skateboarding
The sport of skateboarding started in coastal and southern california doing basic tricks on homemade boards to the strict modern competitions that we have today. The change has not just ocurred in the riders but also the rides going from plywood boards with wood/clay wheels to fishtail boards to the streamline polyurethane wheeled things we have today.
The sport of skateboarding started in southern and coastal California building their own boards and cruising on sidewalks and dry swimming pools. A majority of the early skateboarders were surfers and wakeboarders who were looking for a different challenge from what they were used to and the drought ridden california swimming pools were a perfect place to develop and hone their skills. Most of the early boards were home made out of fiberglass, they were wood boards bolted to roller skate trucks with wood or clay wheels. These early skaters also built little ramps and jumps out of whatever they could find like using egg crates and plywood for jumps and going in canals that were dry and riding in them like halfpipes a lot of these things were incorporated into the design of more modern skate parks. These modern parks were pretty much just recreations of what people were already riding in the outside world just designed to fit in with what the sport demanded like lowering handrails so you can jump onto them or making ramps steeper and smoothing everything out.
Skateboarding tricks started getting more advanced as time went on like rodney mullen performing the first tre flip or mike mcgill inventor of the 540 aerial and after a while developed its own culture of what most would call outcasts or misfits. But were held together by a common bond to perfect their skills and perform better than anyone else. This friendly competitiveness gave birth to skate competitions usually put on by local shops who would sponsor players and supply equipment at a discount or free for wearing the shops logos and supplying publicity. The first competition sponsors were jacks, makaha and hobie. Most of these early competitors tricks were simple kick flips and stuff like that but it made a good ground work for the high stakes competitions we have today.
As time went on skateboarding started to die out and very few people were still interested in it due to the danger and lack of control of the board. But that all changed in 1972 when a guy by the name of Frank Nasworthy invented the polyurethane wheel that both smoothed the ride and made it easier to maneuver. The first professional team was team zephyr who showed that skateboarding was a sport to be taken seriously and no longer a pastime for people that didn’t have anything else to do. The first skateboarding magazine was published june of 1964 under the ever so creative name of the quarterly skateboarder. But unfortunately it died out after one year due to a increase of cities banning the sport and a lack of safety equipment As the sport got to being more mainstream there were more injuries and casualties resulting from it for example the first deaths occurred in the late 60s and early seventies but now these deaths would occur due two real strict helmet laws and rules although they are rarely enforced in my home town of mariposa. I have been to others where you can be kicked out and even fined for not having the proper safety equipment on. Or performing stuff that is two dangerous. Often times these parks have police officers or staff stationed or stopping by frequently to enforce these rules and to make sure everything that happens is within the law. But by doing this they have converted what once was a free just do whatever and whenever you want sport to a overly regulated uniform sport that has had the thrill and creativity sucked out of it by city codes and park rules until the point that the only people left in the sport are the die hard skating fanatics that won’t quit for anything and the people that have the room and ability to ride on their own personal ramps and halfpipes. Altho out of the crumbling ashes of a dying sport there is a new kind of rider a kind i feel i can relate to the most hipsters and students riding more unusual types of boards like penny boards, longboards and cruisers zipping along sidewalks and through crowded streets hurrying to make it back from their favorite coffee shop or restaurant to college classes or work. These people due for a multitude of reasons from being faster to being able to get a little adrenaline in between classes or shifts or just because they want to be eco friendly but don’t have the room to store a bike or they might just not have the money to support a car and a board is the best they can do with their situation.
A Lot of professional riders have made some serious money between competitions endorsements and branding. For example rob dyrdek who is worth somewhere around 50 million or tony hawk worth 120 million. Not to mention there is a lot of multimillion dollar companies that were built strictly for the sport. There also was a lot of companies that moved into the sport from other fields like dgk and santa cruz. In total the sport of skateboarding makes 5 billion a year according to board-trac. A vast majority of skaters pick small companies components to set up their boards over the big corporations. The reason behind this can be anywhere from personal preference to liking a certain style of setup or simple as wanting to support local companies not to mention it is often cheaper to buy goods from these smaller companies. another statistic from brandongaille.com is skateboard sales have been dropping 2% each year since 2007. At this rate the sport will be dead by 2057 and will be just a novelty sport like rollerskating or tetherball.
But this can change with increase of local competitions and advertising on part of the company’s. And a cheaper way of getting quality supplies.
