The World Industries Rodney Mullen Rock Is King! reissue brings back one of the strangest, loudest, and most unforgettable graphics from the early ’90s World Industries era.
Originally released during a time when skateboarding was getting weirder, funnier, and more rebellious by the minute, this Marc McKee artwork captures the exact chaos that made World Industries impossible to ignore. With a crowned skull, electric guitar, lightning bolts, wild colour, and full rock-and-roll attitude, Rock Is King! is pure World Industries: ridiculous, iconic, and completely committed to the joke.
This reissue is especially legendary because it is tied to Rodney Mullen, one of the most important skateboarders of all time. Mullen’s influence on modern street skating is almost impossible to measure, with tricks like the kickflip, heelflip, impossible, and countless freestyle-to-street innovations shaping the way skateboarding looks today.
Even when paired with graphics that were intentionally bizarre, Rodney’s name carried serious weight, making his World Industries boards some of the most talked-about decks of the era.
Measuring 10.126” x 31” with a 14” wheelbase, this deck comes in an original old school shape that feels right at home as a collector piece, wall hanger, or full retro-inspired build. The natural top veneer with the classic World Industries logo keeps it clean up top, while the bottom graphic does all the screaming. Rock Is King! is a proper piece of skateboard culture brought back loud and proud.
The Steve Rocco letter adds another layer to the story. Rocco jokingly admits the graphic was controversial, but also frames it as part of the company’s history and gives Rodney the respect he deserves, calling out his “last full measure of devotion” to pushing skateboarding forward. That is the real point here: the graphic is loud, but Rodney’s legacy is louder.
This is a killer piece of World Industries history. For riders, it is a big, shaped reissue with serious wall-hanger energy but enough attitude to build up if you want to make your setup look like it just escaped a 1992 skate shop window.
World Industries was founded in 1987 by Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen, World Industries emerged as one of the pioneering skateboard companies owned and operated by professional skateboarders.
