Why this trick should be IMPOSSIBLE ft. Rodney Mullen - Skateboarding Science 

He created the basics in which street skating evolved would be the more accurate statement. Kickflips and shtif have been done before him on a vert ramp but he was the first to put in on asphalt

Jason Lee invented the 360 flip, not Rodney.

He didnt invent the ollie, Alan gelfang invented the ollie and Natas did the street ollie.

Now its like every trick is has be found

@@superkirk11 no he didn't.

Also designed and refined the boards everyone rides today. The guy is an absolute genius when it comes to skating.

Man is a savant. I’ve recently built a car but I was so involved in the project I didn’t really see the work that I did until after a month of finishing. The thing is, he’s never done working. So it’s like being complimented on an unfinished project. It just doesn’t feel right to receive it yet.

To be fair someone else would of done those basic tricks eventually even without Rodney

@@topramenraymond7005 by that logic, no one should ever get credit for anything!

@@SirCharcoal You're not very bright now are you?

when standing on the shoulders of giants everyone else looks tiny.

I was genuinely disappointed when I realised that the video ended 💀💀💀

I can’t believe she didn’t think lots of people Would be interested in this, it was awesome

Same here. When she started doing the outtro I was like........wait! This is just getting good. I want more. Excellent video

Totally. I would have watched an hour of this. Let's see the 'director's cut'.

As a skater and physics nerd I definitely went “OHHH” 😂

I'm not even a skater but think Rodney is absolutely fascinating and so easy to listen to.

this one got me laugh so hard, thanks for that one.

He didn’t invent it but modified it and popularized it lol

He made the standard kickflip, but other flips had been done to build up to that point. He calls them kickflips, but what we know of as the kickflip, he did invent. Maybe he just invented the kickflip with all 4 wheels off the ground, and the standing kickflip had been done. Someone school me

@Jesse Pinkman Rodney was always my personal favorite, even when i was a kid and didn't know much about Skateboarding. He inspired me from a short few clips on a Tony Hawk game where he was skating on some tables, doing crazy manuals and grinds to be honest i don't even Skate, i BMX and Rodney is what mostly inspired me even though he is a skateboarder.

he pretty much invented skateboarding as we know it

Scrolled down to try and find the first comment from an actual skater. Congrats, you won.

This is definitely the comment for skateboarders only ;-)

@@dexgray4581 *Me having never skateboarded a day in my life* Me - 👀

The trick name called Pogo stick: 👀 Every freestyle skater in the universe: 👀

My favorite way to ruin my board 😂

It really is remarkable.

He is to street skating what Tony Hawk is to vert, he's that skater you know for sure you'll never be as good as.

And he lets other people name them 🤣

"you'll never be as good as." No one will ever be as good as Rodney Mullen.

He also designed and patented the modern skateboard board and redesigned the trucks. He needs more recognition then he gets tho even if he doesn't like it. Skateboarding is a sport now and needs it's own hall of fame.

A part two! Yes please. there is so much more to explore!

My thoughts exactly! this felt like a preview! Thoroughly enjoyed it, but there's so much more they could cover!

Daewon Song would be hurt by this.

Rodney Mullen Vs Daewon Song Round 2 is the best skateboarding video of all time...prove me wrong.

Classic video

This video could've easily been an hour long and I wouldn't have known it was a good watch that left more to be desired 😢

100% Agree. Back in the mid to late 90’s, it seemed like everyone except Rodney were getting the respect & attention they deserved. Rodney is a technical wiz that gave us so many of skateboardings coolest tricks.

Well said, and same here but it was longer than 15 years on my end. I've never watched an interview with Rodney and not had a big smile on my face.

Literally the same. lol. I haven’t got back into skateboarding but I do write music and I’ve got a bad case of “red light fever.” Started listening to his interviews after once listening to his podcast and bammm. The ridiculous amount of love/passion he has for his craft gives me a boost. I highly suggest listening to his TedTalk.

Even now, in 2024, he's still skating at 57 year old.

"I'm credited with creating the trick or whatever" "The impossible?" "ye" xD

Average Picker because she’s learning the physics and not doing a podcast how he can do it, but still a great video

@@stephenwillmott I mean... fair... But It's Rodney Mullen! He's so fascinating in the skateboarding field!

