Skateboarding: A Passion, A Lifestyle, A Sport

While we’re accustomed to a certain number of sports, there are also those that are in the same category despite appearances. Let’s take skateboarding for instance, the activity we most often relate to young kids testing out their balance skills, doing a set of tricks and turns with a board. Where does the story of skateboarding begin? Well, we have to thank another sport for its appearance, more specifically a water sport: surfing.

Certain surfers back in the 1950s, determined to keep on practising and enhancing their skills while waiting for particularly stormy or cold weather to pass, had to find another alternative to the great ocean while still using boards. The concept of merging surfing and pavements resulted in the creation of the boards on wheels in California.

What happened to be the perfect compensation for surfers, the way to train surfing on land, quickly turned into a popular outdoor activity which led to the need for specialised skateboard shops, the first one to be opened in 1962 in Hollywood. Nowadays, thanks to technology, a skateboard online shop proves to be the perfect alternative for the skateboarder who wants to shop in the convenience of their home.

Just a year later since the first shop’s appearance, some companies, such as Makaha and Hobie started organising competitions which further strengthened the appeal of skateboarding and by this time, after a great deal of falling and injuries sustained, as well as the upgrade in the boards, skateboarding was in the era of developments, with different styles emerging in the likes of freestyle and downhill slalom.

The fast-paced popularity came to a stagnation not long after, only to be rekindled once again throughout the next decade thanks to the different styles and the upgrade in the form of the boards as well as the wheels (upgraded to urethane by Frank Nasworthy in 1972).

Three years later, during the Ocean Festival, a team called Zephyr showed everyone skateboarding could compete with other sports and proved why it was so much more than a hobby using a variety of tricks and moves the world hadn’t seen before in the realm of skateboarding – the inspiration for the Lords of Dogtown film. After another decline in popularity particularly in the 1980s, as the number of injuries started growing despite the increased number of specialised parks being built yet again this wasn’t the end of this incredible sport.

The decade that followed had much to offer to people who took skateboarding to another level, getting a more underground sense. The latest revival happened at the beginning of the 2000s, with more styles and a variety of choices of boards and specialised apparel, leading to the birth of the skateboarding lifestyle. Pay a skateboard online shop a visit and you’d find the suitable equipment no matter whether you’re a pro or just an amateur who uses skateboarding as a means of transport.

As you can see, the story of skateboarding making its way as a sport is one full of ups and downs, and it’s exactly this that made it so much of a success and a preferred activity for many who use it as a chance to keep their health at an all time high, enhancing the balance skills and learning new tricks and manoeuvres. When you truly dedicate yourself to this sport, you also have the opportunity to participate in the many international world cups and excel by winning prizes. It’s a sport for everyone, regardless of gender and age, so if you haven’t yet given it a try now is as good a time as any.