The 15 greatest skaters of all time

In your opinion, who is the greatest skater of all time?   It’s a tricky question; however, in this article we’re going to have some fun trying to create a TOP 15 of the greatest skate legends, even though it really comes down to personal taste and it’s impossible to be completely objective…

Generally, when we think of the best skateboarders of all time, the first names that come to mind are popular skaters like the unstoppable Tony Hawk and the ever‑relevant Nyjah Huston. But we must remember that from Jay Adams and the Z‑Boys to the technical masters of the modern era, like Shane O’Neill, there have been countless incredible riders in between who have contributed enormously to the world of skateboarding and helped it grow day by day.

Their main traits: style, talent, skill, and an unbreakable dedication to skateboarding. Some of these riders may not have had the most refined technique, but they gave so much of themselves to skateboarding and to skate culture in general that, in our opinion, they deserve a place on this list.

Whether they are the best skaters right now or have influenced future generations, all of them have contributed greatly to the history of skateboarding.

Let’s get to know them.

Alan “Ollie” Gelfand

Born in 1963, New York, USA. Alan Gelfand received the nickname “Ollie” from his friend and fellow skater Scott Goodman. That name was later used to “baptize” an aerial lipslide that Gelfand accidentally performed, creating what we now call the Ollie. It turned out that this trick, by the mid‑80s, had completely transformed the three main skate disciplines: vert, freestyle, and street. It was a groundbreaking discovery, since most modern skate tricks are based on the ollie.

The first Ollie

Back to the story: in 1977, when professional skater Stacy Peralta visited the Solid Surf Skate Park in Fort Lauderdale and met Gelfand, he saw for the first time (with some disbelief) how the maneuver called the Ollie was performed, and he was blown away.

So when Stacy Peralta and George Powell founded Powell‑Peralta—one of the longest‑standing and highest‑quality skate brands—they immediately recruited Gelfand as the first member of their new team. This team later became the Bones Brigade, which included other legendary skaters such as Mike McGill, inventor of the 540 aerial or “McTwist” in 1984, and Rodney Mullen, who invented the flat‑ground ollie.

Rodney Mullen

John Rodney Mullen, born August 17, 1966, in Gainesville, Florida.

Rodney Mullen is considered one of the most influential street skaters in history. He is credited with inventing many tricks, which is why he is often referred to as the “Godfather of Street Skateboarding.”

Mullen won his first world skateboarding championship when he was only 14 years old. During the following decade, he won 34 out of 35 freestyle contests, establishing the most successful competitive career in skateboarding history.

Mullen has appeared in more than 20 skate videos and is the co‑author of his autobiography, written with author Sean Mortimer, titled The Mutt: How to Skateboard and Not Kill Yourself.

Rodney is closely associated with two major skate brands you can find in our online skateshop: Almost and Tensor, the latter being the company he founded in 2000 with the goal of designing improved and innovative skateboard trucks.

Skate tricks invented by Mullen:

Godzilla rail flip (1979) – 540 shove-it (1979) – 50/50 Saran wrap (1979) – 50/50 Casper (1980) – Helipop (1980) – Gazelle flip (1981) – No-handed 50/50 (1981) – No-handed 50/50 kickflip – Kickflip (1982) – Heelflip (1982) – Double heelflip – Impossible (1982) – 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 Nosebone (1986) – Ollie finger flip (1986) – Ollie Airwalk (1986) – Frontside heelflip shove-it (1988) – Switchstance 360 flip (1990) – Helipop heelflip (1990) – Kickflip underflip (1992) – Half-cab – kickflip underflip (1992) – Casper slide (1992) – Half flip darkslide – Handstand flips

Tony Hawk

Anthony Frank Hawk (Birdman), born May 12, 1968, in San Diego, California.

In December 2011, Tony Hawk was ranked by Transworld Skateboarding as the second most influential skater of all time, only behind Mark “The Gonz” Gonzales.

Hawk has appeared in countless films, skate videos, documentaries, and television episodes, in addition to being the star of the hugely successful Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game series.

After many years of competing, on June 27, 1999, Tony Hawk became the first skater to land a 900, a trick that involves completing two and a half full rotations in the air. He succeeded on his twelfth attempt.

After landing the 900, Hawk decided to retire from professional competition that same year. However, he continued performing at the annual X Games until 2003, when he finally stepped away from professional skateboard competitions for good.

As of April 2020, Hawk is sponsored by Birdhouse, Vans, Independent Trucks, and Bones.

Golden Sand Skate Shop online offers products from all the brands that have sponsored Tony Hawk, with 24/48‑hour delivery: Birdhouse, Independent y Bones.

Mark Gonzales

Mark “The Gonz” Gonzales, born June 1, 1968, in South Gate, California, is known as one of the pioneers of modern street skateboarding. In 2011, he was named the “Most Influential Skateboarder of All Time” by Transworld Skateboarding magazine, which had already awarded him its first-ever Legend Award in 2006. In 2011, the magazine ranked him as the most influential skater ever (followed by Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen).

In addition to being a professional skater, Gonz is also an artist, poet, and writer.

