After much debate, the No. 1 spot was awarded to surfer Kelly Slater, the youngest and oldest world champion in ASP history. Though he fell just short of winning a 12th ASP World Tour title when Australian Joel Parkinson earned the coveted award in the second-to-last heat of the season at the Billabong Pipeline Masters in December, Slater still has 11 world titles to his name, which is a full seven more than the next-closest surfer, Mark Richards. Slater has the most event wins in ASP history (51), and in 2012 alone, he notched three tour stop victories. The ASP lists his career winnings at $3,425,705. Not bad for an action sports athlete.
On top of that, Slater is involved with international efforts to conserve ocean ecosystems, and he's donated time and money to help poverty-stricken communities around the world. Slater's list of competitive accolades is innumerable, but perhaps most poignant, at one month shy of his 41st birthday, he shows zero signs of slowing down. He continues to dominate at the highest level of surfing and proves year in and year out that age really is just a couple of digits
Slater may not be world champ this year, and even amid rumors that he's retiring, his influence over surfing and the broader action sports industry is undeniable. Visit a beach, a surf shop or a high school in Southern California, Florida or Brazil, and you'll see hints of Slater's reach. Long after he's done competing -- if that ever happens -- Slater will still be the one people are talking about, the one setting the benchmark for others to follow.
You may not agree with everyone on this list. And certainly, there are names we are missing. But hopefully, we can all agree on this: Action sports would not be the same without the presence of these 50 talented and inspiring people. (Huge shout out to ESPN X Games for creating this list) To check out the full list of action sports athletes visit: http://xgames.espn.go.com/article/8793102/50-most-influential-people-action-sports
