Best Skateboarders Of All Time (Most Famous)

Skateboarding is a unique sport in a way. It influenced a whole generation of art, fashion, and lifestyle around itself. Like any other sport, it’s about hard work, perseverance spirit. Like the navy seals, skateboarding is about never quitting.

Early skateboarders also made use of the new videotaping technology. The way they used it to record their tricks and ride became a record. It was an early precursor to YouTube vlogging.

Greatest Skateboarders Of All Time

There have been several outstanding skateboarders since the genesis of this sport. Some of them have become legends in their own right. These adventure enthusiasts have the charisma, skill, and style. But most importantly, their dedication to skateboarding was unmatched.

But who is the best skateboarder of all time, amongst names like Andrew Reynolds or Allan “Ollie” Gelfand? There are so many best skaters in the world it is hard to point one name.

If poised with the question of who is the best skateboarder of all time? I would say Rodney Mullen to be the best skateboarder of all time.

I know there will be some voices from the crowd murmuring the name of Tony Hawk as the best skateboarder ever. But, honestly, Tony is a hell of a skater. The guy dominated the skating scene during the ’80s and survived to become the face for XGames in the late ’90s. He was a popular name amongst non-skaters as well when he landed a 900.

Meanwhile, Rodney Mullen practically invented numerous tricks. The list includes flat ground ollie, which is the core of street style skating. But I think it would be unfair to name one as the best skateboarder of all time.

I believe skateboarding is a community phenomenon. It should include many other names. Several individuals have contributed to the game and lifestyle we love today: It is an accumulative thing. So who are these other best skaters in the world? Let us enjoy the list.

NYJAH HUSTON

Nyjah Huston is the world”s number 1 skateboarder. He was born on (November 30, 1994). Nyjah’s father (Adeyemi Huston) was also a skateboarder that’s why he started skating at the age of six. He won more prize money than any other skateboarder.

He won many gold medals at the World Skateboarding Championship in 2014, 2017 to 2019, and has additionally towered the street classification at the X Games, in which he had won 12 gold medals since 2011. His net worth of 2022 is ($12 Million).

TONY ALVA

Tony Alva was a member of the Zephyr Competition Skateboarding Team or the Z-Boys. He is considered the pioneer of vertical skateboarding. He is also to be the first one to perform a Frontside Air. In addition, Alva was the first one to skate in the empty swimming pools of Los Angeles along with his teams members Stacey Peralta and Jay Adams.

Alva makes it to the shared title of best skateboarder of all time because of his pioneering personality. He was the first skateboarder who started making his skateboards. Alva Skates used layered Canadian maple plywood for its decks, making them more durable and less bothersome.

ALAN GELFAND

The nickname Ollie was given to him by Scott Goodman when he performed an aerial lipslide, and they called it Ollie pop. This trick revolutionized skateboarding and transformed it from a mono-layered activity to duo-layered immersion. Before his trick, skateboarding was about horizontal maneuvering, but Ollie gave it the wings for its iconic vertical and aerial maneuvers.

According to Stacy Peralta, Ollie could scoop back his trucks up without using his hands which allowed him to get off the air away from the wall without popping the tail. Later, Mullen added to the trick with his flat ground Ollie. Most of the street skateboarding tricks are based on it.

TONY HAWKS

Tony was the first skater to land a 900. This trick was about completing Two and a half revolutions in the air on a skateboard soon after he retired from professional competitions but remained with XGames until 2003.

Tony introduced the sport to non-skating audiences, experimented with the limits of what could be done on a skateboard. His game introduced a generation of skaters to a whiteboard of tricks possible in virtual reality. These kids were intellectually capable of thinking about the possibilities beyond the limitations of physical reality.

Many of the tricks in-game were translated into the physical world, and the sports progressed beyond what could be thought impossible. This is all because of how Tony Hawks brought skateboarding out from the fringes to the mainstream.

THE GONZ

Mark Gonzales is amongst the pioneers of modern street skateboarding. Even if I do not include him as the best skateboarder of all time, it will not mean anything. However, Transworld Skateboarding magazine named him the ”Most influential skateboarder of all time”.

Apart from being a skateboarder, The Gonz is also an artist, sculptor, writer, and poet. In addition, he works with several brands on their products and store design.

DAEWON SONG

For those who might not be familiar with his name, he is the guy who jumped the Great Wall of China. But there is more to him than putting on shows at seven wonders of the world.

Daewon Song was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2017. Like Alva, he is also into entrepreneurship and co-owns the brand Almost, alongside Rodney Mullen.

Daewon was voted the most impactful skateboarder of the year after he won the Berrics’ 2UP and In Transition contests of 2014. The nomination list for this title included names like Guy Mariano and Ben Raybourn.

Song also won the Skater Of The Year Award by Thrasher magazine in 2006.

He is creative with his skating. The song is always an entertaining skateboarder to watch, as he uses unconventional obstacle settings for his performances. He makes skating fun and imaginative beyond the quintessential spaces of skating parks, tournaments or tried and beaten urban environments.

RODNEY MULLEN

Mullen is an inventor. Period. He is credited for inventing numerous tricks such as flat ground ollie, as mentioned above, kickflip, heelflip, impossible, and 360-flip. Mullen’s tricks need a separate list in this list of best skateboarders of all time because of the huge number.

Rodney Mullen is a street skater. He is referred to as the Godfather of Street Skaters, and He has been active in the skateboarding scene since when he was just 14 years old and has already won the first world skateboard championship at the same age. He possesses 34 freestyle contests of 35 in total.

Rodney was initially a freestyler who gradually transitioned to street skateboarding. He mixed his experience as a freestyler with street style. Like a scientist, he not only invented tricks but also worked upon existing ones. i,e. the Casper Slide.

Here is a list for you guys to illustrate Rodney’s contribution to skateboarding. If this is not impressive to you, I do not know what could be more impressive.

Rodney invented or worked upon:

• Godzilla rail flip (1979)
• Handstand flips
• 50/50 Saran wrap (1979)
• Helipop (1980)
• Half-cab kickflip underflip (1992)
• No-handed 50/50 kickflip
• 50/50 Casper (1980)
• Kickflip (1982)
• 540 shove-it (1979)
• Heelflip (1982)
• Double heelflip
• No-handed 50/50 (1981)
• Impossible (1982)
• Sidewinder (1983)
• 360 flip (1983)
• Gazelle flip (1981)
• Frontside heelflip shove-it (1988)
• Switch 360 flip
• 360 pressure flip (1983)
• Casper 360 flip (1983)
• 50/50 sidewinder (1983)
• One-footed ollie (1984)
• Backside flip (Backside 180 Kickflip) (1984)
• Ollie Nosebone (1986)
• Kickflip underflip (1992)
• Ollie Airwalk (1986)
• Half-cab kickflip (1983)
• Ollie finger flip (1986)
• Switchstance 360 flip (1990)
• Tulipop heelflip (1990)
• Casper slide (1992)
• Half flip darkslide

There are so many names that I wanted to include in the list. However, due to constraints, I am limited to the above mention names. These are my personal favorites, which appeal to my personality, a little bit of history geek. I hope you enjoyed my take on the greatest skateboarders of all time.