During the 1980s he achieved international fame as a freestyle skater[1] and was a leading member of the Powell-Peralta skate team known as the "Bones Brigade".

In January, 1992, he left Powell Peralta to start a new skateboard company, Birdhouse Projects, with fellow team member Tony Hawk as his partner and main attraction.

As Tony Hawk began to achieve superstardom when skateboarding's popularity increased in the mid-1990s, Welinder became a very wealthy man.

[3] In early 2018, Welinder teamed up with Chinese venture investor Curt Shi — a skateboard amateur himself — to launch early-stage angel fund WelinderShi Capital, focusing on bringing western lifestyle brands to China.

In 1986, Welinder was featured in a music video for the Blue Öyster Cult song "Dancin' In The Ruins", from the album Club Ninja.