How Rodney Mullen Invented Kickflip

  How Rodney Mullen Invented Kickflip

John Rodney Mullen was born in Gainesville, Florida,  United States on  August 17, 1966, and then began skateboarding at the age of ten, on New Years Day of 1977, after a local community friend introduced him to a skateboard. He promised his strict dad, a dental professional, that he would probably stop skateboarding the for the very first time he becomes seriously injured.

Rodney Mullen won his first world skateboard championship at the age of 14; over the following decade, he won 34 out of 35 freestyle contests, consequently establishing the most successful competitive run in the history of the skateboarding. Over the following years, he turned from freestyle, translating his acquired skill sets to a completely new, distinctive way of skateboarding.

The kickflip is truly one of the basics of skateboarding. Without it, right now there would be no 360 flips, nollie flips, or otherwise. So we all master it. Because of this, it's easy to take it for granted. But in 1982, when Rodney Mullen invented it, it had been beyond exactly what anyone else thought possible.

Mullen has been credited with inventing the following tricks (years included):

• Godzilla rail flip (1979)
• 540 shuv-it (1979)
• 50/50 Saran wrap (1979)
• 50/50 Casper (1980)
• Helipop (1980)
• Flatground ollie (1981)
• Gazelle flip (1981)
• No-handed 50/50 (1981)
• No-handed 50/50 kickflip
• Kickflip (1982)
• 540 double kickflip
• Heelflip (1982)
• Double heelflip
• Impossible (1982)
• Caballerial impossible
• Sidewinder (1983)
• 360 flip (1983)
• Switch 360 flip
• 360 pressure flip (1983)
• Casper 360 flip (1983)
• Half-cab kickflip (1983)
• 50/50 sidewinder (1983)
• One-footed ollie (1984)
• Backside flip (Backside 180 Kickflip) (1984)
• Ollie nose bone (1986)
• Ollie finger flip (1986)
• Ollie Airwalk (1986)
• Frontside heelflip shove-it (1988)
• Switchstance 360 flip (1990)
• Helipop heelflip (1990)
• Kickflip under flip (1992)
• Half-cab kickflip underflip(1992)
• Casper slide (1992)
• Half flip darkslide
• Handstand flips
• Primo grind-Primo slides
• Rusty slide

Rodney Mullen on being taught the kickflip

by kunzelman

Tony Hawk: How did you create the kickflip?

Rodney Mullen: It was an accident is what it was. I had just learned ollies, and you know sometimes you bring it up and you get it away from you because you’re gonna get a shinner. And I just pushed it away and the board it was like slow-mo and it just landed. And I just stood there scratching my head, it’s like it taught me.