skateboarding history 101
Skateboarding is what you would call an extreme sport. Skateboarding started in the 1960s. The idea of skateboarding came from surfing. That is why the looks of surfers and skaters are almost the same. The surfers wanted to see if they could do the same things on the street that they did in the waves.
It all started in California in Santa Dogtown, which is actually known as the Monica/Venice Beach area. California is where skateboarding became popular, and then grew to reach the entire United States. One of the best known groups of skateboarding this toy was called The “Z-Boys”. The group started in 1973. The first Z-boy was 14-year-old Nathan Pratt. Nathan Pratt worked at a surf shop owned by Jeff Ho. The store was called “Zephyr Productions”, where Pratt worked as an apprentice surfboard maker. The store was located in Venice Beach, California. A year later, in 1974, Nathan Pratt wasn’t the only Z-boy; he made 5 of his friends join the group. Now the Z-boys had 6 members in total. First it was Nathan Pratt, Jay Adams, Allen Sarlo, Stacy Peralta, Chris Cahill and the last one was Tony Alva. The Z-Boys were known in Dogtown. They were all surfers, which at the time was a sidelined sport for most people. They copied the same moves on the skateboard as they did on the surfboard. In 1975, the Z-Boys formed the first skateboarding team. This team was not affiliated with Zephyr Productions.
The first skateboard competition for boys was the Del Mar Nationals in March 1975. This was the first major skateboard competition since the 1960s. Most of the Z-Boys were in the finals of the competition, because they used their new style of skateboarding. skating. Later, the Z-Boys became known throughout the skateboarding world.
These skaters loved to skate on bowls. They used the empty swimming pools of the people as bowls. They were the first skaters to invent aerial skateboarding. Which means getting the air out of the container and then landing back in the container. They were known as the best skaters and surfers. His story was featured on the cover of Skateboarding magazine.
In 1977, the Z-Boys were no more. They all went their own way with the big skate companies. They will always be remembered as the group that brought skateboarding to what it is today. Two movies were made in honor of the Z-boys. One is a documentary and the other is not.
Today, skateboarding is a very popular sport. Skaters today have a variety of flips and routines. Unlike the time of the Z-Boys, skateboards have changed drastically. Instead of just a board on wheels. There are now different sizes of boards, wheels, trucks, bars, and bolts or what is known as hardware. Today there are 3 types of skaters. 1) Street Skater, which means they don’t use half-pipes or bowls, they just skate the streets. The most common place a street skater will go is a stairway. 2) Vert Skater, which means they only skate half-pipes and bowls. 3) All Around Skater, which means they skate both street and vertical.
Skaters today still get into trouble with home and business owners. For damaged property. In general, skateboarding is not as marginalized as it used to be. Skateboarding is more popular than ever today. Competitions are held all over the US Today, few skateboard for a living. Two popular green skaters are Tony Hawk and Bob Burnquist. Two popular street skaters are Rodney Mullen.
Skateboarding has also been put into the world of video games. The two most popular games are the “Tony Hawk” games and the “Skate” games. Sport has also become a big part of the clothing industry. Shirts, pants, hats and much more have become popular to wear. Today, there are skate shops all over the country. There are also parks that are just for skaters called skate parks. Skate parks today are indoor and outdoor. There are also movies and websites about skateboarding.
Always remember that riding a skateboard can be dangerous. Skaters break their bones and become unconscious, and on rare occasions, skaters have died. So remember not to attempt a really difficult trick if you don’t have enough experience. Note: I’m not trying to tell you what to do or not to skate. I’m just trying to help you so you don’t have to learn the hard way.
Most skaters love to grind on rails and jump ladder sets. Some skaters love to get on the half-pipes and get some air. Skaters always try to find a new obstacle to jump or move. Most likely, skateboarding will exist forever. There are skaters of all kinds of ages.