8 greatest skateboarders of all time and their accomplishments

Skateboarding was invented in 1940-1950s thanks to bored Californian surfers passing the time without big waves. It has quickly gained popularity, and now millions of young and not-so-young people call skateboarding their hobby or profession. We were asked to make a list of the best of the best skateboarders of all time, and here’s what we got for you.

Making such lists is never easy. Everyone is biased. We have our preferences and favorite athletes. Also, which criteria do we use? Are there wins in the most prestigious competitions or maybe trick inventions?

So we tried hard to be as objective as possible and came up with this list of the 8 greatest skateboarders of all time. Read the article and see if you agree with us. And even if you don’t, it’s OK. The sport will be the ultimate winner.

We decided to put these skaters in alphabetical order because they are all fantastic champions from different eras, each one unique in his way, and we don’t want to compare them.

Tony Alva (born 1957, US)

‘The guy who started it all’. Tony Alva was one of the legendary Z-Boys (Zephyr team) and has become an icon. He was the one who introduced vertical skateboarding. He and his fellow Z-Boys were skating in empty swimming pools in LA. Frontside Air is a trick he invented. He is often referred to as the father of modern skateboarding.

At the age of 19, he established a company Alva Skates producing gear for skaters. He knew what he was doing. His company was the first one to use Canadian maple plywood for deck manufacturing, which proved to be very successful.

He also collaborated with Vans and created the first special shoes for skateboarders.

Accomplishments

• USSSA World Invitational Skateboard Champion (1975)
• Skater of the Year (Skateboarder Magazine,1977)
• World Record for barrel jumping (Guinness Book, 1977)

Chris ‘Cobra’ Cole (born 1982, US)

Chris Cole conquered the world of skateboarding when he performed several extremely complex tricks: 360° flips down the staircase, a backside 360° rotation, and a 360° kickflip. He completed them in different Californian locations and proved to be one of the best skateboarders.

He is not only an accomplished skater but also a successful entrepreneur. Not only that, but he used to be a shareholder of a Zero skateboard company and still co-owns Reign Skate Shop in Philadelphia, US. Chris Cole is also a great guy who likes his fans and is very approachable.

Accomplishments

• Skater of the Year accolade (Thrasher Magazine, 2005 and 2009)
• 3-time winner (consecutively) of Thrasher Magazine’s King of the Road contest
• Gold medal at the X Games (2 consecutive times)
• Gold medal at the Street League Skateboarding (Munich leg of X Games, 2013)

Mark Gonzales (born 1968, US)

Mark the ‘Gonz’ is known by the skateboarding community worldwide as the pioneer of modern street skating. He was the first (or one of the first) to do handrails, big gaps, and other tricks. He completed 360°, nollies, double flips, and flip tricks in and out of manuals, grinds, and slides.

Being a professional skateboarder, he was more focused on inventing new tricks and creating new concepts than competing in contests.

He started the transformation of skateboarding into the sport we know now. His video parts are fun to watch, and the music is great too. The man is an icon, and his contribution is priceless.

Mark is not only an iconic professional skateboarder, but he is also an artist. He paints, creates sculptures, and writes prose and poetry. Creative skaters are creative in everything they do.

Accomplishments

• The Legend Award and ‘the most influential skateboarder of all time title (Transworld Skateboarding, 2006)
• Victory in the Oceanside street contest (1985).

Tony ‘the Birdman’ Hawk (born 1968, US)

Tony Hawk is a legendary figure in skateboarding. He won countless contests and contributed to the development and promotion of the sport all over the world by building skate parks in various countries.

Tony was an accomplished street skater, but the main recognition he got as a ‘vert’.

He is the author of the following complex and beautiful tricks: Ollie-to-Indie, the Gymnast Plant, 540-rodeo flip, Saran Wrap, Madonna, the Stale Fish, and others. And he was the one to complete the first 900 — a trick of two-and-a-half midair rotation. He succeeded on the 20th try. And made it the final accord of his professional skateboarding career before retiring.

Tony Hawk has a hit video game series titled Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The game was launched in 1999 and has become a tremendous success, resulting in multiple titles, spin-offs, and repackages.

He starred in countless documentaries, TV shows, movies, and skateboard videos.

Tony Hawk did so much for the development and prosperity of skateboarding that his contribution is hard to overestimate. Tony Hawk was named one of the most influential skateboarders of all time by FoxWeekly in 2014. A well-deserved title.

Accomplishments

• 73 victories in various contests, including 12 consecutive years 1984-1996 in the World Skateboarding Championship, NSA (multiple times), and X Games (multiple times)
• The second most influential skateboarder of all time (Transworld Skateboarding magazine, 2011)

Nyjah Huston (born 1994, US)

Nyjar began skating when he was 4, and by the age of 7, he already got a sponsor.

Nyjah has been competing a lot, and his accomplishments are very impressive, although he is still involved in street skateboarding, and you can watch his incredible street video parts. They are stunning, and his demonstration of skills blows your mind.

