awareness to skateboarders, surfers and BMXers.^[8]

Videography[link]

Burnquist has been featured in many videos including:

• Es Menikmati

• Anti Hero's Self Entitled Video "Anti Hero"

• Anti Hero's First Video "F***tards"

• The Firm's "Can't Stop"

• Flip's "Extremely Sorry"

• Viva La Bam

Burnquist was featured in a commercial for Aero choclate bars.

Contest history[link]

• 1st in 2011 X Games Big Air
• 1st in 2010 X Games Big Air Rail Jam
• 3rd in 2010 X Games Vert Best Trick
• 2nd in 2010 X Games Big Air
• 2nd in 2009 X Games Big Air
• 3rd in 2009 Maloof Money Cup
• 2nd in 2009 X Games Big Air Rail Jam
• 1st in 2008 X Games Big Air
• 1st in 2007 X Games Big Air
• 3rd in 2006 X Games Big Air
• 1st in 2006 The Coolio Games
• 1st in 2005 X Games Vert Best Trick
• 1st in 2003 X Games vert doubles (with Bucky Lasek)
• 2nd in 2002 X Games vert doubles (with Bucky Lasek)
• 1st in 2001 X Games vert
• 1st in 2001 Slam City Jam vert.
• 1st in 2000 X Games Vert Best Trick
• 1st in 2000 Slam City Jam vert.
• 1st in 1995 Slam City Jam vert.
• 4th in 1996 Gravity Games Jam vert.

References[link]

Rodney Mullen

Personal information
Birth name	Rodney Mullen
Born	(1966-08-17) August 17, 1966 (age 45) Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Website	Dwindle Distribution
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Skateboarding

John Rodney Mullen (born 17 August 1966) is a professional skateboarder who practices the disciplines of freestyle and street skateboarding. Mullen is credited with inventing numerous skateboarding tricks, including the kickflip, the heelflip, the impossible and the 360 flip.^[1] Mullen has appeared in a large volume of skateboarding videos and has co-authored an autobiography entitled The Mutt: How to Skateboard and Not Kill Yourself with Sean Mortimer (Mortimer also co-authored a Tony Hawk autobiography).^[2][3]

In a 2009 video Mullen sums up his passion for skateboarding:

I fell in love with skateboarding because it was individual. There were no teams, there were no captains... it was completely opposite of what I saw in so many sports: It was creative.^[4]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Mullen was born in Gainesville, Florida, United States (US), and began skateboarding at the age of ten after a neighbourhood friend introduced him to a skateboard. He promised his worried father, a dentist, that he would cease skateboarding the first time he became seriously injured. Mullen began practicing whilst wearing a complete pad setup, as part of the deal with his father, and spent time with his sister's surfer friends, who skateboarded on weekdays.^[5] Mullen subsequently became obsessed with the skateboard and practiced for many hours on a daily basis.

Skateboarding[link]

In 1978, having owned a skateboard for less than a year, Rodney placed fifth in the Boy's Freestyle at the U.S. Open Championships at Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville. Skateboard manufacturer Bruce Walker saw his performance and sponsored Mullen through Walker Skateboards in 1978-1980. Mullen's biggest influence in skateboarding at the time was Walker pro skater Jim McCall. Mullen was coached in his early years by Bruce Walker (who also coached a young Kelly Slater).

In later years, Mullen was coached by Barry Zaritzky, aka SIO Barry. When his family moved to a farm in a remote part of Florida, Rodney began perfecting his flatground techniques in the family garage. Mullen cites the isolation and lack of terrain naturally influenced him toward freestyle skateboarding. Rodney cites 1979 - 1980 as his "most creative time".^[5] Mullen put together a string of 30 straight competitive amateur victories in the late 70s, mostly in his home state Florida, culminating in a win at the Oceanside Nationals in June, 1979.

In 1980, 14-year-old Rodney Mullen entered the Oasis Pro competition, defeating world champion Steve Rocco. Mullen later turned professional as a member of the Bones Brigade sponsored by Powell Peralta. Powell Peralta was co-owned by Stacy Peralta, who Mullen highly admired. Mullen competed voraciously throughout the 80s—often frustrating both competitors and judges with his consistency and progressive ability.^[6] By 1990, Mullen had won 34 out of 35 freestyle competitions that he entered, having been beaten only once by fellow Bones Brigade member Per Welinder, due to Mullen falling over during his run. Mullen established the most successful competitive run in the history of the sport.

Despite Alan "Ollie" Gelfand's fame for inventing the ollie air (Gelfand's maneuver being primarily a transition-oriented trick) Mullen is responsible for the invention and development of the street ollie. The ability to pop the board off of the ground and land back on the board while moving has been the most significant development in modern skateboarding. The invention alone would rank Mullen one of the most important skateboarders of all time.

