2.12.2012

chrome ball incident #751: train in vain















"I see myself as Linus, carrying a skateboard around like some kind of security blanket."

Saw this dude at a demo in 1990 where some kid asked Rodney Mullen for his "secret" of doing powerslides. The most technical skater in the history of skateboarding and that's the trick this kid asks about. Powerslides.

...I thought Rodney's brain was going to short-circuit.

Anybody out there been able to see that Bones Brigade doc yet? Can't wait to check that thing out.

Had a nice week off even though I pretty much worked on CBI stuff every night anyway. How you been?

Big up to Jenkem, FFL, Kick to Kill, TWS, Rob Sissi, O'Dell and Justin Regan.

35 comments:

Joon said...

I can't even visualize some of the tricks in that bag of tricks chart.
Damn.

ODG said...

That (what I'm assuming) nollie impossible off the bench photo is amazing...and no, haven't seen it.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for coming back. Get my fix. Appreciating the hard work since around post 80.

Henry said...

I just wanted to do powerslides! Is that such a crime? Thanks a lot, man!!!

(sobs)

Anonymous said...

Impossible late tre flip. Lat that sink in for a second

dj twit said...

where did the Mutt nickname originate from? he had a few graphics with doggy references back in the day...

Anonymous said...

great skateboarder even bigger deuche bag. saw him knock down a little kid at a demo and straight up pointed and laughed at the kid.
the kid was just standing on the outside watching.sad to see the ego on some pros.

stephen said...

^^^are you fucking joking? i always thought he's one of the nicest dudes ever! i've met him a few times as a kid, at demos and such, during my grom era in the late 80's.

Giles said...

I think he used to train in an air conditioned dog house when he was growing up in FL.

Anonymous said...

this guy made a living making fun of powell peralta. now hes on the powell peralta world tour.talking about how great it was to ride for them. what the f@#k? talk about a sell out!!! the guy is faker than a 3 dollar bill.
does anyone remember that interview dune did a while back pointing out what a liar and manipulator he is?

Dave said...

Rodney doesn't get nearly enough respect, in my opinion. His contributions to skateboarding are incredible. My buddies and I used to watch Rodney vs. Daewon 2 on the regular. His board control is unparalleled. All the flip-in-flip-out manual stuff throughout his career was so nutty. And don't even get me started on that darkslide 360 flip out.

Great post, Chops. Glad to have you back.

Nate Nola said...

"great skateboarder even bigger deuche bag. saw him knock down a little kid at a demo and straight up pointed and laughed at the kid.
the kid was just standing on the outside watching.sad to see the ego on some pros."

Pretty sure this is all a lie, do u even have any idea who Rodney Mullen is? seriously dude maybe you saw jim Greco or some shit not Rodney Mullen.

Keith said...

It's crazy how many insane tricks he did and invented way back then.

I never saw him as the dude making fun of Powell in those early World days. I always saw it as Rocco. I always pictured Mullen as more of a talent scout.

Giles said...

It's funny how his dedication to freestyle kind of kept the world from knowing about those tricks. I mean, he invented the heelflip and the tre flip in like 1983, but you rarely saw him bust them out in his runs. The judges, or three fans, clearly cared more about pogos and rail flips, and casper dances, than all the cool stuff he was doing alone in his dog house. It really took gonz, Natas, and J Lee to show the world that flip tricks could be part of a more dynamic style of skateboarding, and Rocco and Ternasky to get Rodney out of the dog box so to speak. It just not clear to me that Stacy and Powell really did all that much for him in the grand scheme of things.

Anonymous said...

that trick chart made no sense to me. doubt mullen was ever a dick seems like hes always been a goofball

Anonymous said...

I've seen the movie and it shreds!!!! I can't wait to view it again.

I hope this post is the beginning of a Bones Brigade week.

Anonymous said...

so... he has to test pretty high on the autistic spectrum, right? he's got that single-minded focus that regular scatterbrains like us can't ever hope to achieve. plus, he's uh... one-of-a-kind in interviews.

mad respect, he's a legend no question.

Leiv said...

I can't even picture an impossible-late-360-flip. That doesn't make sense to me.

Funny that people can even hate on Rodney Mullen. Trully unfuckwitable.

JACK THE FILMER said...

if you are a fan that is cool but dont try and act like you know what he is about because you saw a video.almost every pro out there is the biggest dick you have ever met.
i have known and filmed rodney since 91.
he has a dark side like everyone does.ive seen him go off on tantrums when he does not get his way.i have seen him blacklist,and plain just hate on some people.

all iam saying is rule number 4080 industry folks are shady.

yes he is a great skateboarder but there is always another side.

Anonymous said...

All this talk about Rodney being a jerk is bumming me out. Rodney, say its not so

chops said...

