0:00:09.032,0:00:14.809 (Music) 0:00:20.346,0:00:24.787 (Music) 0:01:29.617,0:01:32.349 (Music ends) 0:01:34.980,0:01:40.633 (Applause) 0:01:43.457,0:01:45.399 So, that's what I've done with my life. 0:01:45.423,0:01:46.881 (Laughter) 0:01:46.905,0:01:49.513 (Applause) 0:01:49.537,0:01:50.690 Thank you. 0:01:50.714,0:01:54.912 (Applause) 0:01:56.112,0:01:58.609 As a kid, I grew up on a farm in Florida, 0:01:58.633,0:02:00.564 and I did what most little kids do. 0:02:00.588,0:02:04.300 I played a little baseball,[br]did a few other things like that, 0:02:04.324,0:02:06.610 but I always had the sense[br]of being an outsider, 0:02:06.634,0:02:09.475 and it wasn't until I saw[br]pictures in the magazines 0:02:09.499,0:02:11.752 that a couple other guys skate, I thought, 0:02:11.776,0:02:13.296 "Wow, that's for me," you know? 0:02:13.320,0:02:15.920 Because there was no coach[br]standing directly over you, 0:02:15.944,0:02:18.200 and these guys,[br]they were just being themselves. 0:02:18.224,0:02:20.446 There was no opponent[br]directly across from you. 0:02:20.470,0:02:23.738 And I loved that sense,[br]so I started skating 0:02:23.762,0:02:27.011 when I was about 10 years old, in 1977, 0:02:27.035,0:02:30.156 and when I did,[br]I picked it up pretty quickly. 0:02:30.180,0:02:33.709 In fact, here's some footage[br]from about 1984. 0:02:33.733,0:02:38.852 It wasn't until 79[br]I won my first amateur championship, 0:02:38.876,0:02:43.653 and then, by 81, I was 14,[br]and I won my first world championship, 0:02:45.022,0:02:47.190 which was amazing to me, 0:02:47.814,0:02:50.879 and in a very real sense,[br]that was the first real victory I had. 0:02:50.903,0:02:52.068 Oh, watch this. 0:02:52.092,0:02:54.627 This is a Casper slide,[br]where the board's upside down. 0:02:54.651,0:02:56.239 Mental note on that one. 0:02:56.263,0:02:57.723 (Laughter) 0:02:57.747,0:02:59.227 And this one here? 0:02:59.251,0:03:01.039 An ollie. 0:03:02.100,0:03:06.275 So, as she mentioned,[br]that is overstated for sure, 0:03:06.299,0:03:10.163 but that's why they called me[br]the godfather of modern street skating. 0:03:10.597,0:03:12.518 Here's some images of that. 0:03:13.441,0:03:16.448 Now, I was about halfway[br]through my pro career 0:03:16.472,0:03:19.815 in, I would say, the mid-'80s. 0:03:19.839,0:03:23.571 Freestyle itself... we developed[br]all these flat ground tricks, as you saw, 0:03:23.595,0:03:26.854 but there was evolving[br]a new kind of skateboarding, 0:03:26.878,0:03:31.698 where guys were taking it to the streets,[br]and they were using that ollie, 0:03:31.722,0:03:33.106 like I showed you. 0:03:33.130,0:03:36.453 They were using it to get up[br]onto stuff like bleachers and handrails 0:03:36.477,0:03:39.281 and over stairwells[br]and all kinds of cool stuff. 0:03:39.305,0:03:41.554 So it was evolving upwards. 0:03:41.578,0:03:44.286 In fact, when someone tells you[br]they're a skater today, 0:03:44.310,0:03:46.281 they pretty much mean a street skater, 0:03:46.305,0:03:49.591 because freestyle, it took about[br]five years for it to die, 0:03:49.615,0:03:55.670 and at that stage, I'd been a "champion"[br]champion for 11 years, which... 0:03:55.694,0:03:57.136 Phew! 0:03:57.160,0:04:00.709 And suddenly, it was over for me,[br]that's it... it was gone. 0:04:00.733,0:04:03.197 They took my pro model off the shelf, 0:04:03.221,0:04:06.033 which was essentially[br]pronouncing you dead, publicly. 0:04:06.057,0:04:08.020 That's how you make your money, you know? 0:04:08.044,0:04:11.340 You have a signature board[br]and wheels and shoes and clothes. 