Throughout the 1980s, he invented the majority of skating's ollie and flip tricks, including the flatground ollie, the kickflip, the heelflip and many others. These tricks are now considered an essential part of modern vert and street skateboarding. In early 1989, Mullen left the Bones Brigade to join World Industries as a principal investor with longtime friend and former rival Steve Rocco.^[6] The choice was a gamble since Powell Peralta was an established company, while Rocco's upstart company was struggling and losing money.

Street skating[link]

As the popularity of freestyle skateboarding declined, Mullen was urged to move his style toward street skating, which Mullen had refused to do.^[6] This is hinted at in the World Industries video Rubbish Heap, where Mullen's sequence ends with team member Jeremy Klein breaking Rodney's freestyle skateboard, and handing him a note from Steve Rocco, symbolizing the end of freestyle.^[7]

In 1991, Mullen joined the high-profile skateboarding team Plan B. Mike Ternasky, the owner of Plan B, influenced Mullen to transition from freestyle to street skating, and showcased his skills in the 1992 Plan B video Questionable. Mullen's segment begins with traditional freestyle tricks done on flat ground, but quickly accelerates across public terrain to shift into street skating. In relation to obstacles, he sequences tricks, mixes flip tricks with grinds and board slides. In the video, Mullen introduced two newly invented tricks, the kickflip underflip and the casper slide.

Mullen's Questionable performance may have marked the beginning of a new era in street skateboarding. His reluctant departure from freestyle to become a street skater was a symbol that legitimized the technical direction street skating had taken over the previous few years. Mullen specialized at this progression in subsequent Plan B videos, including 1993's Virtual Reality, where Mullen showcases the newly-mastered Darkslide. Mullen's participation in Plan B dissolved after Mike Ternasky died in a car crash 1994. In 1997, Mullen started another company A-Team, with the intent of forming a super team with the defection of Plan B from the World Industries empire.^[5] Rodney talked to friend and fellow pro Daewon Song to plan the video Rodney vs. Daewon, which featured each skater competing in segments from trick to trick.

Mainstream success[link]

Rodney Mullen has appeared in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video games, Underground, Underground 2, American Wasteland, Proving Ground and Ride.^[8] The A-Team folded in 2000 and Mullen went from company founder to company rider under former Maple rider Marc Johnson, who started Enjoi Skateboards. Mullen left Enjoi to head Almost Skateboards with Daewon Song, the company which he still helms and skates for. Mullen's role at Almost includes research and development on new designs and technologies, including Tensor truck in 2000^[9] and experimental and composite deck constructions for Dwindle brands.^[10]

After years of success and controversy, Steve Rocco decided to sell his company. In 2002, World Industries under the holding name Kubic Marketing, were sold to Globe International for $46 million, making Mullen and Rocco instant multi-millionaires. Kubic's management remained intact and Mullen began working for Globe under the Dwindle Distribution brand.^[11] In 2002, Mullen won the Transworld Readers' Choice Award for Skater of the Year. In 2003, Mullen wrote and released his autobiography entitled The Mutt: How to skateboard and not kill yourself. In late 2003 he was voted as the all-time greatest action sports athlete on the Extreme Sports Channel's Legends of the Extreme countdown.^[12][13]

From 2007 to 2009, Mullen worked to erase his riding stance, allowing him to move from regular stance to goofy. In an interview with Tony Hawk, Mullen explained that he had developed problems in his right hip joint and that his transition between stances came out of an effort to favor his leg. He goes on to describe that scar tissue had built up in his joint as a result of habitually hyper-extending his leg while skating. Mullen stated that through extensive and consistent stretching he was able to tear away the scar tissue.^[14] In December 2010, Mullen stated in an interview that he was preparing to film a part for the upcoming Almost video.^[15]

Personal life[link]

Rodney Mullen is married to his wife Traci. Mullen is nicknamed the Mutt.

Filmography[link]

• Powell Peralta: Skateboarding in the '80's (1982)
• Powell Peralta: The Bones Brigade Video Show (1984)
• Powell Peralta: Future Primitive (1985)
• Powell Peralta: Public Domain (1988)
• Gleaming the Cube ("Skate double", 1989)
• World Industries: Rubbish Heap (1989)
• Plan B: Questionable (1992)
• Plan B: Virtual Reality (1993)
• Plan B: Second Hand Smoke (1995)
• Rodney Mullen vs. Daewon Song (1997)
• Rodney Mullen Vs. Daewon Song Round 2 (1999)
• Globe: Opinion
• Almost: Round Three (2004)
• Transworld: Show Me the Way (Darkslide)
• Tony Hawk's Secret Skatepark Tour (2005)
• John from Cincinnati (Skate double, Episode 10, 2007)
• Globe: United by Fate (2008)
• Almost: "5 Incher" (2012)
• Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (2012)

References[link]