Gonz designed sculptures and paintings for Supreme stores in Manhattan, San Francisco, London, Paris, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.

As of 2013, The Gonz was sponsored by Adidas, Krooked, Spitfire, Independent, and Supreme. And in 2016, Gonzales joined the Pro‑Tec skate team.

At Golden Sand, you have access to a wide catalog of products from the brands that sponsor The Gonz, such as Krooked and Spitfire.

Bob Burnquist

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 10, 1976, Robert Dean Silva Burnquist achieved his greatest success in the vert contest at the 2001 X Games. Before his final run—also the last run of the entire event—he was sitting in second place behind two‑time defending champion Bucky Lasek. But Burnquist left everyone speechless with a flawless performance that included multiple tricks that had never been seen before. He was rewarded with a 98 out of 100, the second‑highest score in X Games history, surpassed only by Lasek’s 98.50 from the previous year.

Burnquist usually skates with gear from Flip, Independent, and Ricta.

If you want to skate like Bob, Golden Sand offers a wide variety of products from these major skate brands: Flip, Independent, and Ricta.

Another unique aspect of Bob is his home in Vista, California, which features his own private skatepark, Dreamland, best known for its Mega Ramp—one of the few permanent mega ramps in the world. Burnquist opens the ramp to other pro skaters to help them train for Mega Ramp competitions and to progress with their Mega Ramp tricks.

The vert bowl at Burnquist’s skatepark has been skated by dozens of famous riders, including Tony Hawk and Bucky Lasek, and has appeared in hundreds of skate magazines and videos.

Daewon Song

Daewon was born in Seoul, South Korea, on February 19, 1975, and one of the most memorable moments in his career happened precisely in the East, when he ollied over the Great Wall of China. But there are many other achievements Song has earned throughout his skateboarding career.

In 2017, Daewon was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. He is co‑owner of Thank You Skateboards alongside Torey Pudwill, and co‑owner of Almost with Rodney Mullen.

After winning Berrics’ 2UP and In Transition contests in 2014, Daewon Song was voted the most impactful skateboarder of the year, beating a select list of nominees that included Guy Mariano and Ben Raybourn.

Song was also awarded “Skater of the Year” by Thrasher Magazine in 2006.

Chris Cole

Born March 10, 1982, in Statesville, North Carolina.

Chris “Cobra” Cole was awarded Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year title in both 2005 and 2009, as well as Transworld Skateboarding’s Reader’s Choice Award. It’s worth noting that only Chris Cole and Danny Way have won Skater of the Year twice.

Cole’s skate team is Zero Skateboards, a company in which he has been a shareholder. With Zero, he won Thrasher Magazine’s King of the Road contest three consecutive times, and he also earned two consecutive X Games gold medals. In many other skate competitions, Cole has come out on top, including Back to the Berg and DC Copenhagen Pro. In June 2013, Cole won the gold medal in the Street League Skateboarding contest during the X Games stop in Munich.

Chris Haslam

Born December 19, 1980, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, he began skating at the age of 13 while living with his parents in Singapore. His first skateboard was a Santa Cruz, and the first trick Haslam ever learned was a kickflip.

In 1998, after moving to Vancouver, Chris Haslam rode for Boarding House, a local skate shop run by two local skaters, John Raimondo and Jeff Logan. He spent much of his time perfecting his skills at the Richmond skatepark on the outskirts of Vancouver, often helping younger skaters by giving them free skate gear.

In 2005, Haslam won the Reader’s Choice Award at the seventh annual Transworld Skateboarding Awards. The following year, he was voted the winner of the Vs 411VM competition.

Among his sponsors were… Independent Trucks, Bones Wheels…

Bam Margera

Born September 28, 1979, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. Although Bam Margera began as a skateboarder, his career truly took off thanks to his stunts and MTV shows with the Jackass crew. With his skateboarding career helping launch his personal brand, Bam became a prominent figure in skate culture and within the skateboarding community.

During 1997 and 1998 (at the beginning of his career), Bam was sponsored by Toy Machine Skateboards. Later, from 2001 onward, he became a member of the Element Skateboards demo team, Team Element.

Among Bam Margera’s television projects are CKY, MTV’s Jackass, and Viva La Bam, which ran for five seasons.

In 2017, Bam decided to retire from professional skateboarding. However, he returned to skating informally with Element Skateboards to celebrate the brand’s 25th anniversary by re‑releasing a series of ten of Bam’s most memorable skateboard deck designs.

Nyjah Huston

Nyjah Imani Huston, born November 30, 1994, in Davis, California, is currently the highest‑ranked skateboarder in the world. He is preparing for the biggest challenge of his life: skating for Team USA at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. That’s right—2021 marks a new era for skateboarding, as it makes its official Olympic debut.

Huston began gaining attention after signing a sponsorship deal with Element Skateboards and joining their team of riders. During his early years with the company, Huston appeared in many Element skate videos, such as both volumes of the Elementality series, and competed in high‑profile contests like the Dew Tour and the Vans Downtown Showdown.