0:04:11.364,0:04:13.395 I had all that stuff, and it's gone. 0:04:14.451,0:04:18.262 The crazy thing was, there was[br]a really liberating sense about it, 0:04:18.288,0:04:22.874 because I no longer had to protect[br]my record as a champion. 0:04:22.898,0:04:24.078 "Champion," again. 0:04:24.102,0:04:26.653 Champion sounds so goofy,[br]but it's what it was, right? 0:04:28.577,0:04:30.678 What drew me to[br]skateboarding, the freedom, 0:04:30.703,0:04:33.254 was now restored,[br]where I could just create things, 0:04:33.278,0:04:36.130 because that's where the joy[br]was for me, always, 0:04:36.154,0:04:38.324 was creating new stuff. 0:04:38.348,0:04:41.879 The other thing that I had[br]was a deep well of tricks to draw from 0:04:41.903,0:04:44.132 that were rooted[br]in these flat ground tricks. 0:04:44.156,0:04:47.154 Stuff the normal guys were doing[br]was very much different. 0:04:47.178,0:04:49.107 So, as humbling and rotten as it was... 0:04:49.132,0:04:50.840 And believe me, it was rotten. 0:04:50.864,0:04:55.202 I would go to skate spots,[br]and I was already "famous guy," right? 0:04:55.226,0:04:57.038 And everyone thought I was good, 0:04:57.062,0:04:59.356 but in this new terrain, I was horrible. 0:04:59.380,0:05:03.197 So people would go,[br]"Oh, what happened to Mullen?" 0:05:03.282,0:05:05.121 (Laughter) 0:05:05.145,0:05:07.785 So, humbling as it was, I began again. 0:05:07.809,0:05:12.256 Here are some tricks that I started[br]to bring to that new terrain. 0:05:12.279,0:05:16.888 And again, there's this undergirding[br]layer of influence of freestyle... 0:05:17.513,0:05:19.279 Oh, that one? 0:05:19.303,0:05:22.087 That's, like, the hardest[br]thing I've ever done. 0:05:22.676,0:05:24.387 OK, look at that, it's a Darkslide. 0:05:24.411,0:05:26.251 See how it's sliding on the backside? 0:05:27.332,0:05:30.176 Those are super fun,[br]and, actually, not that hard. 0:05:30.200,0:05:32.792 You know, at the very root[br]of that, see, Caspers, 0:05:32.816,0:05:34.385 see how you throw it? 0:05:35.512,0:05:37.991 Simple as that, right? No biggie. 0:05:38.015,0:05:41.483 And your front foot,[br]the way it grabs it... 0:05:42.761,0:05:45.528 I'd seen someone slide[br]on the back of the board like that, 0:05:45.552,0:05:47.474 and I was like, "How can I get it over?" 0:05:47.498,0:05:49.204 Because that had not yet been done. 0:05:49.228,0:05:52.111 And then it dawned on me,[br]and here's part of what I'm saying. 0:05:52.135,0:05:54.328 I had an infrastructure.[br]I had this deep layer, 0:05:54.352,0:05:56.780 where it was like, oh my gosh,[br]it's just your foot. 0:05:56.804,0:05:58.876 It's just the way[br]you throw your board over. 0:05:58.900,0:06:01.160 Just let the ledge do that, and it's easy, 0:06:01.184,0:06:03.584 and the next thing you know,[br]there's 20 more tricks 0:06:03.608,0:06:05.096 based out of the variations. 0:06:05.120,0:06:07.753 So that's the kind of thing...[br]Here, check this out, 0:06:07.777,0:06:09.838 here's another way,[br]and I won't overdo this. 0:06:09.862,0:06:11.516 A little indulgent, I understand. 0:06:11.540,0:06:13.552 There's something called a Primo slide. 0:06:16.742,0:06:19.268 It is the funnest trick ever to do. 0:06:22.628,0:06:23.945 It's like skimboarding. 0:06:25.152,0:06:28.061 And this one, look how it slides[br]sideways, every which way? 0:06:28.085,0:06:30.913 OK, so when you're skating,[br]and you take a fall, 0:06:30.937,0:06:34.014 the board slips that way or that way;[br]it's kind of predictable. 0:06:34.038,0:06:37.082 This? It goes every which way...