Rodney Mullen...

From the list of pro skaters I found, Rodney Mullen seems to be the one that stands out most and has come up most frequently in my research... Here is a bio I found from a fan page.

Name: John Rodney Mullen
Gender: Male
Hometown: Redondo Beach, CA or Hermosa Beach, CA
Date of Birth: August 17th, 1966 in Gainesville, FL
Family: married to Traci Mullen
Occupation: Engineer / Skate Brand Owner / Skateboarder
Started Skating: 1977
Started Competing: 1977
Turned Pro: 1980
Favored Discipline: Street
#1 Sponsors: Almost, Enjoi, Darkstar, Tensor, Speed Demons, Matix, Globe
Stance: Regular
Nicknames: Mutt, King

Career Highlights

1977 - Mullen won the first freestyle contest he entered
1980 - joined the Powell-Peralta Bones Brigade
1984, 85, 87, 88 - featured in The Bones Brigade Videos 1-4
1988 - appeared in feature film, Gleaming the Cube
1992 - began World Industries with Steve Rocco
1990+ - featured in videos by Plan B, A-Team, Globe and Almost
2002 - won Transworld Readers' Choice Award for Skater of the Year
2002 - created Almost skateboard company
2003 - wrote "The Mutt: How to Skateboard and not Kill Yourself"

Rodney Mullen is widely considered the most influential skateboarder in the history of the skateboarding. The majority of ollie and flip tricks he invented throughout the 1980's, including the flatground ollie, the Kickflip, the Heelflip, and the 360 flip are regularly done in modern vertical and street skateboarding.

In 1992, alongside Steve Rocco, Rodney Mullen created World Industries. Throughout the 90’s Mullen was featured in numerous videos, including World Industries’ Rubbish Heap (’89), Plan B’s Questionable (’92), Virtual Reality (’93), and Second Hand Smoke (’95). Some recent videos include the Rodney Mullen vs. Daewon Song series, Globe Opinion, and Almost: Round Three.

Tricks Invented

• 50-50 Saran Wrap
• 50-50 Sidewinders
• 360 Flip
• 360 pressure Flip
• 540 double kickflip
• 540 Shove-it
• Airwalks
• Backside 180 Flip
• Casper 360 Flip
• Casper Slides
• Caballerial impossible
• Double heelflips
• Flatground Ollie
• Frontside Heelflip Shove-its
• Godzilla Rail Flip
• Gazelles
• Heelflip
• Helipops (360 Nollie)
• Half-cab kickflip underflip
• Helipop Heelflips
• Half Flip Darkslide
• Handstand flips
• Kickflip Underflip
• Kickflip
• No Handed 50-50 Kickflip
• Ollie Impossible
• Ollie Nosebones
• Ollie Fingerflip
• One footed Ollie
• Rusty slides
• Sidewinders
• Switchstance 360 Flips