The History of Skateboarding

Skateboarding can be described in several ways such as an recreational activity, an art-form, a sport, a job, or simply just a method of transportation. Skateboarding is a popular activity that children, adults, men, and women can enjoy. Skateboarding originated in the late 1950's in California. It is said that skateboarding was created by surfers who were looking for an alternative when the waves were uncooperative. With a few simple modifications to a surf board, skateboards were created. In the early 1960's skateboards were being sold in America. Skateboards were very popular for a few years, but in the mid 1960's many stores stopped selling skateboards because they felt it was too dangerous and unsafe. This is when the sport entered its first slump. In the early 1970's a man by the name of Larry Stevenson invented the first "kicktail" skateboard. The kicktail introduced concave skateboards which brought some of the first tricks into skateboarding, such as the ollie and kickflip. The late 70's and early 80's was a large growth stage in skateboarding, magazines and videos were created, concrete skateparks were built throughout the U.S.,skate shops were built and vert skating was very popular. The 80's generation was very important for skateboarding because this is when many pro's were recognized such as Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero. Towards the end of the 80's, skateboarding shifted it's focus onto street skating such as stairs, gaps and rails.  The 90's is what made skateboarding what it is today. A variety of tricks , teams, and companies were brought to the skateboarding community. Skateboarding increased it's popularity when it was displayed in the first ESPN (Extreme) X Games in 1995. The impact of media coverage has helped skateboarding become what it is today by raising the general image of skateboarding , and this has moved skateboarding from an underground sport to a spectator sport over the past years. Today skateboarding is still very popular, you can see it on t.v., magazines, and movies. It has become more than just a hobby to people, some people earn money and can make enough money to live a great life from skateboarding. Due to these changes in skateboarding, a pro can make anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 a month just from doing what they love to do.