[br]It's like a cartoon, the falls, 0:06:37.106,0:06:39.194 and that's what I love the most about it. 0:06:39.218,0:06:40.844 It's so much fun to do. 0:06:40.868,0:06:44.129 In fact, when I started doing them,[br]I remember, because I got hurt. 0:06:44.153,0:06:45.940 I had to get a knee surgery, right? 0:06:45.964,0:06:50.207 So there were a couple of weeks[br]where I couldn't skate at all. 0:06:50.231,0:06:53.117 It would give out on me,[br]and I would watch the guys, 0:06:53.141,0:06:56.050 I'd go to this warehouse[br]where a lot of the guys were skating, 0:06:56.074,0:06:57.394 my friends, and I was like, 0:06:57.418,0:07:00.162 "I've got to do something new,[br]I want to do something new. 0:07:00.186,0:07:01.361 I want to start fresh." 0:07:01.385,0:07:04.407 And so the night before my surgery,[br]I'd watched, and I was like, 0:07:04.431,0:07:05.779 "How am I going to do this?" 0:07:05.803,0:07:07.633 So I ran up, and I jumped on my board, 0:07:07.657,0:07:09.605 and I Cavemanned, and I flipped it down, 0:07:09.629,0:07:12.524 and I remember thinking,[br]I landed so light-footed, thinking, 0:07:12.548,0:07:15.724 if my knee gives, they'll just have[br]more work to do in the morning. 0:07:15.748,0:07:16.919 (Laughter) 0:07:16.943,0:07:18.993 And so, when it was the crazy thing. 0:07:19.017,0:07:21.733 I don't know how many[br]of you guys have had surgery, but... 0:07:21.757,0:07:23.196 (Laughter) 0:07:23.220,0:07:24.512 you are so helpless, right? 0:07:24.536,0:07:27.362 You're on this gurney[br]and you're watching the ceiling go by, 0:07:27.386,0:07:28.767 every time, it's always that, 0:07:28.791,0:07:32.129 and right when they're putting[br]the mask on you before you go to sleep, 0:07:32.153,0:07:35.327 all I was thinking is,[br]"Man, when I wake up and I get better, 0:07:35.351,0:07:37.836 the first thing I'm going to do[br]is film that trick." 0:07:38.241,0:07:42.658 And indeed I did, it was the very first[br]thing I filmed, which was awesome. 0:07:44.584,0:07:47.302 I told you a little bit[br]about the evolution of the tricks. 0:07:47.304,0:07:49.145 Consider that content, in a sense. 0:07:49.534,0:07:53.381 What we do as street skaters is,[br]you have these tricks... 0:07:53.405,0:07:55.423 Say I'm working on Darkslides, or a Primo, 0:07:55.447,0:07:57.330 that you guys know this stuff now. 0:07:57.354,0:07:59.120 (Laughter) 0:07:59.144,0:08:01.478 What you do is, you cruise[br]around the same streets 0:08:01.502,0:08:03.289 that you've seen a hundred times, 0:08:03.313,0:08:06.082 but suddenly, because[br]you already have something 0:08:06.106,0:08:11.327 in this fixed domain of this target,[br]it's like, what will match this trick? 0:08:11.351,0:08:14.367 How can I expand, how can the context, 0:08:14.391,0:08:17.444 how can the environment change[br]the very nature of what I do? 0:08:17.468,0:08:21.292 So you drive and drive and drive,[br]and, actually I've got to admit, 0:08:21.316,0:08:24.040 just because I was struggling[br]with this because I'm here, 0:08:24.064,0:08:26.549 but I'll just say it,[br]is, I cannot tell you, 0:08:26.573,0:08:28.318 not only to be here in front of you, 0:08:28.342,0:08:30.868 but what a privilege it is[br]to be at US campus, 0:08:30.892,0:08:34.928 because I have been escorted off[br]of this campus so many times. 0:08:34.952,0:08:37.729 (Laughter) 0:08:37.753,0:08:39.759 (Applause) 0:08:41.982,0:08:47.813 So let me give you another example[br]of how context shapes content. 0:08:47.837,0:08:51.142 This is a place not that far from here,[br]It's a rotten neighborhood. 