Almost A Musical Study: Rodney Mullen

Life is tough. It grinds you down, and chips away at your soul. The trick is keeping happy.

Until recently I had forgotten that skateboarding makes me happy. Without realising the impact of my actions, I had been neglecting a core part of my identity, and I was feeling worse for it. To try and make amends for this, I thought I'd go back to my roots, and remember why I first fell in love with skateboarding. Then it struck me.

 I didn't fall in love with skateboarding alone, I fell for an entire philosophy.

Skateboarding is many things to many people. For some, skateboarding is nothing more than wheels on wood, for others, it is the heart and soul of everything they do. Rodney Mullen is one of the latter kind of people. He isn't the reason that I started skating, but he is the reason that I am still doing it. 

Rodney isn't the easiest of character to introduce either, but one thing is clear - his love of skateboarding is pure. Any non-skaterboarders reading this are probably now thinking 'Rodney who'? Essentially, he is perhaps the most influential skater since skateboardings initial inception. 

Skateboarding is what he breathes in, and progression is what he breathes out. 

Mullen pretty much invented every fundamental trick all contemporary skaters use to express themselves, and he speaks about everything he does (and has done) with an inspirational passion. In short, Rodney Mullen is the humble pioneer responsible for cementing skateboardings' foundations. Without him we would not have the tricks that now bind individual skateboarders together with a collective sense of identity. 

Even though his most athletic days might be behind him, Rodney now spends the time he is not skating campaigning; spreading the word about the benefits of skateboarding. Skateboarding by its very nature is an individual's pursuit, and there are a multitude of approaches to it - but as Rodney explains, skateboarding has become a global 'open source community'. A community grounded in reinvention, redefinition, and innovation. A community of creative thinkers. Of course, there are good skaters and bad skaters (in both style and outlook) within this community, but that is not what is important. 

What is important is that all skateboarders can call themselves skateboarders. 

Skateboarding might be nothing more than an earthly distraction, but for many it is the only purpose they have in their lives, and for others, it is the purpose their lives are missing. 

I count myself amongst the lucky. I have the time, the opportunity, and the resources, to explore many interests that give me a sense of purpose, fulfilment, belonging and identity. So, last weekend I decided to combine a few of these interests. The result is the below musical sketch.

Almost A Musical Study: Rodney Mullen

To make this track I scoured the internet and found two interviews with Rodney Mullen: one recent, and one from the start of his career. I also recorded the sound of myself doing a kickflip, a trick Mullen invented, and added the sound to the musical sketch I created. Finally, I added an old clip and a recent photo of myself skating to the mix. 

The track I produced feels individual, and a lot of people won't understand it, but I enjoyed the time I invested into it. Whats more, I am happy I did spend my time in this way. Interestingly, this is usually how I feel when I've been for a skate. 

So, by now you've probably also guessed that Rodney Mullen is a hero of mine. Though I might not ever meet him, or see him skate with my own eyes, I am happy in the knowledge that I don't need to...

Rodney Mullen has made a positive impression on me: he kept me a skateboarder - but one with a sense of perspective about, and a positive outlook on, why I skate. Hopefully he'll impress these beneficial sentiments upon many more people to come.

Right, time to go skate.