Nyjar represented the US at the Tokyo Olympics — the first Olympic Games which included skateboarding in their program. He got into the finals but didn’t win, taking 7th place. He is now the highest-paid skateboarder in the world. Among his sponsors are Nike SB, Diamond Supply Co., Monster Energy, Doritos, Mountain Dew, and others.

He is definitely among the most influential skaters in the world now.

Accomplishments

• 3 awards: ‘Best Video Part, ‘New Era Readers’ Choice’, and ‘Best Street’ (Transworld magazine, 2012)
• The overall champion of SLS for 5 seasons
• 12 X-Games medals
• 5 medals in World Championship
• 5 times winner of Tampa Pro

Rodney Mullen (born 1966, US)

Another legend. Rodney Mullen has a place in the Hall of Fame for skateboarders, which is 100% deserved.

He is the king of freestyle. He invented dozens of tricks. Here are just a few of them: Heel Flip, Impossible, Sidewinder, 360 Flip, Switch 360 Flip, Ollie Airwalk, Gazelle Flip, 50/50 Casper, Flat Ground Ollie, and many, many others.

Rodney Mullen started as a freestyler, but later on, he focused more on street skateboarding, adapting his freestyle skills, creating new tricks, and extending the existing ones, such as primo slides, dark slides, and Casper slides.

Rodney Mullen co-owns a brand called Almost producing boards. He is deeply involved in developing new designs and technologies, such as Double Impact or Uber Light. He also appeared in countless documentaries, TV shows, and video games.

Accomplishments

• Victory in his first World Skateboard Championship in freestyle (age 14)
• Won 34 of 35 freestyle contests (the most successful competitive career in history)
• Award ‘Skater of the Year (Transworld Skateboarding, 2002)

Daewon Song (born in 1975, in South Korea)

Daewon Song is not only a professional skateboarder of the highest regard, but he is also remarkably creative too. His skills in street skating are exceptional, and his creativity resulted in stacking tables and garbage cans and skating on forklifts and old tires. His creativity is also seen in the skate video parts he makes.

Daewon has earned his place in the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, proving to be one of the best skateboarders of all time. Besides his work as a professional skateboarder, Song is also a co-owner of Almost together with Rodney Mullen.

Accomplishments

• ‘Skater of the Year Award (Thrasher magazine, 2006)
• Won Berrics’ 2UP Contest (2014)
• Victory in Transition contest (2014)

Danny Way (born in 1974 US)

Danny Way is a legendary skater. The world knows him as a performer of extreme stunts, like jumping from a helicopter into a skateboard ramp. The photo of that trick then appeared on the cover of Transworld Skateboarding magazine.

Danny Way is the only skateboarder who jumped the Great Wall of China. Undoubtedly one of the best skateboarders of all time, Danny Way is the youngest pro vert skateboarding champion. His innovative vertical tricks became iconic.

Due to his adventurous lifestyle, Danny was injured multiple times and got through several surgeries, every time returning to the world of professional skateboarders.

Accomplishments

• The world record for Biggest Air – 12 feet (3.7 m) kickflip (1997, 2003)
• The world record for Long Distance Jump – 65 feet (20 m) (2002, 2003, 2004)
• Gold medal at X Games (2004)
• Big Air Gold medal at X Games XI (2005)
• Big Air Gold medal at X Games XI (2006)
• First to perform the El Camino trick on a mega ramp (Mexico)
• World record for land speed on a skateboard (2009)
• Thrasher magazine Skater of the Year Award (1991, 2004)

FAQ

Who is the greatest skateboarder of all time?

This question is very difficult to answer. If you read our article above, you’ll see that all the skaters we described are the best in their unique way. They skated at different times, did different tricks, some competed more, others were street skaters… Read the article and form your own opinion.

Who is the number 1 skateboarder?

As of now, the number 1 skater in the world is Nyjar Huston.

Who has landed a 900 on a skateboard?

Tony ‘the Birdman’ Hawk completed the first 900. He also invented several other difficult tricks.

Who was the first skateboarder to land a 1080?

It was an American skateboarder, Tom Schaar, and he did it in 2012 at the age of 12.

Who is the king of street skateboarding?

This title is usually given to Nyjar Huston.

Who is the goat in skateboarding?

It’s hard to say who is the best because it depends on the criteria you use. In the article above, we named the 8 greatest skateboarders of all time as we see them. We decided not to rank them because they are all exceptional. Read the article and decide for yourself.

Conclusion

As you can see, our list contains the greatest, most accomplished skaters of all time. And you probably can guess now why we didn’t want to rank them. Which criteria should we use? The number of victories in contests, tricks they invented, or world records they broke? All these guys are the best skaters with their unique features. So we let them all stay here in one group — the team of the greatest skateboarders. Wonder what are skateboard wheels made of, read