I'm sure she has over 2 hour's of footage. It's takes hour's of filming to get a solid 10 minutes of good editing

800th like

never even heard of Rodney Millen or Physics girl, but I was annoyed it finished right after starting

88 :P I am 34 as well.

yeah, i wanted to hear more from him

AGREED!!!

if only.. =]

Yes! Everyone knows the best way to do Scientific Research is with great ska/punk music.

ComandanteJ the best sound tracks to my youth

I still play Tony Hawk HD sometimes.

Yep I learned that a simple nollie triple kickflip melon grab can be performed off of a trashcan onto a powerline and then I can sack-tap grind that powerline up as long as I keep jumping and then do a Christ Air off of it into a bowl, all while wearing pajama pants.

He is an unquestionably special human being. It's impossible not grow more in awe of him with the more you learn about him & his history. I'm not certain Skateboarding would have ever reached the heights it has without the dynamic tricks he brought to the fore.

@@ClockWorkJakewatched his tedtalk along with some of his interviews and felt like I’d done a cold plunge or found “the book of love.” Most inspirational person ever. Helps me overcome my “red light fever” when recording.

@@louieo.blevinsmusic4197 I still think listening to you do your thing is a spiritual experience man. I love what you do ( AND I Actually HAD a fkn freestyle board livin in Ranch bernardo in the 5th grade in 1986. I lived the come up of the Bones brigade. Got to skate with Tommy Guerrero when I had his mini under my feet. The late 80s in southern cali was a golden age for an old skater like me man.

@@louieo.blevinsmusic4197 the thing about rodney that's so inspiring - is his pure dedication to skating. I'd bet my life no human being has ever, or WILWL ever spend more time withj his feet on a skate deck. His love for it real in a way that can't be faked. He's the type of person - who would have been the michael jordan of whatever he decided to do - He bleeds skateboarding like noone. But there's something else - he's sp kind, humble & vulnerable - he's the best there ever will be - But talking to him or hearing him talk, you'd never know it. He's gifted, - but truthfully - it;s the world - thats luucky to recieve the gift of his authenticity. He is as real as real gets. Pure love - Pne of my true heros - up there with Arnold Palmer & My grandpa

What's more to be said about the impossible?

@@thememaster7 not too much. But there’s an infinite amount of other “Rodney” wisdom to be explored and not to mention skating physics as a whole could be a infinitely deep rabbit hole as the sport is progressing (as are most sports) everyday.

@@MuddySalsa No. The impossible is actually impossible when left alone, that's it. If Rodney found that it was possible by leaving it alone, then I think there would be long videos. Amazing skills doesn't mean amazing physics.

@@thememaster7 yes. What you presented there is a summary of the video and your opinion that there’s not enough amazement to be had in studying the physics of skateboarding. It’s just a case of different strokes for different folks. Some people geek out on the physics, some don’t. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole load of content that could be made on the subject.

@@MuddySalsa Like what?

Hit the nail on that one. Humility is such a rare trait and it's so evident how truly humble Rodney is. He doesn't "act" humble. He is genuinely a humble human being. An egotistical human in his shoes would have surely mentioned earlier on "Oh, invented the ollie, kickflip, impossible and many others" Only thing he mentions about inventing a trick is at 6:40 and he doesn't even say he invented it he says "I'm credited for creating the trick or whatever", such a humble way to say it and then he quickly moves on to continue his point. Rodney Mullen has been my favorite skater and a general role model since 2005.

Goober tuber rodney is like a monk

tony hawk is not humble...

Calm Z . But why do you have such a problem with those two posters? It seems that a simple explanation of ego and such would have sufficed without having to negatively talk about the posters.

Hawk just was very lucky and got crazily famous, nothing really special about him

bob is also a legend, hands up for Brazilian skaters

VERY, VERY, humble. He said, “I’m credited for creating the impossible…” not “I created the impossible.” Such an amazing human being.

Yeah exactly he was the first to do an ollie which is the main point of skateboarding today. I know him thanks to the Tony Hawks games he was there with the sick manual tricks and of course the videos

Thats not humble that's just putting yourself down

If you ever want to see some truly spectacular tricks created by Mullen, check out the casper slide and the darkslide.

A creative genius and a god-like athlete in one.

Haha yeah, I noticed that too.

He said "had" in all three cases.

@@brett7y7 He said "have" for the first two and "had" for the last.

