Skateboard History

Every sport has a history that you should beskateboards, with planks of wood and rollertrucks.
aware of before you decide to try it. ExtremeIn the sixties, skateboard history moved a step
sports are no exception - skateboard history is afurther when skateboards were manufactured
field that has garnered quite a bit of interest.commercially on a fairly large scale. The
All the different skaters who have inventedskateboards available then included the
moves, the different venues where these movesthree-wheelers, as well.
have been invented, the skaters who gaveIt was only in 1963 that the first professional
everything up for the sport are all part ofskateboards were manufactured, They were
skateboard history.manufactured by Larry Stevenson and his wife.
Skateboarding began with surfing. Surfing on theSkateboarding, though, was still influenced a lot by
waves was not enough for these stalwarts, andsurfing. The techniques involved, the styles, even
so they decided to surf on the sidewalks, too,the fashion were all inspired by surfing. In fact,
and so, a new sport was born.these skateboards were names Makaha Phil
In 1920's, the first kind of skateboard to be soldEdwards, after a legendary surfer. The first
was a contraption that was meant to mimicskateboard competition was also held at this time.
cross-country skiing, more than anything else. ThisIt was around 1965 that skateboarding began to
was the predecessor of the three-wheeledcome off the sidewalks and become a bit more
scooter skate of the next decade.extreme, because skater started experimenting in
The next thing that marked skateboard historyswimming pools. Skateboarding, like any other
was a four-wheeled skateboard, called theextreme sport, was seen as unsafe, but
skeeter skate. This had removable handles, anddocumentaries and movies were made to change
was fairly close to the skateboard we know ofthis concept.
now.By 1975, safety gear was developed, and this
The first time in skateboard history thatmade the world accept skateboarding a little more
rollerskate trucks were combined with a woodeneasily.
plank, to make something similar to theIt was in the seventies that skateboarding as we
skateboards of today, was in 1947. This wasknow today really took flight. This was an epoch
done by Peter Parken, a surfer in San Diego.marking decade in skateboard history. From then
It was in the 1950's that a form of skateboardingtill now, there have been many champions who
as we know it today made an appearance, andhave laid their bodies and souls on the line for
surfers embraced it wholeheartedly. Around thistheir passion - skateboards.
time, children started making their own