History of Skateboarding

Skateboarding goes beyond cruising around on a skate. The sport is a lifestyle. Skateboarding has gone through a revolution over the last 60 years. With the tremendous growth the sport has witnessed from the 1950s to today; skateboarding remains a sport and an art form. Although it’s considered an extreme sport because of its nature, skateboarding, popular amongst youths, is a professional sport boasting ranges of competitions, such as street-style and vertical events.

Vertical skating, popularly called verts, includes aerial acrobatics executed on half-pipes, originally built like an empty swimming pool. Under street-style skateboarding, the skater performs tricks on a real urban area with rails, stairs, ledges, and similar obstacles.
Over the years, skateboarding has evolved into a youth subculture coupled with the skaters’ baggy clothes and punk music.

The first homemade versions of skateboard have existed since the 20th century. It was merely a board with attached roller-skate wheels. However, in 1959, the first commercial skateboards were manufactured. With the rise of surfing in the early 1960s, Makaha and Hobie, two skateboard manufacturers, tried promoting the sport known then as sidewalk surfing to those looking for alternative diversion when there are no rideable waves. Makaha created the first professional skateboarding team in 1963, and the first skateboard competition was held in Hermosa, California. The event included downhill slalom and freestyle skateboarding. However, the sport’s popularity waned over the following years due to the skateboard’s maneuverability limitation and safety professional’s warnings on how dangerous the sport is.