History of Skateboarding

Skateboarding is one of the most popular hobbies in America, and probably across other countries, that has a long winding history. Its inception actually dates back to the 1950s. With surfing's rise in popularity, it did not take long for people to think of a way to imitate the feat on solid ground. The conceptualization of the skateboard is claimed by several individuals; however, there is no actual evidence of who came up with it first.

The most fundamental yet crude concept of the skateboard used wooden planks on top of roller skate wheels, while other more sophisticated innovations got the idea to remove the handlebars from scooters. It was not long until the ability to surf the streets captured the interest of many folks despite the risk it posed to people.

People began to take notice of this newfound mimicry of riding a wave which eventually led them to tweak and modify the skateboard to improve its maneuverability. By the closing of the 1950s the first skateboard was available for sale.

As the 1960s were ushered in, skateboarding became very popular across the nation. Companies such as Larry Stevenson's Makaha and Hobie Alter's Hobie began mass producing the first surfing-style skateboards and the craze blew up almost over night. By 1963, the first ever skateboarding contest debuted in Hermosa Beach, California.

In 1965, skateboarding would hit a brick wall. A group of so-called safety experts announced skateboarding as extremely dangerous and was campaigning for stores to stop selling them and advising parents not to let their kids use it. The fad died as quickly as it had begun, and the sport would suffer the first of many ups and downs in the course of its existence.

During the early 70s when skateboarding's popularity was fading, Larry Stevenson devised the kicktail that laid down the foundation of the capability of performing tricks and styles that garnered a new breed of followers. 1973 marked the revolutionary time for the sport with the invention of the urethane wheel that provided the skateboard with better traction and speed. Combining the innovative urethane wheel with Larry Stevenson's kicktail concept, a new era for skateboards was introduced.

These radical designs and materials allowed the skateboarders to perform more advanced maneuvers and allowed them to explore new surfaces that they can trek and execute tricks on. Among the first terrains used were empty pools and cylindrical pipes. This new wave of skateboarding capabilities in the mid-70s led to the biggest growth for the sport which initiated the construction of many concrete skate parks, and a rank of professional skaters were first recognized with full media and magazine covering the progress of the sport. But by the end of the decade limited followers were not enough to sustain the high maintenance skate parks and many were forced to close down and the sport would suffer its second decline.

The 80s launched the "street style" way of skateboarding that would revitalize the popularity of the sport. This opened up to tricks of skating across walls and handrails that made the sport look cool again. This prompted skater companies to innovate their designs for skateboards to better maneuver across these types of terrains. Due to the wow factor that street skating brought, skateboarding would experience a boost in growth and would directly influence a culture and skateboarding fashion of its own on an international level.

In 1995, skateboarding would experience a new high in popularity with its positive exposure in due part to ESPN's initial Extreme Games in Rhode Island. This move brought skateboarding from its more rebellious and sometimes negative image due to its danger factor, to a more conventional approach from the public‘s standpoint. This media coverage has turned skateboarding from more of an underground sport into a spectator sport and has accumulated many sponsorships and advertisers from major companies on its events.