• History Of Skateboarding •

• 40's to 60's •

Skateboarding started when surfers in California wanted to surf when the waves in the ocean were flat. The first skateboards were boxes or boards of wood attached to roller skates. Soon after those boxes had turned into planks that companies eventually started producing. Back then skateboarding was referred as "sidewalk surfing". The first manufactured skateboards were ordered by a Los Angeles surf shop. The owner of the store has made a deal with a few companies to produce a skateboard . As sidewalk surfing became more popular, surf companies started making skateboards, which looked like small surfboards with wheels, and made teams to promote their products. After a quick rise in popularity in sidewalk surfing, a new magazine, Skateboarder Magazine, was born. The growth of the sport was seen in sales. For example, the surfboard company Makaha, made $10 million during this period off skateboards. By 1966, sales had dropped enormously due to the fact Skateboarder Magazine had stopped publishing.

• 70's •

The popularity of skateboarding had stayed low until the early 70's when a man named Frank Nasworthy came up with a new wheel called "The Cadillac". It was made of polyurethane to give the skater a smooth, flat ride. Because of this wheel, the popularity of skateboarding started to increase again. It gave a skater much more traction and control of the board. Soon after, companies started to make trucks specifically for skateboards. With all the new equipment, skaters were able to do harder and more dangerous tricks.

• 80's •

By this time, many companies were run by skateboarders. Most skating during this time was vert (on ramps, half-pipes ect.). After some time Alan Gelfand invented the ollie (a trick where the skater makes the board jump in the air from flat ground). After the invention of the ollie, many skaters started to street skate because they couldn't afford to build ramps. The 80's was the era of new tricks and inventions. One example would be Rodney Mullen. This flat ground skater invented most of the tricks people perform today. Some tricks he invented were the kick flip, impossible, heel flip, 360 flip and many others.

• 90's to Present •

From the 90's on, street skating has been the most popular type of skateboarding. Since the 70's the skateboard has really changed. Boards nowadays are mostly meant for street skating. They are usually 7.25 - 8 inched wide and 30 to 32 inches long. Wheels are made from hard polyurethane, and trucks are as light as possible. Since 1990, skateboarding hasn't changed very much.