Rodney Mullen
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Rodney Mullen |
| Date of birth | August 17, 1966 |
| Place of birth | Gainesville, Florida, U.S. |
| Sport | |
Early life
[4] At age six, Mullen was diagnosed with pigeon toe and had to wear leg braces to fix the condition.[5] He began skateboarding on January 1, 1977 at age 10, when his father (who had opposed his son's wishes to practice the sport) finally agreed to give Rodney a skateboard on condition that he would always wear pads, and with the understanding that if he were to ever get hurt, he would have to quit.[2] He describes his interest in 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. I could walk around with my skateboard at the skate park. I love skateboarding."[6]Rodney began practicing in full pads, and spent time with his sister's surfer friends who would skateboard on the week days.[7] In 1978, having owned a skateboard for less than a year, Rodney placed 4th out of a group of older and more experienced professional skateboarders.
Career
Rodney Mullen is widely considered the most influential skateboarder in the history of skateboarding. Throughout the 1980s, he invented the majority of skating's ollie and flip tricks, including the flatground ollie, the Kickflip, the Heelflip, and the 360 flip. The tricks are an essential part of modern vertical and street skateboarding.Despite Alan Gelfand's justifiable fame for inventing the ollie air (Gelfand's maneuver being primarily a vert or pool 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 quite likely been the most significant development in modern skateboarding. This invention alone would rank Mullen the most important skateboarder of all time.
As the popularity of freestyle skateboarding declined, Mullen was often urged to move his style toward street skating.[8] 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.[9]
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; noteworthy is 1993's Virtual Reality where Mullen showcases the newly-mastered darkslide.
I can't wait to wake up in the morning... A lot of times I can't sleep because I can't wait to try something new. How many people ever really experience that feeling? Rodney Mullen, 2003[6]Mullen's participation in Plan B dissolved after Mike Ternasky died unexpectedly in 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.[7] 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.
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[10] and experimental and composite deck constructions for Dwindle brands.[11]
In 2002 the World Industries companies, under the holding name Kubic Marketing, were bought out by Globe International for $46 million. Kubic's management remained intact and Mullen began working for Globe International under the Dwindle Distribution brand.[12]
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.[citation needed][13][14]
From 2007 to 2009, Mullen worked to erase his riding stance, allowing him to move from Regular stance to Goofy Stance. 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. Thirteen out of fourteen nights every two weeks for two years, Mullen would brace his leg in the tire-well of his car and apply pressure to his femur, tearing the scar tissue in the joint; eventually the scar tissue stopped growing back.[15]
In December 2010 Mullen stated in an interview that he is preparing to film a part for the upcoming Almost video.[16]
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar