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1960
The popularity of skateboarding grows rapidly as many non-surfers begin to skate. Skateboarding grows from street and pool riding to downhill slalom and freestyle -
1963
Skateboarding reaches a peak in popularity. Skateboard brands have grown up, and start holding skateboarding competitions. -
1965
Skateboarding takes a sudden dive in popularity. Many people assume that skateboarding was just a fad. -
1966
Skateboarding continues, but with a lot fewer people skating. Skateboard companies die out one at a time, and skaters are forced to create much of their own equipment. -
1972
Frank Newsworthy invents urethane skateboard wheels. Until this point, skaters used clay, or even metal wheels. These wheels spark new interest in skateboarding. -
1975
The Ocean Festival is held in Del Mar, California. It's a traditional freestyle and slalom contest, but the Zephyr team arrived and blew the contest away with a new aggressive, innovative style of skateboarding. This event catapults skateboarding into the public eye. The most famous of these Zephyr team riders were Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta -
1978
Alan Gelfand invents the Ollie. -
1979
Skateboarding takes a second dive in popularity. Insurance rates for skate parks rise dramatically, and many skate parks have to close. -
1980
Skaters continue to skate, but in a more underground way. Small privately owned skateboard companies pop up, owned by skaters. These small companies encourage creativity in designs. Skateboarding evolves into an even more personal style of expression. -
1989
The movie Gleaming the Cube comes out, starring Christian Slater as a skateboarding teenager. The movie has cameos from famous skaters like Tony Hawk, and makes a strong impact on people's view of skateboarders. -
1958
In 1963, Larry Stevenson started Makaha skateboard company to mass-produce his surfboard shaped skateboard design. -
1994
World Cup Skateboarding is founded, to oversee the biggest skateboarding competitions all over the world. World Cup Skateboarding also functions to regulate points from one event to another, in order to give a general idea of how professional skateboarding is progressing, and how pro skaters do from contest to contest.
