As surf culture began to take center stage,  the origin of skateboarding traces back to the 1950s. With the gradual development of the sport making it more accessible to people, skateboarding blossomed among the younger generation during the 21st century. However, despite the sport’s old roots, it only became recognized as an Olympic sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Witnessing a total of 80 members in Tokyo, the discipline has seen a rise in competitors to 88 in Paris. While these numbers are certainly impressive for the sports, the financial dynamics might not pique much of an interest. Similar to surfing, the average annual salary does not paint a bright picture. According to surfertoday.com, the average annual income of a Qualifying Series surfer ranges in the $65,000 mark. Doing just a tad bit better, here’s everything about how much a professional skateboarder earns. 

How much does a professional skateboarder earn? 

According to Average Pay, a professional skateboarder will be earning around $92,598 annually. However, this is the gross salary we are talking about. After the necessary tax deductions, the amount will come down to a much lesser amount. Although this is the average salary, the range can fluctuate from anywhere between $39,600 to $188,054, depending on the skill set of the skateboarder. 

Next up, if we take a look at the scenario in the US, things do not look drastically different. An average US skateboarder earns around $64,167, while the highest earners pocket around $266,584. However, this number gets slashed even further after a 22% Federal Tax deduction.  Well, if these weren’t already somber enough figures, the disparity in male and female skateboarders makes things even worse. For example, when popular Australian skateboarder Poppy Starr Olsen won the 2017 Australian Bowl Riding Championships, she pocketed a prize money of $500. Shockingly, the men’s winner was awarded a whopping $5000. Likewise, the 2017 Bowl-A-Rama also had $2000 alloted for the women’s champion, while the men’s champion was slated to earn $15,000 prize money. However, even amidst such gloomy conditions, the sport has shown enough signs of financial progress.

Although the Tokyo Olympics prize money was not disclosed, according to reports from doseskateboarding.com, it ranged around $500,000. Similarly in the Paris Olympics, the skateboarding prize money is expected to be around a similar amount or even higher. The discipline has also witnessed a huge jump in the prize pool. While the prize pool for a competitive skateboarding event was $2 million in 2015, it jumped to a whopping $20 million. And this is the reason some of the elite-level skateboarders have earned a fortune playing the sport. 

Meet the wealthiest skateboarders in the world 

Battling through the rugged streets, the skateboarders have had a long journey to be recognized as an elite sporting discipline. And while doing so, some of the athletes managed to champion the discipline just enough to earn them millions in profits. Rodney Mullen is one such name. Introduced to the sport in the 1970s, Mullen has a staggering net worth of $30 million as of 2022. Next up is Jamie Thomas, whose total earnings raked up to $50 million. 

Coming in at number 3, Stavros Niarchos III’s net worth stands at $100 million. Apart from his decorated career, Niarchos III is also well known for his relationship with Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Mary Kate Olsen. At number 2, holding 21 skateboarding Guinness World Records, Rob Dyrdek’s net worth too, is $100 million. However, without a hint of a doubt, Tony Hawk claims the number one position with $140 million in his bank account. Thus, with the Paris Olympics coming near, the onus will be on all the 88 participants to elevate the sport’s glory further.