Simple humble explanation, classic mullen

Mullen didn't invent shuvits. Pop shuvit, yeah, but shuvits off the nose were a really early skateboard trick

it's more than just "creating some tricks." Mullen is a physical genius and a kind of artist. For more than a decade, every few months Mullen would do new tricks that thousands of pro and passionate skaters around the world simply couldn't imagine was possible for a human body and a skateboard to do. In the same way that great composers have come up with new music that we couldn't previously imagine was possible, and great painters have created ways of seeing the world we couldn't previously imagine, Mullen over and over and over again pushed the boundaries of what we imagined was even possible. Since each "discovery" thousands of other skaters have mastered most of those tricks, so it's not that Mullen's body is somehow freakish. Rather, it's the combination of his famous hard work (spending hours alone each day skating on a simple parking lot exploring and mastering) along with a kind of genius to discover what couldn't previously be imagined.

Because he's not out to impress people, he skates because it's what he loves.

Thomas Donalek thank You I love Rodney Myself he's Amazing and a great Skater he inspired me to skate and could possibly be my distant cousin cause I do have his last name and He does have alittle Irish in him like I do on my father's side.

I believe Rodney invented so many tricks in his parent's garage, and used those new techniques to win a flatground competition. Easily.

He's chilled, he's modest and on the skateboard he's a genius.

His father was a Doctor and he was well on his way into going to University, he said in an interview if he hadn't started skateboarding he'd have probably ended up in a career doing nuclear physics, thank god he didn't because skateboarding owes him a lot

That weed man

No no, not TED. Poptech. That's next level.

me too, i discovered him by Tony hawk Pro Skater This guy is awesome, a hard worker, (apparently he skated 9 hours per day in the heat of the 90's and his career. He invented many tricks,still modest, and i think he is one of the rare skater to preserve old school tricks (flat tricks like casper, darkslide, manuals...) And yeah his conference at ted talk was interesting

What happened?

@@ALMIGHTYBLADER long covid complications I think..

More like Tim Reynolds or John petrucci.

Great analogy

Rapaladude well said

it's like watching MJ play basketball

more like allan holdsworth

You'd definitely learn those tricks inside out wouldn't you...would be awesome

No the 5 hour long one is just the tricks he invented. The full vid is like 7 lol

Watching Johnny Geiger is nearly as good.

That ol planB video where he skates to Louis Armstrongs wonderful world is your video...not five hours but he showcases his skills like crazy

yeah me too, my brother was all for Tony Hawk. But i saw a skate vid of Rodney and was blown away by his style and finesse on the board. I would love to meet him one day.

@@firebender666 Yeah as a kid he instantly became my favorite when I saw his intro skate videos in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, I always loved how smoothly and seemingly effortlessly his style flowed. Despite never having taken up skating myself, and despite all the other professionals I started to see both in games, and live, he always held that spot. Watching his videos a decade later, hearing his interviews, and seeing the tricks he invented (many of which have always been some of my absolute favorites,) I can't help to constantly build more and more respect for him and how he helped pioneer skating as a whole.

@@firebender666 there was this video of him before YT times, set to sing for the moment. I maybe watched that thing 10k times and tried every trick in there. Thats how we learnt, like 3 seconds of that video could keep you busy for a year.

...and shockingly intelligent to boot.

100% agree

I dunno, Tony Hawk is still a person

Yeah for someone who is a literal skate God he's extremely humble and chill

MCMR Music 3rd to Jesus and Mary

The world needs more, Einsteins, Mullens, Van Halens, Teslas. Innovators.

That's a sentence that won't ever wear out.

"I only had one foot at the time"

Have you seen Daewon Song? That guy was up there with Mullen in the 90's in terms of crazy moves nobody else could do.

anyone who knows about rodney, knows about daewon. their VS videos are legendary.

Daewon Song, Killian Martin, and Rodney Mullen are all tremendous with those super technical freestyle tricks

Yeah, that's a good bunch of technical skaters. The difference is probably that Mullen was one of the first to take freestyle to the streets? Atleast in that mullen style

Not true, but he has contributed a lot. Rodney hasn't invented a single air, grab, etc, when it comes to street skating he invented several flip tricks, even then Gonz was the one to adapt them to street

@@FPSBloodlust oh yeah, cause grabs are soooo hard to invent. He is the grandfather of skating bro

@@FPSBloodlust skating wouldn't be the same without him.

well, he invented flatground ollie, from there everything changed...

@@ajricherson1099 I wouldn't the value out of vert tricks. It still takes skill to do grabs.

