Rodney Mullen

Skateboard expert

Honestly, I was off the shelf. I went through a period where they had literally retired my [pro model] board, so I was just tinkering around, street skating a little bit—my own version of it—and then gradually getting a little bit of steam. And then the other team I was part of, Plan B, broke apart. I had just started a company with my friend Daewon Song. I was advancing still as a new street skater but very frankly, I was coming from way behind.
 
Hey Rodney, let’s start with your first appearance on the game, which I think was actually the sequel, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. It came out in 2000 and you were in your mid-30s. What did your career look like at that time? Honestly, I was off the shelf. I went through a period where they had literally retired my [pro model] board, so I was just tinkering around, street skating a little bit—my own version of it—and then gradually getting a little bit of steam. And then the other team I was part of, Plan B, broke apart. I had just started a company with my friend Daewon Song. I was advancing still as a new street skater but very frankly, I was coming from way behind. And then I remember I went on tour in Chicago. I remember skating on this contraption and I was still warming up. I barely put my foot off my board, not even going that fast, and my ankle broke. Like, broke. I’m laying on the ground and it didn’t even really hurt but I felt it break. People are asking for autographs and I’m like, “Dude, I just broke my ankle, give me some space.” I flew home and I’m thinking, “Should I quit skating? Is that a sign that I’m getting there in terms of age?” So I called up Tony because I didn’t really have anyone as a peer to talk to on that level. It had been a long time. Anyway, he walks into the restaurant like a star and people are looking at him. We ate together and he goes, “Rod, don’t even think about it. And by the way, do you want to be in my game?” I remember thinking that everything was over for me. And then he asked me to do that and I had no idea the significance of it, I was just stoked that he was bringing me in like that.
Rodney at his first competition 1986 Santa Cruz Rodney first pro model for Powell Peralta 1987
That’s amazing. How long had you known Tony at that point? I think it took about a year for the game to come out. As a street skater, I was still pretty much sucking. I remember going on tour the first time and I went to the East Coast with the Enjoi dudes. And I remember how people responded. There were so many people around me to get autographs that they had to put me on top of a van and I remember the van rocking. I remember sitting up there, just laughing, just tripping out. I was looking out at skaters who I thought were so much better than I was – I knew they were better than I was. But that was how it went down, that was the initiation. As the years unfolded, that game dwarfed any video part that I’ve ever done, in terms of getting it out to the world. I think the thing that really changed most was that people have our language, how we name our tricks. And so people, out of nowhere, would start speaking our language. That to me was probably the weirdest thing, the coolest thing. I think it took about a year for the game to come out. As a street skater, I was still pretty much sucking. I remember going on tour the first time and I went to the East Coast with the Enjoi dudes. And I remember how people responded. There were so many people around me to get autographs that they had to put me on top of a van and I remember the van rocking. I remember sitting up there, just laughing, just tripping out. I was looking out at skaters who I thought were so much better than I was – I knew they were better than I was. But that was how it went down, that was the initiation. As the years unfolded, that game dwarfed any video part that I’ve ever done, in terms of getting it out to the world.
 
Publié dans: Skateboard expert