At the 2012 Transworld SKATEboarding Awards, Huston won three awards: Best Video Part (for his Rise & Shine video release), the New Era Readers’ Choice Award (the only award chosen exclusively by the magazine’s and website’s readers), and Best Street.

Huston has been nominated several times for Thrasher Magazine’s prestigious Skater of the Year award, though he has not yet won it. As of January 2021, Huston is no longer sponsored by Element, but he continues to hold sponsorships with Diamond Supply Co., Ricta Wheels, and Mob Grip.

Andrew Reynolds

Born in 1978 (Lakeland, Florida), Andrew Reynolds—nicknamed “The Boss”—is a professional skateboarder best known for co‑founding Baker Skateboards in 2000 alongside Jay Strickland. Today, Reynolds is the sole owner of Baker Skateboards.

He also won Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year award in 1998, and for his video part in the 2010 skate film Stay Gold, he received Transworld Skateboarding’s Best Video Part award.

In addition to Baker, he co‑founded Bakerboys Distribution with Erik Ellington and Jim Greco, a company that distributes Deathwish Skateboards and Shake Junt.

Rob Dyrdek

Robert Stanley Dyrdek (born June 28, 1974, in Kettering, Ohio) began his skateboarding career at the age of 12. A few years later, Dyrdek left his first sponsor and joined the newly created Alien Workshop, founded by Neil Blender, Chris Carter, and Mike Hill. You can find Alien Workshop skate gear in our Golden Sand online store.

Dyrdek decided to leave his senior year of high school at age 16 and moved to Southern California to continue pursuing his professional skateboarding career.

Shortly after moving to California, Dyrdek began riding for Droors Clothing, a company that eventually became DC Shoes. Among other sponsorships, Dyrdek is part of the Silver Trucks team, a company he helped establish in 2003.

In addition to his usual sponsorships and awards, Dyrdek starred in Rob & Big with Christopher “Big Black” Boykin, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, and Ridiculousness. He also appeared in the video games Skate and Skate 2, and has been featured in countless films, TV episodes, and documentaries.

Stacy Peralta

With Stacy Douglas Peralta (born October 15, 1957, in Venice, California), we return once again to the early days of skateboarding… It was the 1970s, and at just nineteen years old, Stacy Peralta had already become the highest‑ranked professional skater of his time when he decided to partner with George Powell to create the legendary Powell‑Peralta, one of the most successful skate brands of the 1980s and still a major reference today.

With the financial backing and success of Powell‑Peralta, Stacy Peralta formed the Bones Brigade, a team that included some of the best riders of the era. In 1984, Peralta directed and produced the first skateboarding video in history: Bones Brigade Video Show.

Peralta has written, directed, and produced twelve skate films and documentaries, including Dogtown and Z‑Boys, Lords of Dogtown, and Bones Brigade: An Autobiography.

Jay Adams

We remain in the 1970s with Jay Adams.

Born on February 3, 1961, in Venice, California, and passing away at age 53 on August 15, 2014, in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico, Jay J. Adams was a skateboarder who, in 1974 at just 13 years old, became the youngest member of the Z‑Boys.

Throughout Adams’ skate career, he was sponsored by Hurley, among others.

In 2012, Jay J. Adams was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.

According to Stacy Peralta, Jay Adams “may not be the greatest skateboarder of all time, but I can say without hesitation that he is clearly the archetype of modern skateboarding.”

Two murals in Venice commemorate Adams. One of them is located at the original Zephyr Skate Shop in Santa Monica, and the other—depicting him alongside Dogtown’s Shogo Kubo—can be found on the bowl of the Venice Skatepark.

Tony Alva

And we close with another “veteran of skateboarding.” Born on September 2, 1957, in Santa Monica, California, Tony Alva was one of the members of the Zephyr competition skate team, also known as the Z‑Boys. He is famous for being a pioneer of vertical skateboarding, as well as one of the first skaters to successfully land a Frontside Air. Alva, Jay Adams, and Stacy Peralta (all Z‑Boys) were among the first to skate the empty backyard pools of Los Angeles—the now‑legendary pools.

At the age of 19, in 1977, Alva turned down sponsorship offers from all the major skate companies and founded his own brand, Alva Skates.

Alva appeared in the film Dogtown and Z‑Boys, portrayed Tony Bluetile in Skateboard: The Movie, and appeared in Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland.

Buy the Skateboard Used by the Best Skaters

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Well, we’ve reached the end of this Top 15—skaters who, regardless of their skill and talent, have influenced the way skateboarding is practiced, perceived, and lived.

Of course, there are many more who have made huge contributions to the world of skateboarding and absolutely deserve to be on this list, but since it’s a Top 15, we can’t include them all. However, they at least deserve to be mentioned:

• Danny Way

• Bucky Lasek

• Ed Templeton

• Steve Caballero

• Guy Mariano

• Lance Mountain

• Mike Vallely

• Eric Koston

• Chris Joslin

• Elissa Steamer

• Paul Rodriguez

• Stevie Williams

• Rob “Sluggo” Boyce

• Leticia Bufoni

• Ryan Sheckler

• Christian Hosoi

• Richie Jackson

• Mike Carroll

• Natas Kaupas