Agreed! Post all the outtakes & extra footage & convo!

Lol ur right under it

Fr, I actually have more questions about the math behind that axis theorem now

Seriously, he is rightly venerated both for his intellect, ability, and demeanor. Bloody legend m8!!

::BUMP:: yea, eggplants alll day

I know you you're the tech music guy with the mirror! You've just gone up even more in my estimations from being a Rodney fan

Besides, he had one of the most incredible peaks of any skater I know. The point that he was even capable of doing what he did at his absolute best is incredible. He's a pioneer of the craft, and even though every skater will eventually get worse at their craft, the ways he changed the skating community as a whole can never be overstated or overwritten. He's a genius.

@@tomfurstyfield Cool channel and I did subscribe to it. Thanks. 😝

Hello Cuckoo, it's a pleasure to see you there. Are you skating too? Bye ;-)

Rodney is just such a chill guy. Makes me wish my bad genetics let me keep skating, but alas, my knee wore out around 5 years ago... So glad to see him still at it and using his talent to teach. I should also download/watch Almost Rd3 again, because it's been too long...

He’s got a chill voice too haha

if you are intersted in the skateboarding shown in thsi video - watch a film called rodney mullen vs daewon song 1

wait wait wait…. Daewon Song. Enough words for round 4

I came back to skating after a 25 year break. (more fool me). Getting an Engineering degree gives you some appreciation of what happens on the physics side but Rodney is an absolute genius. Understanding something and executing it are two VERY different things. Oh, and gravity is a b*tch. Especially when you are 48.

Gyyuh yuh u u y

Make. It. Happen. 🙏

100% this.

i'd watch it

Docuseries

Madmatt Drums he been that way forever

I think he somehow is talking abt fingerflips

He never really wanted all the fame and attention. He talks about it in his TED Talk. Once the world of skateboarding kind of moved past his era of street skating, he ended up feeling a rush of freedom. He didn't have to compete to defend his "champion" title anymore, and he was free to just create and give back to the skating community.

@@AugmentedSmurf lmao street is the most popular form of skateboarding

@@sicklyskates3116 I said his /era/ of street skating. Meaning that street skating moved on after he innovated and added so much style to the scene. The first era was when kids rode boards just to get from point a to point b. Then there was the Mullen era. Then the modern era.

rodney is the goat and godfather of skateboarding we know today

imwithyou38 always

Goat 🐐

Rodney is god's gift to skateboarding. The undisputed GOAT and a genuinely sweet person.

also 360 flip, heelflip, gazelle flip and bunch of other tricks.

Dude Rodney Mullen didn't invent the Ollie that was Alan "Ollie" gelfand was actually first done in a pool. The kickflips and impossible is correct plus many others. I myself have been skating since 1985. I'm 43 but don't do as often as I don't bounce anymore when I fall. Lol. But it was my life for a very long time. Skate or die dude old school all day.

Rodney did transfer Alan's work from transitions to flatland which I guess was the starting point to all street skating. So your kinda right to sum degree but Ollie gelfand was the first.

Its a completely different trick on flat ground. It requires YOU to create the momentum instead of using the pools transition. Is actually not even close to being the same trick. Alan Gelfand not only used the pools transition for the momentum but also executed the trick when coming off ther coping which is naturally going to creating the illusion of being something more than a no handed aerial. No stomp no scoop no ollie. It's like saying you jumped when you were actually thrown. The most it could have possibly done was give Rodney the idea. Different psychics altogether. The flatgroung ollie was the single greatest achievement in sports history. Imho. This man is a true genius in the most basic sense of the word. Someone should start a petition to have Rodney credited with inventing the ollie. Or simply stop calling Alans an ollie because it wasn't. Enough is enough already.

go nova dude nobody is disputing Rodney's legendary status. I love the dude. But your wrong il post the link which shows Alan plainly using his tail to Ollie. They been airing on pools for a long time before he did the first Ollie. You ask any skater especially if the old school variety they will all agree Alan was the first regardless of where he did it. It shows plainly on the video the whole theory of the Olly hell the second onr he does he pulls to revert. So listen please understand I'm not bashing Rodney or anyone but the fact remains and always will that Alan Ollie gelfand was the first man to Ollie period. On the flat it's exactly the same method as he used it's just on the flat that's all. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MN1CipigXoQ.html

Dustin Harms because he's perfect! I've been inspired by this guy and love this guy since I was like 12

Dustin Harms totally agree with you, best skateboarder of all times

When I saw the title for this I thought " they should talk about Rodney Mullen" and then hey wow

Imagine what a shitshow it would've been if they used dustin dollin...

