2011 X Games: Ryan Sheckler Gives B/R His 5 Best Skateboarders Ever List
I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with skateboarding sensation Ryan Sheckler a few weeks ago.
We talked about many things including what it was like to be a star at such a young age, his plans for the future and his plans for upcoming competitions.
You can find the piece on the interview and the actual audio of it right here.
Ryan is planning on participating in the 2011 X games and is getting pretty geeked up for it, so that got me thinking about a few interesting questions.
Every star athlete got to where they are with hard work and practice obviously, but they also usually found inspiration in the greats before them.
The sport of skateboarding is filled with legendary names and iconic figures and Ryan Sheckler is quickly climbing up that list, but I was interested to know who he felt were some of the best boarders of all time.
He wanted me to stress that he believes all of these guys are great and equal in his eyes, so with that in mind let’s find out who made Ryan Sheckler’s list of the top 5 skateboarders of all time. I’ll even throw in some video so you can check out what they've got!
Marc Johnson
Johnson is one of the pioneers of the 90’s style street skateboarding that features the “switch stance” and “gnarl tech.”
He helped found the Enjoi board company and was Thrasher Magazines 2007 skater of the year.
Johnson is known as a master innovator in the street skating world.
Guy Mariano
Mariano is known for changing skateboarding through his natural abilities and unique style. His tricks and even his clothing styles have been copied by skaters for over two decades.
He owns four-star clothing and is the co-founder of Royal Trucks. He is also known for his parts in some of the best skating videos out there.
Paul Rodriguez
Rodriguez, aka P-Rod, could technically be considered the Michael Jordan of skateboarding.
He is sponsored by Nike Skateboarding, but also has sponsors with Mountain Dew and Plan B Skateboards to just name a few.
He has starred in quite a few of the popular skating video games that are on the market and has two Gold medals from the X games.
Chris Cole
Chris Cole is as decorated as a skateboarder can come.
Some of his awards include being the only skater named the Thrasher Magazine’s skater of the year twice, winning the Dew Tour and Maloof Money Cup.
He also holds back-to-back gold medals from the X games.
Salman Agah
Salman Agah is one of the all-time great contributors to the sport of skateboarding.
His most significant contribution to the actual sport was the pioneering of the switch stance.
He has been voted Thrasher Magazines Skater of the year, Transworld Skateboarding’s Most Influential Skater of the Decade in 1990’s and Big Brother Magazines Most Beautiful Skater.
Agah competed in the X Games in 1997 and was a judge in the World Cup of Skateboarding for three years.
He is also the co-founder of The Academy of Skateboarding.
More Ryan Sheckler Coverage on B/R
Coming out next week B/R will be revealing Sheckler’s top ten athletes ever list, so you are definitely going to want to check that out. He’s got some very interesting names on the list!
Ryan certainly had a lot of respect for these five guys and I think one day he will up there amongst them as the greatest skateboarders of all time.
So, in the meantime I’ll leave you with some of his video’s to check out!
Follow Ryan Sheckler on Twitter: @RyanSheckler
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AKonSports