Is there another family in the action sports world who’ve had as big of an impact on the board riding community as the Fletchers?

The Currens? The Hos? The Keaulanas? The Malloys?

I’ve never seen Chris Malloy skate, but I doubt he’s got moves like Christian. Naysayers might posit that the Fletcher family’s collective talent for board sports is rivaled only by their inherent ability to self-promote. But it would be foolish to write them off as strictly slick marketeers looking to hawk a product.

One could argue that there have been others who have had a bigger effect on the business side of the industry. The O’Neill’s, The Burtons, The Hawks, The Alters, The Warbricks, just to name a few.

But I’m talking at a performance level–the progression of the act of board riding.

If you examine their pedigree you’ll clearly find they’ve earned their position as board sport royalty:

Papa Herbie is a longboard pioneer who may have invented both deck traction and tow-in surfing. Mama Dibi comes from the legendary Hoffman clan.

Christian took pro-level vert skating skills and applied them to surfing, challenged conventional wisdom and helped usher in the aerial revolution. Nathan–who walked away with nearly all the big XXL awards a couple weeks ago–may be the best crossover talent (surf/skate/snow/moto) our world has ever seen. Christian’s son, Greyson, is a skate prodigy.

That’s four generations of board sport excellence and a helluva arguement for DNA and genetics as predetermination in the nature vs. nurture debate.

Here is a mini-documentary about The Fletchers from FUEL TV: