Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United States, skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue, with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding would be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, for both male and female teams. Skateboarding made its Olympic debut in 2020 and was included in the 2024 games.
Robert Dean Silva Burnquist is a Brazilian-American professional skateboarder who competed for Brazil throughout his career. In 2010, he became the first skateboarder to land a "fakie 900", making Burnquist the fifth person in history to successfully complete the 900 trick.
Anthony Frank Hawk, nicknamed Birdman, is an American former professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documented "900" skateboarding trick in 1999. He also licensed a skateboarding video game series named after him, published by Activision that same year. Hawk retired from competing professionally in 2003 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential skateboarders of all time.
The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC, In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad, though the event is still aired on ESPN and ABC despite the ownership change.
Danny Way is an American professional skateboarder. He was awarded Thrasher magazine's "Skater of the Year" award twice. He is known for extreme stunts, such as jumping into a skateboard ramp from a helicopter; that was featured on the cover of Transworld Skateboarding magazine. One of his more notable stunts was jumping the Great Wall of China on a skateboard via megaramp.
The benihana is an aerial trick performed on a skateboard.
Charles Michael "Bucky" Lasek is an American professional skateboarder and rallycross driver.
The 900 is a 2½-revolution aerial spin performed on a skateboard ramp. While airborne, the skateboarder makes two-and-a-half turns about their longitudinal axis, thereby facing down when coming down. It is considered one of skateboarding's most technically demanding tricks.
James Chris Cole is an American professional skateboarder. As of September 2020, his sponsors are Fallen Footwear, Monster Energy, Bones Bearings, Cult Crew, Thunder Trucks, Spitfire Wheels, Stance, Kershaw Knives, Grizzly Griptape, GoPro, Indian Motorcycles, cbdMD, Remind Insoles, and most recently Zero Skateboards.
Nyjah Imani Huston is an American professional skateboarder. With numerous sponsorships and competition prize winnings, Huston is one of the highest paid skateboarders in the world. Huston won gold medals at the SLS Super Crown World Championship in 2014, 2017 to 2019, and has won 15 gold medals at the X Games since 2011. Huston won his first Olympic medal, a bronze, in the 2024 Olympic men's street event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
Sandro Dias, known as Mineirinho, is a Brazilian professional vert skateboarder who was born on April 18, 1975, in Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil and currently resides in Santa Ana, California. He started skateboarding in 1986 and turned pro in 1995. Best known for his high alley oop air tricks and for being one of ten people confirmed to have pulled the 900. He won the gold medal at X Games 12 in Skateboard Vert. He is sponsored by Red Bull, Oakley, & Positiv Skateboards. He won the world vert skateboarding titles in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
Tasou Micah Pappas, better known as Tas Pappas, is an Australian sponsored skateboarder. He was previously a professional skateboarder, primarily in the discipline of vert skateboarding, and competed in a number of major international events. During the 1990s, he and brother Ben Pappas were highly regarded skateboarders on a global scale, reaching the top two places in the world rankings.
Ronnie Aaron Creager is a "goofy-footed" American professional skateboarder from Orange, California.
X Games XVI was an action sporting event which took place from July 29 – August 1, 2010 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center, L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The games featured the sports of Motocross, skateboarding, BMX, and rallying.
The 1080 is a skateboarding trick that can be performed on a vertical skateboard ramp or on a mega ramp, in which the skateboarder makes three full revolutions while airborne. It was first completed successfully on a mega ramp in 2012 by American skateboarder Tom Schaar, and on a vert ramp in May 2020 by Brazilian skateboarder Gui Khury. The 1080 has only ever been landed after a fakie ollie, meaning the rider is in the normal stance, but rolling in the opposite direction, popping off of the tail.
Tom Schaar is an American professional skateboarder. He was the first skateboarder to land a "1080," which is three revolutions, and was the youngest X Games gold medalist after completing the first 1080 in a competition at the 2012 Asia X Games in Shanghai; Forbes Magazine listed Schaar to their 2020 30 Under 30 Sports category highlighting the next generation of Sports talent. Schaar won the silver medal in the men's park skateboarding competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Jagger Geoffrey Eaton is an American professional skateboarder who competes in street and park competitions. He was the youngest ever X Games competitor at age 11, until his record was broken in 2019. In 2021, Eaton won the first Olympic skateboarding medal, earning a bronze in the men's street competition in Tokyo, Japan. Eaton won Silver in the 2024 Olympic men's street event at 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
The Kimberley Diamond Cup was an annual skateboarding event held at the beginning of each Southern Hemisphere Spring in Kimberley, South Africa. The event featured the largest single-event prize purse in skateboarding - $100,000 for first prize in the Street competition - and is the largest skateboarding competition in Africa.
Pedro Barros, known as Pedrinho Barros, is a Brazilian skateboarder who is specialized in Bowl and Park Skateboarding. He won the silver medal in the inaugural Olympic men's park skateboarding event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Pedro is also an entrepreneur, having his own beer company (LayBack) and his fashion and lifestyle brand, Privê.
Sam Beckett is a British professional skateboarder. In 2016, he became the first skateboarder from the United Kingdom to win Gold in the Summer X Games.
United States (1994–2024)
United Kingdom (2024–)
