The Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male athlete from the world of
action sports.[1] It was first awarded as part of the
ESPY Awards in 2004 after the non-gender-specific
Best Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award was presented the previous two years (with American snowboarder
Shaun White receiving the 2003 award).[2] The Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award trophy, created by sculptor
Lawrence Nowlan,[3] is presented to the male adjudged to be the best action sports athlete in a given
calendar year.
Balloting for the award is undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, which is composed of a panel of experts.[1] It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.[4]
The inaugural winner of the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award at the 2004 awards was
freestyle BMX rider
Ryan Nyquist.[5] During 1997 and 2003, Nyquist won eleven out of eighteen available freestyle BMX medals at the
X Games.[6] He became the first freestyle BMX rider to be nominated for, and thus the first to win, an ESPY Award.[5] The 2006 winner of the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award was Shaun White.[7] He was nominated a further five consecutive times between the 2008 and
2012 ceremonies, all of which he won, making him the athlete with the most victories with six.[8] The two other athletes to have earned successive awards are
street skateboarderNyjah Huston and
motocross rider
Ryan Dungey.[9][10] Canadian snowboarder
Mark McMorris became the first non-American to win the accolade in
2017 by earning three medals at that year's
X Games in
Minneapolis.[11] Snowboarders are the most successful sportspeople with seven awards, followed by motocross riders, with four, and street skateboarders, with three. It was not awarded in
2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[12] The most recent winner of the award was American Motocross and Supercross racer
Eli Tomac in
2022.[13]
Winners and nominees
Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award winners and nominees
The Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male athlete from the world of
action sports.[1] It was first awarded as part of the
ESPY Awards in 2004 after the non-gender-specific
Best Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award was presented the previous two years (with American snowboarder
Shaun White receiving the 2003 award).[2] The Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award trophy, created by sculptor
Lawrence Nowlan,[3] is presented to the male adjudged to be the best action sports athlete in a given
calendar year.
Balloting for the award is undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, which is composed of a panel of experts.[1] It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.[4]
The inaugural winner of the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award at the 2004 awards was
freestyle BMX rider
Ryan Nyquist.[5] During 1997 and 2003, Nyquist won eleven out of eighteen available freestyle BMX medals at the
X Games.[6] He became the first freestyle BMX rider to be nominated for, and thus the first to win, an ESPY Award.[5] The 2006 winner of the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award was Shaun White.[7] He was nominated a further five consecutive times between the 2008 and
2012 ceremonies, all of which he won, making him the athlete with the most victories with six.[8] The two other athletes to have earned successive awards are
street skateboarderNyjah Huston and
motocross rider
Ryan Dungey.[9][10] Canadian snowboarder
Mark McMorris became the first non-American to win the accolade in
2017 by earning three medals at that year's
X Games in
Minneapolis.[11] Snowboarders are the most successful sportspeople with seven awards, followed by motocross riders, with four, and street skateboarders, with three. It was not awarded in
2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[12] The most recent winner of the award was American Motocross and Supercross racer
Eli Tomac in
2022.[13]
Winners and nominees
Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award winners and nominees