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.
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 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 regarded as one of the most influential skateboarders of all time.
John Rodney Mullen is an American professional skateboarder who practices freestyle skateboarding and street skateboarding. He is considered one of the most influential skaters in the history of the sport. Mullen is credited for inventing numerous tricks, including the flatground ollie, kickflip, heelflip, impossible, and 360-flip. As a result, he has been called the "Godfather of modern freestyle skating."
Jason Michael Lee is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer, and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series My Name Is Earl, for which he was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy TV series in 2005 and 2006 by The Golden Globes, and Dave in the live-action films, Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015).
Daewon Song is an American professional skateboarder. He is co-owner of Thank You Skateboards, and skates for the company. Song was named the 2006 "Skater of the Year" by Thrasher magazine, an award that is widely considered to be one of the most significant honors in skateboarding.
Circa is a skateboard footwear and apparel company founded in 1999 that is based in San Clemente, California. The brands first pros were Chad Muska and Jamie Thomas. It is distributed in Europe by Option Distribution.
Chad Muska is an American professional skateboarder, musician and entrepreneur. In November 2012, Skin Phillips, editor-in-chief of Transworld Skateboarding, described Muska as "one of the most marketable pros skateboarding has ever seen."
Thrasher is an American skateboarding magazine founded in January 1981 by Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello. The publication consists primarily of skateboard- and music-related articles, photography, interviews and skatepark reviews.
Deluxe Distribution is an Ermico Enterprises, Inc.-owned skateboarding company founded in 1986 with limited partner Brian Ware in San Francisco. Deluxe was formed to distribute the Beware Record label, and other small record labels popular with skateboarders, along with Thunder Trucks and Supercush Bushings. Deluxe distributes six skateboard brands and owns DLXSF, a retail outlet.
Mark Gonzales, also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. A pioneer in the development of modern street skating and considered the first street-only skateboarder alongside Natas Kaupas. Gonzales and Kaupas are also credited with the first known boardslides on a handrail. Gonzales pioneering influence on skateboarding has caused him to be known as the godfather of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Time" by Transworld Skateboarding magazine in December 2011.
A flip trick is a type of skateboarding trick in which the skateboard rotates around its vertical axis, or its vertical axis and its horizontal axis simultaneously. The first flip trick, called a kickflip but originally known as a "magic flip", was invented by professional skateboarder Rodney Mullen.
A skate video is a movie of or about skateboarding typically showing new tricks and a series of skateboarders in a montage set to music.
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 12 gold medals at the X Games since 2011.
Vert skateboarding, short for vertical skateboarding, is the act of riding a skateboard on a skate ramp or other incline and involves the skateboarder transitioning from the horizontal plane to the vertical plane in order to perform skateboarding tricks.
Eric Koston is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the Tony Hawk's video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games Skate 2 and Skate 3.
Leo Baker is a goofy-footed American professional skateboarder from Covina, California, now based in New York City. Baker is transgender and non-binary, and uses he/him and they/them pronouns.
Cliché Skateboards was a skateboard company based in Lyon, France, and distributed by the American company Dwindle Distribution. The company was established in 1997 by French professional skateboarder Jeremie Daclin. In 2001, Cliché was purchased by the France-based Salomon Group which in 2005 became a part of Amer Sports. In 2009, US-based Dwindle Distribution purchased the company from the Salomon Group. In November 2016, Dwindle announced that they would be discontinuing the brand.
The World Skateboarding Championship is an annual competition of men's and women's park skateboarding and street skateboarding, organized by World Skate (WS). Until 2017, the two disciplines were contested in separate tournaments, known as the Vans Park Series World Championship, for park skateboarding, and SLS Super Crown World Championship for street skateboarding.
A hill bomb is a maneuver in skateboarding in which a rider rides down a big hill. The trick is noted for its particular danger and, sometimes, grace.
