Skateboarding – The Evolution of a Modern Phenomenon
Author: Marc Peterson
Author: Marc Peterson
Five decades since skateboards first appeared on the side walks of the Californian surf coast, skateboarding has transformed itself into a phenomenon among the youth and has cut its own slice of the cult status. Some time between the 1940s or early 50s some bored-wise surfer beaten for the day by lack of wind and surf at sea tried to test his luck on land with a smaller version of a surfboard slightly modified with wheels fitted underneath. And it worked! Today he is called the inventor of the modern skateboard, though nobody knows his name or where he was born. He is only known as a jolly good surfin' fella to this day. Skateboarding which had its origins in surfing was related to the culture of surfing and skateboarders also won the popular tag of rebels along with hippies of the late 60's and the surfers of the 70's. In Del Mar, California a young team displayed their brilliant skills on what skateboarding could be, in a freestyle contest at the Ocean Festival, which opened the eyes of the viewers and the organizers to the potential of this exciting new sport.
As skateboarding is a free style sport, and the skills at mastering the board can go as far as one's imagination can soar, it rapidly spread and gained popularity among the American surfing crowd. The hobby provided value for those who were looking for something new to peg their rebellious image onto. Soon the skateboarders developed an image and culture of their own. From then on there was no looking back for a sport that has taken artistic form today. The 80's brought new skateboard deck designs and urethane skate wheels emerging within the industry. Skateboard shops and manufactures began to enter the business world. Enthusiasts started to skate where ever else they could find space - foot paths, parks, roads, and all over the place. Skateboarding began to grow into the shape of an underground movement before the government answered by building skate parks which started to crop up here and there. Films like Video Days further boosted the rebellious skateboarding image as being recklessly sporty. In spite of all that the sport has evolved to a very refined professional level and has a huge following with fans all over the world. Though the association of the skateboarder with rebelliousness and non-conformation has not altogether faded in the memory of the senior citizens, the younger crowd looks at it in a totally different light perhaps due to its extreme sport image and the air time it enjoys in international sports channel. Tony hawk, Steve Caballero, Eric Koston, Lance Mountain, Rodney Mullen and Christian Hosoi are some of the skateboarding legends who took the sport to a higher plain. That unknown he-who-invented-the-sport' is never remembered or thanked for but there is always a sense of gratitude and inspiration in the way the sport has evolved and attained popularity today.About the Author:
Online Skate Store is based out of San Diego, California. They strive to provide quality name brand skateboards supplies at cheap prices. Online Skateboard shops is operated by skateboarders that know the value of affordable skateboarding products like skateboard deck