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Skate Boarding
By Kathleen Warth
How Skateboarding began.

 
 
 
 
Skateboarding began in California in the late 1950s and early '60s, when surfers who faced poor wave conditions
started attaching roller-skate wheels to planks of wood. The first skateboarding craze didn't really start until the
early 1970s. Nowadays, early 'boards are getting increasingly difficult to find, especially with any of the original
finish or hardware.

By 1959, the first Roller Derby Skateboard was for sale. Clay wheels came and sidewalk boarding began to take
root. By the time the 1960's came around, skateboarding had gained popularity amongst the surfers. In October of
'64 Jan & Dean legitimized it nationally with teens when their song "Sidewalk Surfin'" hit the top 20.

Later, when Larry Stevenson, publisher of Surf Guide begins to promote skateboarding, things started to take off.
Larry's company, Makaha designed the first professional boards in 1963 and a team was formed to promote the
product. The first skateboard contest was held at the Pier Avenue Junior School in Hermosa, California in 1963. In
1964, surf legend Hobie Alter teamed up with the Vita Pakt juice company to create Hobie Skateboards. While
most skaters took to the street or sidewalk, some brave souls decide to ride empty swimming pools. By 1965,
international contests, movies (Skater Dater), a magazine (The Quarterly Skateboarder) and cross country trips by
teams of skateboarders elevated the sport to enormous heights. Over fifty million boards were sold within a three
year period and then all of a sudden skateboarding died in the fall of 1965.

The first crash of skateboarding came about due to inferior product, a public upset by reckless riding. The
manufacturers were so busy making product that little was done in the way of research and development. Although
some companies developed better quality wheels, clay wheels were the cheapest to manufacturer. However, clay
wheels did not grip the road well and skaters fell everywhere. Cities started to ban skateboards in response to
health and safety concerns and soon skateboarding was drummed out of existence (for the time being at least!).