0:08:51.166,0:08:53.738 Your first consideration is,[br]am I going to get beat up? 0:08:53.762,0:08:56.215 You go out and... See this wall? 0:08:56.239,0:09:00.686 It's fairly mellow, and it's beckoning[br]to do bank tricks, right? 0:09:00.724,0:09:03.444 But there's this other aspect[br]of it for wheelies, 0:09:03.468,0:09:04.758 so check this out. 0:09:05.148,0:09:06.658 There's a few tricks, again, 0:09:06.682,0:09:09.083 how environment changes[br]the nature of your tricks. 0:09:09.107,0:09:11.809 Freestyle oriented,[br]manual down... wheelie down. 0:09:12.304,0:09:15.378 Watch, this one? Oh, I love this,[br]it's like surfing, this one, 0:09:15.402,0:09:16.956 the way you catch it. 0:09:16.980,0:09:20.130 This one, a little sketchy[br]going backwards, 0:09:20.154,0:09:21.341 and watch the back foot. 0:09:22.916,0:09:24.067 Oops... 0:09:24.091,0:09:25.504 (Laughter) 0:09:25.528,0:09:27.028 Mental note right there. 0:09:27.052,0:09:28.650 Again, we'll get back to that. 0:09:28.674,0:09:29.825 (Laughter) 0:09:29.849,0:09:31.285 Here, back foot, back foot. 0:09:32.238,0:09:33.411 OK, up there? 0:09:33.435,0:09:34.744 That was called a 360 flip. 0:09:34.768,0:09:37.501 Notice how the board flipped[br]and spun this way, both axes. 0:09:40.194,0:09:42.585 And another example[br]of how the context changed, 0:09:42.653,0:09:46.647 and the creative process[br]for me and for most skaters, 0:09:46.671,0:09:49.893 is, you go, you get out of the car,[br]you check for security, 0:09:49.917,0:09:51.074 you check for stuff. 0:09:51.098,0:09:52.293 (Laughter) 0:09:52.317,0:09:54.788 It's funny, you get to know[br]their rhythms, you know, 0:09:54.812,0:09:56.435 the guys that cruise around... 0:09:56.459,0:09:57.829 (Laughter) 0:09:57.853,0:09:59.948 Skateboarding is such[br]a humbling thing, man. 0:09:59.972,0:10:02.872 No matter how good you are,[br]you've still got to deal with... 0:10:02.896,0:10:04.927 So you hit this wall, and when I hit it, 0:10:04.951,0:10:07.219 the first thing you do[br]is you fall forward, 0:10:07.243,0:10:08.933 and I'm like, all right, all right. 0:10:08.957,0:10:10.107 As you adjust... 0:10:11.905,0:10:14.240 you punch it up,[br]and then when I would do that, 0:10:14.264,0:10:16.246 it was throwing my shoulder this way... 0:10:16.867,0:10:21.725 which as I was doing it, I was like,[br]"Oh wow, that's begging for a 360 flip," 0:10:21.749,0:10:24.402 because that's how[br]you load up for a 360 flip. 0:10:24.728,0:10:28.408 And so this is what I want[br]to emphasize that, as you can imagine, 0:10:28.432,0:10:32.010 all of these tricks are made[br]of submovements, 0:10:32.034,0:10:33.352 executive motor functions, 0:10:33.376,0:10:36.414 more granular to the degree[br]to which I can't quite tell you, 0:10:36.438,0:10:37.794 but one thing I do know is, 0:10:37.818,0:10:41.786 every trick is made of combining two[br]or three or four or five movements. 0:10:41.810,0:10:45.075 And so, as I'm going up,[br]these things are floating around, 0:10:45.099,0:10:47.834 and you have to sort of[br]let the cognitive mind rest back, 0:10:47.858,0:10:49.124 pull it back a little bit, 0:10:49.148,0:10:51.579 and let your intuition go[br]as you feel these things. 0:10:51.603,0:10:54.110 And these submovements[br]are kind of floating around, 0:10:54.134,0:10:57.098 and as the wall hits you,[br]they connect themselves to an extent, 0:10:57.122,0:11:00.697 and that's when the cognitive mind:[br]"Oh, 360 flip, I'm going to make that." 0:11:00.721,0:11:03.226 So that's how that works[br]to me, the creative process, 0:11:03.250,0:11:05.138 the process itself, of street skating. 0:11:07.062,0:11:08.437 So, next... Oh, mind you... 0:11:08.461,0:11:09.527 (Laughter) 0:11:09.551,0:11:10.715 Those are the community. 