ESPN Names Most Influential People In Action Sports
The world of action sports—from snowboarding to motocross—is a massive industry, and ESPN's X Games editors took on the challenge of choosing the most influential people in the field.
The resulting list includes athletes, filmmakers, musicians, product manufacturers and entrepreneurs. It combines predictable figures, such as Kelly Slater and Tony Hawk, with some appropriate surprises, including singer Santigold, whose music is featured in many action-sports videos, and Gary Ream, founder of a top-of-the-line multisport training camp.
Check out the top 50 below and visit the ESPN website for a video feature and a slideshow about these industry-shapers.
50, 49: Aaron Coret and Steve Slen
48: Jack Dorsey
47: Mike Olson
46: Trennon Paynter
45: Shane Dorian
44: Santigold
43: Nate Adams
42: David Reddick
41: Werner Brell
40: Patrick O'Dell
39: Kai Neville
38: Tom Dugan
37: Candide Thovex
36: Ingrid Backstrom
35: Kelly Clark
34: Robbie Maddison
33: Josh Loubek
32: Gary Ream
31: Ralph Sinisi
30: Jess Kimura
29: Chris Davenport
28: Brian Deegan
27: Edwin De La Rosa
26: Ryan Sheckler
25: Chad Hurley and Steve Chen
24: Grant Taylor
23: Ty Evans
22: Joe "Butcher" Kowalski
21: Nick Woodman
20: Matthias Dandois
19: Levi Lavallee
18: Tom Wallisch
17: Mike Douglas
16: John John Florence
15: Jake Burton
14: Dane Reynolds
13: Stephanie Gilmore
12: Jeremy Jones
11: Ashley Fiolek
10: Tony Hawk, Tony Hawk Foundation
9: Nyjah Huston
8: Sarah Burke
7: Ken Block
6, 5: Curt Morgan and Travis Rice
4: Rob Dyrdek
3: Shaun White
2: Travis Pastrana
1: Kelly Slater