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The beginning
Skateboarding was first started in the 1950s, when all across California surfers got the idea of trying to surf the streets. -
Compititions
skateboarding was at a peak of popularity, and companies like Jack's, Hobie and Makaha started holding skateboarding competitions. -
Popularity goes down
skateboarding's popularity suddenly crashed. Most people assumed that skateboarding was a fad that had died out, like the hoola hoop. Skateboard companies folded, and people who wanted to skate had to make their own skateboards again from scratch. -
New wheels
Skaters were using clay wheels for their boards, which was extremely dangerous and hard to control. But then in 1972, Frank Nasworthy invented urethane skateboard wheels, which are similar to what most skaters use today. -
New Terrains
With the invention of urethane wheels, new possibilities emerge. What once was a noisy, bumpy ride is now smooth and silent. Banks and ditches become skateable, as these new wheels can grip the concrete. Surfers like Larry Bertlemann inspire a new and radical form of skating, as surfing begins to turn toward a shorter board with more fluid moves. From this point on, skating will never be the same. -
Fibergass skateboards
Fiberglass boards made by surf shops out of fin material become popular with the surf crowd. Companies experiment making skateboard decks, using everything from wood to aluminum. The first full-length skate movie, Spinnin' Wheels, is released. -
Pools
The California drought forces homeowners to drain their pools. Though skaters have been riding swimming pools since the introduction of urethane wheels the previous year, they now view the empty pools as territory to be conquered. New tricks are invented daily—aerials, inverts, and the ollie. Many concrete parks are also being built, and the first professional skaters begin to receive notice. However, many skate parks are forced to close because of low attendance and high insurance rates -
Handrails and parks
Street skating turns handrails and walls into free skate parks. Skater-owned companies become more and more common. -
Vert skateing
Another surge of interest from 1983 to 1991 included the rise of vert skating. The boards at this time were wider and characterized by big wheels. -
New Style
A national recession slowed the growth of skateboarding until 1993, when historians mark the fourth wave of skateboarding. Skateboards got thinner, lighter and had smaller wheels. It became more common for decks to have both a kicktail and a raised nose for increased trick possibilities. -
tricks were possible
Larry Stevenson patented the kick tail, which opened up skateboarding to a new level of performance beyond imitating surfing. The kicktail is the portion of board that turns up at its end and makes the majority of skateboarding tricks possible -
New Era of skateboarding
attention in the media and products like skateboarding video games, children's skateboards and commercialization have all pulled skateboarding more and more into the mainstream. The benefit of this is that, of course, skaters are more accepted, and the assumption that all skaters are criminals is slowly being torn down. Also, with more money being put into skateboarding, there are more skateparks, better skateboards, and more skateboarding companies to keep innovating and inventing new things.