0:11:10.739,0:11:13.388 These are some of the best[br]skaters in the world. 0:11:14.112,0:11:17.235 These are my friends...[br]Oh my gosh, they're such good people. 0:11:18.007,0:11:20.515 And the beauty of skateboarding is that, 0:11:20.539,0:11:22.503 no one guy is the best. 0:11:22.527,0:11:25.899 In fact, I know this is rotten to say,[br]they're my friends, 0:11:25.923,0:11:29.399 but a couple of them actually don't look[br]that comfortable on their board. 0:11:29.423,0:11:34.439 What makes them great is the degree[br]to which they use their skateboarding 0:11:34.463,0:11:35.722 to individuate themselves. 0:11:35.746,0:11:38.069 Every single one of these guys,[br]you look at them, 0:11:38.093,0:11:40.507 you can see a silhouette[br]of them, and you realize, 0:11:40.531,0:11:42.820 "Oh, that's him,[br]that's Haslam, that's Koston, 0:11:42.844,0:11:45.395 there's these guys, these are the guys." 0:11:46.023,0:11:50.077 And skaters, I think[br]they tend to be outsiders 0:11:50.101,0:11:53.442 who seek a sense of belonging, 0:11:53.466,0:11:55.516 but belonging on their own terms. 0:11:56.404,0:12:01.047 And real respect is given[br]by how much we take what other guys do, 0:12:01.071,0:12:05.967 these basic tricks, 360 flips,[br]we take that, we make it our own, 0:12:05.991,0:12:08.277 and then we contribute[br]back to the community 0:12:08.301,0:12:10.927 the inner way that edifies[br]the community itself. 0:12:11.585,0:12:13.795 The greater the contribution, 0:12:13.819,0:12:16.898 the more we express[br]and form our individuality, 0:12:18.072,0:12:21.937 which is so important to a lot of us[br]who feel like rejects to begin with. 0:12:22.399,0:12:24.201 The summation of that 0:12:24.981,0:12:28.066 gives us something we could never[br]achieve as an individual. 0:12:28.752,0:12:29.752 Truly. 0:12:32.497,0:12:33.497 And that forms... 0:12:34.584,0:12:35.751 I should say this. 0:12:35.775,0:12:37.649 There's some sort of beautiful symmetry 0:12:37.673,0:12:40.480 that the degree to which[br]we connect to a community 0:12:40.504,0:12:43.125 is in proportion to our individuality, 0:12:43.149,0:12:45.226 which we are expressing by what we do. 0:12:46.122,0:12:47.278 Next, 0:12:47.302,0:12:51.700 these guys, very similar community[br]that's extremely conducive to innovation. 0:12:51.724,0:12:52.910 (Laughter) 0:12:52.934,0:12:56.087 Notice a couple of these shots[br]from the police department. 0:12:56.507,0:12:59.281 But it is quite similar,[br]I mean, what is it to hack, right? 0:12:59.305,0:13:02.589 It's knowing a technology so well[br]that you can manipulate it 0:13:02.613,0:13:06.972 and steer it to do things[br]it was never intended to do, right? 0:13:06.996,0:13:08.331 And they're not all bad. 0:13:08.355,0:13:12.425 You can be a Linux kernel hacker,[br]make it more stable, right? 0:13:12.449,0:13:13.687 More safe, more secure. 0:13:13.711,0:13:15.641 You can be an iOS hacker, 0:13:15.665,0:13:18.589 make your iPhone do stuff[br]it wasn't supposed to. 0:13:19.159,0:13:21.550 Not authorized, but not illegal. 0:13:21.574,0:13:23.919 And then, you've got[br]some of these guys, right? 0:13:23.943,0:13:27.084 What they do is very similar[br]to our creative process. 0:13:27.109,0:13:29.805 They connect disparate information, 0:13:30.825,0:13:36.296 and they bring it together in a way[br]that a security analyst doesn't expect. 