The history of skateboarding from its first appearance in the 1950's to
the present day.
The first skateboards were
actually more like scooters, with the undercarriage consisting
of rollerskate wheels attached to a two by four. Once the
pushbar of the scooter-like contraption was broken off,
skateboarding was born.
1950's
It wasn't until the 1950's, when the surfing craze was in full
swing, that people realized skateboarding could recreate the
feeling of riding a wave. This connection with surfing gave
skateboarding a direction that would influence everything to
come, from maneuvers and style, to terrain, fashion and
attitude. It was during this time that modifications were made
to the trucks making it easier to maneuver. By 1959 the first
Roller Derby Skateboard was for sale.
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1960's
In the early 1960's companies such as Larry Stevenson's Makaha
and Hobie Alter's Hobie began to mass-produce the first true
surfing-inspired skateboards. Some of the early proponents of
surf-style skateboarding included Bill and Mark Richards, Dannu
Bearer, Bruce Logan and Torger Johnson. Skateboarding became
very popular almost overnight, and companies were fighting to
keep up with demand. Over fifty million skateboards were sold
within a three year period, and the first skateboard contest was
held in Hermosa Beach, CA in 1963. Then in 1965 a slew of
so-called safety experts pronounced skateboarding unsafe -
urging stores not to sell them, and parents not to buy them. The
skateboarding fad died as quickly as it had started, and the
sport entered its first slump. Skateboarding would experience
other slumps in its history. This pattern of peaks and valleys
would come to be known as the "ten-year cycle," although the
slumps weren't exactly ten years apart.
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1970's
It was during this first slump that Larry Stevenson invented the
kicktail, and the first generation of skateboarders laid down
the foundation of tricks and style. However, they were still
largely limited by equipment. Then in 1973 the urethane wheel
was invented, revolutionizing the sport. The new wheels provided
much better traction and speed and, combined with new skateboard
specific trucks, allowed skaters to push the difficulty of
maneuvers to new levels. Tricks at this time consisted of
surfing maneuvers done on flat ground or on banks. Empty
swimming pools and cylindrical pipes were exploited as terrain
for the first time.
During the 1970's skateboarding experienced a large growth stage
whish saw the construction of numerous concrete skateparks, a
rank of professional skaters, magazines and movies. During this
period modern skateboarding evolved to include vertical skating
among its disciplines of slalom, downhill, freestyle and
longjump.
Key advances in the sport included the aerial, the invert and
the ollie, which may be the single most important trick in the
evolution of skateboarding, next to the kickturn. This was the
first time skateboarding had stars, some of the first really big
names being Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. The look of
skateboards also changed from being six to seven inches in width
to over nine inches, providing better stability on vertical
surfaces. Near the end of the 70's, spiraling insurance and
slowing attendance forced all but a few skateparks out of
business and skateboarding entered its! Second slump.
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1980's
In the 80's the plywood ramp and streetstyle revitalized
skateboarding just as the urethane wheel had revitalized the
sport in the 70's. Forced to take an underground, do-it-yourself
attitude, skaters began to create their own wooden skate ramps
in backyards and empty lots and turn previously unrideable
street terrain, such as walls an handrails, into free-skate
parks. Skater-owned companies became the norm and innovations in
board and truck size allowed the trick envelope to be pushed
even further. This generation had its own group of skate stars,
some of whom still compete today including Tony Hawk and Steve
Caballero. Towards the end of the 80's the focus shifted to
street skating and Vert riding became less popular, it was the
era of the first street stars like Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas
and Mike Vallely.
With all this grass-roots action taking place it was inevitable
that skateboarding would go through another growth phase. This
time the cycle peaked around 1987 after skateboarding had
directly influenced international culture ranging from the
hard-edged punk style of music that most skaters preferred to
the baggy, earth-tone clothes and retro tennis shoes that
skaters wore.
The current cycle of skateboarding has been fueled by many items
including new companies, more varied and difficult terrain, a
new, more hard-core, almost dangerous attitude, and most
importantly by a new generation of kids who have discovered the
exhilaration feeling of rolling along of a board with wheels.
