Mullen began skating at the age of ten, and entered his first competition in 1977, coming in third. That would be the last third-place finish he earned for a long time. Sponsored by skateboard manufacturer Walker Skateboards, Mullen won every competition he entered for the next three years, including a win at the Oceanside Nationals in Florida. He turned pro in 1980 and, mentored by the legendary Stacy Peralta, became a skater for the Powell Peralta Bones Brigade. And he kept on winning. In 10 years of freestyle skating competition, he only came in second place once, a record that no one in skateboarding history has matched. In the 1988 feature film Gleaming the Cube, Mullen served as the main body double and stunt skater for star Christian Slater. Mullen has also been showcased in over a dozen skating videos and several skating video games, including the Tony Hawk series of video games.
In the 1990s, freestyle skateboarding of the type Mullen had made his name in began to fall out of popularity, and he switched his focus to street skating, joining the Plan B street skating team in 1991. He also became more involved in the business side of skating, founding his own company, A-Team, in 1997. After A-Team folded in 2000, Mullen was recruited by Enjoi Skateboards and from there moved on to run Almost Skateboards, where he is still a member of the team he co-founded with Daewon Song. In 2003, Mullen wrote his autobiography, The Mutt: How to Skateboard and Not Kill Yourself.
Rodney Mullen's Career Highlights
1977: Wins first freestyle contest.
1980: Recruited by Powell Peralta Bones Brigade.
1988: Featured in Gleaming the Cube.
1991: Joins Plan B skateboarding team.
1997: Founds A-Team.
2000: Hired by Enjoi Skateboards.
2003: Becomes head of Almost Skateboards. Writes autobiography. Voted
all-time greatest action sports athlete by the Extreme Sports Channel.
