by John Atchison

Created on: March 04, 2013

As social media sites have exploded over the past decade, several sites have risen up to dominate the industry. Most everyone knows the story of Facebook and its millions of followers. Twitter has risen up the ranks in recent years, as people tweet about their daily comings and goings. What some might not know is that Instagram is making its way up the charts. Instagram is a social media website that allows users to take their pictures, apply filters, and then share them across any number of social media sites.

One group of people that have thrived on the attention brought by posting their pictures are athletes. Athletes are among the site's biggest and most popular users, which makes sense because of their immense throngs of followers that hang on their every word or photo. Instagram has given athletes the chance to show their public a more intimate side of themselves, instead of having them learn things from supermarket tabloids.

There are tons of athletes on Instagram, but who the ones that everyone should follow. Here is a list of five folks from the sports world that fans should not forget to follow:

@miketyson - For sheer crazy moments in the previous two decades of sports, one would be hard pressed to find someone that fit the bill like Mike Tyson. From teeth-shaking knockouts and a meteoric rise to the top, down to the biting off of half of Evander Holyfield's ear, Tyson has made his mark on the sports world. He uses Instagram as a way of showing folks a different side of him, which has help to soften the gruff exterior everyone remembers.

@kingjames - Some sports fans want to follow athletes that are currently hip. Well, it gets no bigger than the reigning NBA MVP, LeBron James. James fulfilled is long sought after destiny last season when he won the NBA Championship. Now, fans can get a behind the scenes look at the King is real life, or at least in pictures. Instagram allows fans to see a side of Lebron not seen on the courts of the NBA.

@serenawilliams - This one is for the female sports fans that want to follow one of the best athletes in the tennis world. What fans get on Serena's Instagram though is not what they might expect. On the court, Williams is hard nosed, aggressive, and can occasionally show glimpses of an angry streak that no line judge wants to be in the way of. On this social networking site, Williams is anything but angry, showing her fans a more lighthearted, goofy side that some might not expect.

@kellyslater - For those folks that do not know whom this person is, Kelly Slater holds the distinction of being the youngest, as well as oldest, winner of a sanctioned surfing title (ASP). Getting hooked up with Slater's Instagram is not about trying to see what his home looks like. His shots are probably some of the most exquisite that one is liable to see on Instagram. Imagine seeing a surfer riding the curl of a 20-foot wave bearing down on him. That is what fans will see Slater post with regularity.

@tonyhawk - Here is another athlete to add for sheer quality and daring array of shots. Tony Hawk has been to skateboarding what Michael Jordan was to the game of basketball. Along the way, Hawk has pulled off stunts and rode his board on things no one can imagine. Now his fans do not have to imagine it because Hawk posts pictures of some breathtaking locations and shots around the globe.

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