Some of the people who exert heavy influence on the sport are
former pros who have started companies like Steve Rocco of World
Industries. The ollie has come into its own as the foundation
for 80% of street tricks and about 60% of vert tricks, with the
focus being on more technical and larger tricks.
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1990's
In regards to the "ten-year cycle," the sport once again started
on an upward swing in 1995, due in part to exposure it received
from ESPN's first Extreme Games in Rhode Island. This served to
bring skateboarding, which had long been viewed as a rebel
sport, perhaps because of the danger and occasional illegality
of the endeavor, a step closer to the mainstream. Many of the
skaters who competed felt that ESPN's coverage of the sport
raised skateboarding's overall image with the general public and
is a good thing for the future of the sport. In 1996 the Extreme
Games were again held in Rhode Island, once more exposing the
sport of skateboarding to millions of people. Skateboarding was
also included in the 1997 Winter X Games in the form of a
CrossOver event that also included in-line skating, bicycle
stunt, and snowboarding.
The impact of media coverage on skateboarding has moved it from
an underground sport to a spectator sport over the last four
years. It was brought an influx of companies and their
advertising dollars, which had previously ignored skateboarding,
as a vehicle for promotional purposes. Advertisers have seen
that skateboarding has become a prime sport through which they
can reach their favorite demographic: youth males.
Skateboarders have been present in campaigns for products from
soft drinks to potato chips, candy to phone companies. Thus,
most of what is happening in skateboarding today is coming not
from the skateboarders themselves, but from corporate sponsors
and the mass media. The primary focus of the sport remains on
street skating, as can be seen throughout both the editorial and
advertising pages of the major skateboard magazines, where
street skating photos continue to dominate. However vert skating
is making a comeback, due in part to the large number of new
skateparks being built. These skateparks have also given boost
to the skating community in many towns. The many different
ramps, pipes and bowls present at these parks have led to a
change in equipment. These technological changes applied to
skate products have improved skateboarding hear steadily over
the last two decades. While in the early 90's small boards and
tiny wheel ruled, now there is a wide range of boards and wheels
being seen under the feet of skateboarders. Wheel diameters are
larger, deck width continues to grow, and longboards are gaining
in popularity, especially in beach communities and among those
that just want to use their skateboards to cruise or as a mode
of transportation. Downhill skateboarding has also seen
resurgence in recent years due in part to the visibility of the
street luge.
One of the biggest trends at work is among softgoods. In the
past, clothing fashions have consistently reflected the changes
influenced by those who skate. Footwear is currently getting all
the attention. According to the Transworld Skateboarding
Business Summer 1998 Retailer Survey shoes represented 26.5 % of
the market share, followed by decks (26%), apparel (16%), trucks
(11.5%), wheels (11%), and accessories (9%).
There have been many organizations and governing bodies for
skateboarding throughout its history. The two main organizations
today are the IASC (International Association of Skateboarding
Companies), and World Cup Skateboarding, which is the leading
competition organization. World Cup Skateboarding is run by
former NSA (National Skateboarding Association) president Don
Bostick, with competitions featuring Street and Vert
disciplines. Competitors are usually on factory teams, rather
than national teams. This is due to the growth of sponsorship
and sponsorship dollars put into events, which has changed the
face of competitive skateboarding tremendously. Skateboarding is
beginning to earn respect as professional athletes and are
receiving greater amounts of purse money from contests.
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2000's
"Today a pro can make anywhere from $1000 to $10,000 a month,"
says Danielle Bostick of World Cup Skateboarding and the X
Games. These earnings are based on winnings, depending on how
well a skater places in any given competition and how many
competitions a skater competes in during any given month. Most
skaters who are sponsored also earn a monthly salary from one or
more companies, which sponsors them as team riders. This is a
considerable change from the past when pro skaters had to work a
regular job as well as compete according to Bostick.
Skateboarding can be enjoyed by kids as young as two years, but
the majority of pro skaters' range from early teens to early
twenties. Most skateboarders don't train in any usual sense of
the word, and they don't even think about their diet. Skaters
just do what they love to do: skate, all the time. Skateboarding
is fun, and when having fun is the goal, it never seems like
training. Of course many skateboarders do other things for fun
as well, such as surfing and snowboarding, which is actually
extreme sports cross-training.
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