Skateboard History

The skateboard is a relatively recent phenomenon, bursting into public awareness during the late 1950’s as a secondary consequence of the surfing boom emerging along coastal regions at the time. Handmade board stands began popping up along the urban sidewalks of California and England, adapting roller skate wheels for the purpose and often featuring gigantic longboards handcrafted by riders of the waves.

The evolution of skateboard history owes a great deal to engineering triumphs prior to that time, including soapbox racers, automobile designers, and of course roller skates. In a very real way the history of the skateboard goes back to the very invention of the wheel, in Mesopotamia, around 6,000 years ago.

The introduction of the automobile created a craze for all types of rolling transportation. The newly paved roads and concrete sidewalks were tailor made for wheels. Bicycles and motorcycles became popular, with the latter quickly assuming the bad-boy, rebellious connotations it still has today.

In the early 1900's enterprising youngsters often built vehicles similar to a skateboard by nailing roller skate wheels to a 2x4. This was part of the craze in soapbox racing, when literally anyone with a hammer and nails could become a racing maven. Some of these early boards also featured milk crates nailed to the front with handle bars sticking out. This provided a limited amount of steering control as well as a hard surface to slam your teeth on when crashing.

The modern skateboard actually experienced an early incarnation shortly after World War One. When the Scooter Skate was brought out in the 1920’s it became popular to use wheeled boards propelled with poles, much like riverboat rafting or downhill skiing.

The first patented skateboard appeared in 1958, out of a surf shop in North Hollywood, California, which was owned by Bill Richards. Richards arranged with Chicago Roller Skate Company to manufacture the first modern-style skateboard with clay wheels.

Clay wheels were the industry standard until 1973, when Richard Nasworthy introduced the first rubber urethane wheels. The sport experienced the first explosion of ubiquity, as the innovation brought down the skateboard's cost and improved its durability. Thousands bought these rubber-wheeled crafts, calling it Sidewalk Surfing.

In 1971 Larry Stevenson changed skateboard history when he made the first kicktail. Two years later he innovated the first concave boards which made trick skating an option. Allen Gelfand was the first to exploit the infinite possibilities of this feature, when he used a concave board to perform the legendary first Ollie in 1978, impacting skateboard history forever. A world of trick skating emerged from this historic combination of design, engineering, and athletic creativity.

Wheels offer liberty from the plodding pace of walking or the exhausting strain of running. A culture of thrill-seekers has risen around each type of vehicle, be it the greaser street racers with their famous flaming running stripes, the leather-clad Hell’s Angels roaring through the 60’s and beyond, peace loving hippies exploring inner space from the back of a VW van, or today’s hoodie-clad skater making a mockery of sidewalk ordinances.