Skateboarding facts and history

Meet icon Bam Margera as Madars Apse begins his skateboarding hall of fame journey. Lore Bruggeman — Boardslide. Skip to Content.

Skateboarding facts and history

Take an intimate look at some of the notable events from the history of skateboarding and find out how it got to where it is today. Written by Zane Foley. ABC of Get the lowdown on some of the toughest sports and competitions in the world. Summary 1. From the s to the present day, skateboarding has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry impacting millions of lives across the world as an art form and a sport.

In its history, skateboarding has inaugurated its own museums, awarded its own hall of fame and curated a self-documented history, cementing a special place in the heart of freedom culture. The launch ramp of s California lit the torch of skateboarding to be handed on to each new generation over the coming eras. In these decades, skateboarding transcended through ups and downs of economic prosperity and mainstream popularity, as different faces and figures basked in the spotlight or dominated the back alleys of urban performance.

Between the youth of the world and those ageing skateboarders who've watched it grow and change, the question of 'What is skateboarding? While we do our best to answer this question again, we take our first push into a larger world. A world defined by the ultimate expression of freedom, movement and an intimate look at the history of skateboarding.

Make sure you know your ABC:. Skateboarding Take a look at the history of skateboarding, from the pioneers of sidewalk surfing to today's skateboarders. The origin of the skateboard is as ambiguous as the origin of our universe. There are multiple reports from self-proclaimed skate-historians of who, what and where the first skateboards appeared.

It's largely agreed upon that skateboards originated in the USA, first as crates of wood with roller-derby skates attached to the underside. The earliest models had handlebars attached, like modern scooters, but eventually the boxes were replaced by wooden planks and the handlebars were scrapped for an experience more akin to surfing. These scooter-boxes were seen as far back as the late s, but it wasn't until the s that wooden pallets with clay wheels were popularised on the downhill slopes of Southern California.

Before commercial skateboards began appearing in , the only way you could skate was by making your own board. Archived from the original on September 1, Retrieved October 27, Retrieved November 10, The Skateboarder's Journal — Lives on Board. The Morro Skateboard Group. Archived from the original on July 8, Archived from the original on June 25, Retrieved November 12, Vintage Skateboard Magazine.

Archived from the original on November 17, Archived from the original on November 15, Archived from the original on June 6, Archived from the original on August 17, Time magazine. Archived from the original on January 12, Retrieved December 12, Archived from the original on June 1, Archived from the original on December 12, I Skate Therefore I Am.

October 17, Archived from the original on July 30, Archived from the original on February 19, Retrieved September 2, January 6, Archived from the original on November 16, Chronicle Books. Retrieved November 3, Skateboarder Magazine. October Archived from the original on December 13, Retrieved November 5, Skate Legends.

Archived from the original on December 24, Archived from the original on February 6, Archived from the original on December 26, Retrieved November 24, Friedman; C. Stecyk Burning Flags Press. Harper Collins. Archived from the original on April 29, Archived from the original on October 24, Retrieved November 17, Los Angeles Times.

Archived from the original on June 22, Archived from the original on January 13, Skateparks: Grab Your Skateboard. Capstone Press. Archived from the original on April 27, Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Archived from the original on January 20, Archived PDF from the original on January 20, Urban Action San Francisco State University.

Archived from the original on July 24, Roger Skateboards. Archived from the original on May 11, Retrieved August 24, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Archived from the original on February 22, Retrieved August 1, Skateboard Express. Retrieved March 20, OC Metro. Archived from the original on November 2, Retrieved December 2, NBC News.

May 9, News Limited Network. Archived from the original on February 27, Archived from the original on November 22, Retrieved December 1, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Volume 16, Number 6. Harvard University. Archived from the original on September 22, Transworld Business. Archived from the original on August 23, Archived from the original on March 22, Archived from the original on November 24, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Oregonian. Archived from the original on January 15, Retrieved December 16, The Adrenalist. June 22, Archived from the original on May 31, Retrieved May 25, Archived from the original on June 11, Retrieved November 18, Archived from the original on January 16, International Association of Skateboard Companies. June 11, Archived from the original on June 10, Retrieved December 8, — via GlobeNewswire, Inc.

Archived from the original on June 27, Australian Design Review. Niche Media. Archived from the original on September 11, Time Magazine. Archived from the original on November 6, Retrieved December 3, Archived from the original on April 6, Archived from the original on April 7, Skateboarding Instruction, Programming and Park Design. Human Kinetics.

Archived from the original on May 29, University of Southern California. Retrieved November 2, ESPN Action. November 2, Simi Valley Acorn. A world defined by the ultimate expression of freedom, movement, and an intimate look at the history of skateboarding. The origin of the skateboard is as ambiguous as the origin of our Universe. There are multiple reports from self-proclaimed skate-historians of who, what and where the first skateboards appeared.

It is largely agreed upon that skateboards originated in the United States, first as crates of wood with roller derby skates attached to the underfoot. The earliest models had handlebars attached, like modern scooters but eventually the boxes were replaced by wooden planks and the handlebars scrapped for an experience more akin to surfing.

Before commercial skateboards began appearing in , the only way you could skate was by making your own board. These home-made skateboards would seed the DIY mentality ingrained in skateboarding today. In a raw and beautiful way, skateboarding began not from an industry but from the intense desire for one's own self expression. To understand this simple yet profound truth is our first glimpse into "what is skateboarding" and ultimately, what it means to be a skateboarder.

It would be even more difficult to imagine how much skateboarding would change since its conception. By , Makaha formed the first professional skateboarding team competing in the first ever skateboard competition later that year in Hermosa, California. While the remnants of early s downhill skateboarding competitions take the form of death defying San Francisco hill-bombs, the freestyle competition formats and most tricks performed at the Hermosa competition are now but a distant memory to contemporary skateboarding.

Even with its novelty in American sports, skateboarding popularity ultimately crashed by People were more likely to go to a roller derby competition than a skateboarding competition. Skateboarding in the media began advertising skating as a dangerous activity, while the clay wheels and handstands grew as tiresome as watching a hula-hooper for hours on end.

To understand how skateboarding nearly perished is to understand ultimately why its earliest forms are no longer seen. The X Games, started in , is an extreme sports competition created to capture the attention of a generation disinterested in traditional sports. Skateboarding was a significant feature of the original X Games. It successfully attracted the attention of passionate action sports enthusiasts and is now one of the world's biggest sports competitions.

In Tony Hawk landed the Tony Hawk is widely regarded as the G. He was the first skater to ever land a , which is 2 and a half complete rotations. This was widely believed to be physically impossible on a skateboard. It opened the door for big-spin tricks we see on skateboards today. He can still land one at 48! The biggest stair set ever ollied was a 25 stair.

In street skateboarding, one of the biggest records was set by Aaron "Jaws" Homoki. He ollied a set of 25 stairs. In this interview with Red Bull, Jaws talks about how he became the guy who does mind-blowingly big ollies. Skateboarding is a multi-billion dollar industry. The rise of competitive skateboarding around the world, the addition of the sport to the Olympics, the pandemic, and social media like SkateTok have helped grow the sport to record levels.

There are over 3, skateparks in the U. Although skateboarding is expanding globally, most skateboarders are still in the U. As a result, many municipalities have built skateboards in their communities. There are now over 3, parks in the U. Zion Wright: "Style Is Everything" 4 min read. Skateboarding was introduced to the Olympics in The Olympics are a significant milestone in any sport.