Exactly! For one one thing he practically invented nearly every trick done today or some variation of it and he has the intelligence and vocabulary to coherently explain it all.

wow! Great one

Yeah im sure they just thumbs down on accident and didn't realize it. Either that or they are bitter Tony hawk fans lol

Don't add sound logic to this discussion. This is the internet for damn sakes.

nah they thumbs downed because they think impossibles are impossible and hard flips are hard

I got it after like 25 tries

Should be a skate vid title

For real the earth forgave him every time he defied its gravity.. lol

He probably wouldn't let me use those terms, but yes. Yes I do. It was a HUGE honor. And so hilariously fun.

That's typical Rodney, he's honestly probably the sweetest guy in the universe, he's a true class act.

Dude, Rodney isnt the god, he was just one of many who appeared as a character in the videogame of the God of skateboards.. Tony Hawk.

Major Tom That's blasphemy.

Ok yes i am uderrating him. he has lots of cool tricks, many of which i loved to do on the videogame, i never managed to do an ollie, most i did was getting off the sidewalk to the street at speed.

Same thought!

Agreed, seeing this footage of him on really good cameras was like seeing poetry in motion.

Had the same feeling. Better check her friend's channels.

Just set up some of his compilations and enjoy. He's a wizard with a skateboard.

Have you played the Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1-3? If not, download an emulator with the ROMS, connect a controller and prepare to lose a lot of hours in the most legendary skateboarding series of all time.

The warehouse scene in that movie is the quintessence of skateboarding. The olympics ain't got nothing on that.

@@H3LLE facts

I loved rewatching his short vid in THPS 4. His segment is still amazing

You should also look up Per Welinder

Werther's Original j

Still think it's 2% unholy bargain with the Dark Master.

i wish it was 2 hours long

And still complain it was to short

Sandy's Crafts twice

Ok grandpa lol

@@Boognish_ hey grandson!

Ironic that she didn't do her homework on this one.

amthatdad I guess she was more interested in the physics involved than the history of skateboarding. Can’t blame her

@@amthatdad3450 lol she didn't even know what a nollie is

Well, it's just one of a bunch of tricks he invented, so probably no big thing for him :D

@@ChillLikeAFreezer I'm pretty sure you didnt know the intermediate axis theorem. We all learned something today. Success!

List of tricks Rodney invented: 360 flip 360 pressure flip 50/50 Casper 50/50 Saran wrap 50/50 sidewinder 540 shove-it Backside flip (backside 180 kickflip) Casper 360 flip Casper slide Double heelflip Frontside heelflip shove-it Gazelle flip Godzilla rail flip Half-cab kickflip Half-cab kickflip underflip Half flip darkside Handstand flips Heelflip Helipop Helipop heelflip Impossible Kickflip Kickflip underflip No-handed 50/50 No-handed 50/50 kickflip Ollie Airwalk Ollie finger flip Ollie Nosebone One-footed ollie Sidewinder Switch 360 flip

Half? lol

This guy literally inveted one of the first and most fundamental tricks anyone learns on a skateboard. The flatland Ollie.

@@downwithtrudeau He invented so many tricks that he forgot and invented them again lol. Without Rodney, skating wouldn't be anywhere close to where it's at now.

dont forget dark slides

same here

Not a skater; watched to the end.

Shirt Flames stfu

Shirt Flames how on earth is skating not a sport?

physics behind Chess sport

Clicked for Rodney, stayed for Rodney.

Stayed for the hot chick

@@pablogates5355 same. Rodney is just amazing

@@RabbitConfirmed yup

“LZD l”, Ha·Ha… .

A longer video would have been so nice. I feel like they only paid him to do a few (super dope) tricks

I agree with you for the most part, but people have already replicated the tricks he has done and can do.Many skaters have also taken those tricks to obsticles he never imagined.

@@kilo393 casper slide 360 flip out is not done by anyone elae.

@@ROGUESPIRIT_ thats a good thing

Other than jonny giger

@@infinitevelocity2.0 Rodney wasn't the first to do dark slides. He is believed to be the first to flip into them.

Thanks i'll check it out. I missed this so i really appreciate it