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The Life of Rodney Mullen |
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John Rodney Mullen was born in Gainesville, Florida on August 17, 1966. He always wanted to skateboard, but his father, a doctor wouldn't let him for fear that he would be injured, and that he would become a bum if he hung around 'that crowd' too long. Rodney nearly gave up, but asked his dad again on New Year's Eve 1976. His father cut him a deal: the first time he was caught skateboarding without pads, or the first time he got injured, he would have to quit. Then he told him something that would haunt him for the rest of his life: that he would never be any good no matter how hard he tried; he would be like the short kid across the street who played basketball day and night.
But Rodney proved his dad wrong. He got good fast- the Inland Surf Shop sponsored him after nine months of skating. He won a few contests, one of which was judged by Steve Rocco, owner of World Industries.
By the Spring of 1980, Powell-Peralta was sending boards to rodney. His dad told him that he had proven himself to be the best at something- and now it was time to quit, but that only made Rodney skate harder. Rodney heard about a Pro contest in San Diego scheduled for the 20th of August. His friend Barry Zaritzky thought he could win it, and said that if Rodney's dad wouldn't give him money for a plane ticket, he would sell some of his stuff to get one. It turned out that he didn't need to- Rodney got a formal invitation to the contest from Stacy Peralta (freestyle legend and part-owner Powell-Peralta Skateboards). His dad sent him to San Diego the day after his 13th birthday, but told him he had to stop skateboarding after the contest and go back to school. Everyone new it would boil down to him and Rocco- it did. Rodney won, still keeping his promise to his dad- he was the only freestyler who competed in full pads.
Rodney was now formally on the Powell team. His dad allowed him to continue skating because magazines were calling and companies were putting money into him. He finally felt like he was somebody.
Rodney has won every contest he ever entered except one. In the spring of 1984, Rodney's dad told him it was time to grow up and quit skateboarding. It seemed hopeless for Rodney, he felt like he was going out a loser. Word got out that the Del Mar finals in August would be Rodney's last contest. Rodney didn't skate for a while after that, until his Dad saw how much skating meant to him and let him do it. Rodney was back to winning contests about a year later.
From 1986 to 1991, skateboarding became huge. According to Rodney:
"I felt like a rock star during those times. I had agents that got me contracts doing all kinds of stuff. I flew on a Concorde. I rode in limos and had to be "protected" by security guards. I did demos with Dr J and all kinds of athletes. I did Broadway shows with dancers and spotlights. I skated on stage with rock stars and comedians and runway models. I was in movies, music videos, and on talk shows. I did a lot. Those were fun years. But sometimes money and fame are the hardest tests of what people really are. It’s easy to lose touch with yourself. A couple of my friends got lost in that fame. I got to be famous enough to realize that anonymity is priceless in every sense."
Steve Rocco talked Rodney into joining Plan B around 1992. He made his first attempt at street skating in the Questionable video, which is regarded by many to be the greatest skateboarding video of all time. This was the first taste of the distinctive style that Rodney is known for today: extremely technical street tricks with a freestyle element thrown in.
Rodney is the most influential skater of all time, second only perhaps to Allen Gelfand, inventor of the ollie. Yet, for some reason, both of these skaters are fairly obscure compared to many skaters who have hardly contributed anything to skateboarding. Rodney has invented most tricks that that people started skating to learn. Check out the "tricks invented" section for details.
"I see myself as a Linus, carrying a skateboard around like some kind of security blanket. In a way, my skating has been my only real possession. Now that I’m older, I have a car, a stereo, a bank account - more than what I need. Yet I can’t say I’ve actually "earned" the stuff I have. It’s been given to me, in a way. My friends make fun of me. The bastards call me a mattress stuffer, a miser. But I have a hard time justifying fancy things when I haven’t done anything that merits them. I just do what I love to do- skate. It has been the only thing I’ve ever really had of any real value."
-Rodney Mullen
based on information gathered at RodneyMullen.de
 ootz · Sat Jul 22, 2006 @ 11:18am · 0 Comments |
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