I used to skate as a teenager. We didn’t know Tony Hawk, his name came up later on. Instead, we had idols like Natas, Gonzales and Mullen. But I can’t say I’ve seen any of them actually skate, and we probably picked up the names from magazine articles. Of course, if you had a Gonzales board, like I did, you automatically held him as the world’s best skater ever. Until the board broke or you bought a new one. I don’t think any of us owned anything with Mullen’s name on it, but everyone still knew the name. Rodney Mullen.
Here’s Rodney Mullen showing off in Japan in 1984. Enjoy.

via Woosk