0:13:36.872,0:13:38.562 It doesn't make them good people, 0:13:38.986,0:13:41.278 but it's at the heart of engineering, 0:13:41.302,0:13:45.832 at the heart of a creative community,[br]an innovative community, 0:13:45.856,0:13:48.721 and the open source community,[br]the basic ethos of it 0:13:48.745,0:13:52.253 is, take what other people do,[br]make it better, 0:13:52.277,0:13:54.441 give it back so we all rise further. 0:13:54.465,0:13:56.854 Very similar communities, very similar. 0:13:56.878,0:13:58.869 We have our edgier sides, too. 0:13:58.893,0:14:00.098 (Laughter) 0:14:00.122,0:14:01.585 It's funny, my dad was right. 0:14:01.609,0:14:02.989 These are my peers. 0:14:06.808,0:14:09.392 But I respect what they do,[br]and they respect what I do, 0:14:09.416,0:14:12.165 because they can do things,[br]it's amazing what they can do. 0:14:12.189,0:14:13.821 In fact, one of them, 0:14:13.845,0:14:18.435 he was Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur[br]of the Year for San Diego County, 0:14:18.468,0:14:21.528 so they're not... you never know[br]who you're dealing with. 0:14:22.552,0:14:25.176 We've all had some degree of fame. 0:14:25.213,0:14:30.202 In fact, I've had so much success[br]that I strangely always feel unworthy of. 0:14:30.226,0:14:33.185 I've had a patent, and that was cool,[br]and we started a company, 0:14:33.209,0:14:35.331 and it grew, and it became the biggest, 0:14:35.355,0:14:38.240 and then it went down,[br]and then it became the biggest again, 0:14:38.264,0:14:40.935 which is harder than the first time,[br]and then we sold it, 0:14:40.959,0:14:42.480 and then we sold it again. 0:14:42.504,0:14:44.464 So I've had some success. 0:14:44.590,0:14:47.067 And in the end, when you've had[br]all of these things, 0:14:47.091,0:14:48.955 what is it that continues to drive you? 0:14:48.979,0:14:51.264 As I mentioned, the knee stuff[br]and these things, 0:14:51.288,0:14:52.854 what is it that will punch you? 0:14:52.878,0:14:54.699 Because it's not just the mind. 0:14:54.723,0:14:57.568 What is it that will punch you[br]and make you do something 0:14:57.592,0:15:00.610 and bring it to another level,[br]and when you've had it all, 0:15:00.634,0:15:04.279 sometimes, guys, they die on the vine[br]with all of that talent, 0:15:04.892,0:15:07.560 and one of the things[br]we've had, all of us, is fame... 0:15:07.584,0:15:10.394 I think the best kind of fame,[br]because you can take it off. 0:15:10.418,0:15:12.464 I've been all around the world, 0:15:12.488,0:15:15.108 and there will be a thousand kids[br]crying out your name, 0:15:15.132,0:15:17.180 and it's such a weird,[br]visceral experience. 0:15:17.204,0:15:18.811 It's like, it's disorienting. 0:15:18.835,0:15:20.913 And you get in a car, and you drive away, 0:15:20.937,0:15:23.807 and 10-minute drive, and you get out, 0:15:23.831,0:15:25.642 and no one gives a rat's who you are. 0:15:25.666,0:15:27.032 (Laughter) 0:15:27.056,0:15:30.337 And it gives you that clarity[br]of perspective of, man, I'm just me, 0:15:30.361,0:15:33.071 and popularity, what does that[br]really mean again? 0:15:33.095,0:15:34.516 Not much. 0:15:34.540,0:15:36.699 It's peer respect that drives us. 0:15:36.723,0:15:39.044 That's the one thing[br]that makes us do what we do. 0:15:39.068,0:15:43.149 I've had over a dozen bones,[br]this guy, over, eight, 10 concussions, 0:15:43.173,0:15:45.693 to the point where it's comedy, right? 0:15:45.717,0:15:48.448 It is actually comedy, they mess with him. 0:15:48.472,0:15:49.900 (Laughter) 0:15:50.050,0:15:51.221 Next, 0:15:51.245,0:15:53.817 and this is something deeper. 0:15:55.650,0:15:59.162 I think I was on tour when I was reading[br]one of the Feynman biographies. 