Thanks guys.

For what it's worth, Rodney did take the time to show that kid how to do powerslides in the midst of the demo and was overall, super nice.

And also, this is the third different person in the CBI comment pages to claim they are Rodney Mullen's personal filmer. Just saying.

And a Bones Brigade week is a really good idea. I guess it's time Mike McGill finally got his due on CBI.

Thanks guys.

Big up Maurice!

Anonymous said...

do you really think rodney has only one filmer?
do you really think rodney is just walking around with a huge smile on his face every second of every day?

chops said...

do you really have that much at stake in whether we or not we think Rodney is a dick?

And of course, Rodney has more than one filmer. On top of the three "personal filmers" that have already come out here on CBI, I must tell you that I am a personal filmer of Rodney's as well. As a matter of fact, we're all personal filmers of Rodney's. This is our little online clubhouse to talk about all things Rodney.

Anonymous said...

obviously you do. other wise you would not care what some one has to say about rodney.
i find it odd that you would try and clown on youre readers when they are the ones that keep this sight going.
what do you have invested in weather rodney is a hater or if he is walking around all day with a big goofy smile on his face?

chops said...

You came at me, dude. I was just fielding the questions you posed. Sorry you don't like the answers.

I don't know Rodney and never claimed that I did. Regardless if he's a hater or the nicest dude in the world, it honestly makes no difference to me. You're the one who's evidently trying to sell "I hate Rodney" t-shirts.

Why so angry?

austin said...

LOL

Advantage: Chops

He wasn't clowning you at all, man. I just filmed Rodney yesterday! Sell me one of those shirts!

Anonymous said...

must of touched a nerve about rodney not being a nice guy?

ive read people call frankie hill a crack head on this site and not one word to defend him from you.
some one says rodney is not a nice guy and you go on the attack.
i dont understand?
crack head is worse than not being a nice guy.isnt it?

angry because i dont agree with you? it is the opposite.
i find it funny that those of you that dont know rodney will die till your last breath to defend a man you do not know.

have you read the chris pastras interview?
people in the industry know what rodney is about.

Keith said...

Where is this Dune interview? I'd like to read it.

Bill Weiss openly dissed Mullen in an interview iirc

Anonymous said...

I know plenty of nice crackheads.

QUINN AVERY DAVIS said...

Oh balls! Just when I thought it couldn't get better than a Rodney post I read the comments. Goddamn this is fantastic.

Haters are typically "anonymous." Wonder what they're afraid of? It's true, everybody may have a dark side. (dark slide?!?) Every time I met Rodney he was uncomfortably nice. But what did I care? Do I need to look up to skaters? Idols don't need worshipping, nor do they require to be idols. Funny how much some people invest in the artist, when it is really only the art that they see and admire.

QUINN AVERY DAVIS said...

AFTERTHOUGHT: What gets me about these amazing lists of the things that ROdney invented is that even if you go back and watch the scant amount of footage that Rodney had, you can easily find MANY tricks that are simply overlooked or omitted (e.g., nollie pop-shuvit fingerflip in Chin, or airwalk toss between the legs to finger flip in Public Domain slo-mo intro...grabbing the board twice in the air...WTF?) because they are so hard to comprehend and/or name.

Stacy should get more props for dragging these mavericks out into the public sphere. (It was the George Powell side of the corporation that fueled the corporate side of the duo.) If he hadn't, it seems almost inevitable that Rodney's old man would've won the battle and his son would be a bitter engineer somewhere in Florida right now, rather than one of the most constantly progressive and integral skaters over the past 30+ years.

Hopefully Stacy's documentary will bring him the respect that he deserves as a genius talent scout, and mentor.

Not The New Stereo Video said...

Quick comment after having seen the BB documentary in santa barbara : a lot of Rodney's persona finds explanation in his "off the beaten" path, to say the least, upbringing. He has BY FAR the heaviest part in the doc.

Bif said...

dj twit,
Rodney's nickname "The Mutt" started when he was just a Grom hanging out at his local Skate/Surf Shop all day everyday. In his Book he talks about one of the Shop workers alluded to Rodney being like a lost puppy who followed them around all the time. If i remember correctly Rodney also had long shaggy hair at this time and after the first Shop Worker said he was like a lost puppy, another guy at the Shop said something to the affect "He looks more like a Mutt, than a puppy". I guess Rodney liked the name so much he stopped talking and would only bark (I'm not kidding).

PS: Rodeny is a dick! I saw him steal an old ladies walker and use it as a flat bar yesterday, when I was filming him.

Anonymous said...

You guys, I am Rodney Mullen's personal filmer. He is actually a terrorist.

Anonymous said...

So stoked to see unseen photos that haven't been seen before, like the Darkstar ad.