0:15:59.186,0:16:01.209 It was the red one or the blue one. 0:16:01.233,0:16:04.915 And he made this statement[br]that was so profound to me. 0:16:08.501,0:16:12.590 It was that the Nobel Prize[br]was the tombstone on all great work, 0:16:13.486,0:16:17.321 and it resonated because[br]I had won 35 out of 36 contests 0:16:17.345,0:16:20.686 that I'd entered over 11 years,[br]and it made me bananas. 0:16:20.710,0:16:22.956 In fact, winning[br]isn't the word, I won it once. 0:16:22.980,0:16:25.032 The rest of the time,[br]you're just defending, 0:16:25.056,0:16:27.631 and you get into this,[br]turtle posture, you know? 0:16:27.655,0:16:30.765 Where you're not doing...[br]It usurped the joy of what I loved to do 0:16:30.789,0:16:33.941 because I was no longer doing it[br]to create and have fun, 0:16:33.965,0:16:35.676 and when it died out from under me, 0:16:35.700,0:16:37.756 that was one of the most[br]liberating things, 0:16:37.780,0:16:39.366 because I could create. 0:16:39.390,0:16:44.085 And look, I understand that[br]I am on the very edge of preachy, here. 0:16:44.109,0:16:45.273 I'm not here to do that. 0:16:45.297,0:16:48.039 It's just that I'm in front[br]of a very privileged audience. 0:16:48.063,0:16:50.943 If you guys aren't already[br]leaders in your community, 0:16:50.967,0:16:54.035 you probably will be,[br]and if there's anything I can give you 0:16:54.059,0:16:57.239 that will transcend what I've gotten[br]from skateboarding, 0:16:57.263,0:17:00.285 the only things of meaning,[br]I think, and of permanence, 0:17:00.309,0:17:02.367 it's not fame, it's not all these things. 0:17:02.391,0:17:06.301 What it is, is that there's[br]an intrinsic value in creating something 0:17:06.326,0:17:08.118 for the sake of creating it, 0:17:08.143,0:17:12.314 and better than that,[br]because I'm 46 years old, or I'll be 46, 0:17:12.338,0:17:15.964 and how pathetic is that[br]I'm still skateboarding, but there is... 0:17:15.988,0:17:21.810 There is this beauty in dropping it[br]into a community of your own making, 0:17:22.127,0:17:25.414 and seeing it dispersed,[br]and seeing younger, more talented, 0:17:25.438,0:17:28.679 just different talent, take it to levels[br]you can never imagine, 0:17:28.703,0:17:30.367 because that lives on. 0:17:30.391,0:17:32.093 So thank you for your time. 0:17:32.117,0:17:39.117 (Applause) 0:17:42.016,0:17:44.238 Kristina Holly: I have a question for you. 0:17:44.262,0:17:48.010 (Applause) 0:17:48.034,0:17:51.931 So you've really reinvented yourself[br]in the past, from freestyle to street, 0:17:51.955,0:17:55.240 and, I think it was about four years ago[br]you officially retired. 0:17:55.264,0:17:57.591 Is that it? What's next? 0:17:58.550,0:18:02.279 Rodney Mullen: That's a good question.[br]KG: Something tells me it's not the end. 0:18:02.303,0:18:06.087 RM: Yeah. Every time you think[br]you've chased something down, 0:18:06.111,0:18:09.248 it's funny, no matter how good you are,[br]and I know guys like this, 0:18:09.272,0:18:11.638 it feels like you're polishing[br]a turd, you know? 0:18:11.662,0:18:14.868 (Laughter) 0:18:14.981,0:18:17.428 And I thought, the only way[br]I can extend this 0:18:17.452,0:18:19.483 is to change something infrastructural. 0:18:20.280,0:18:23.518 And so that's what I proceeded to do,[br]through a long story, 0:18:23.542,0:18:27.803 one of desperation, so if I do it,[br]rather than talk about it, 0:18:27.827,0:18:29.770 if I do it, you'll be the first to know. 0:18:29.794,0:18:32.796 KG: All right, we won't ask you any more.[br]RM: You'll get a text. 0:18:32.820,0:18:35.795 KG: Right, thank you, good job.[br]RM: Thank you. Thank you. 0:18:35.819,0:18:40.507 (Applause)