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Skateboarding is a sport like no other. Skateboard Culture has influenced fashion, music and even the way we talk.
Since the first skateboard made There are no teams and no rules. When someone skates well, we all win! You can do it almost anywhere. Most do it in the streets but if you are lucky you have a skatepark to go to.
Skaters are free to skate how they want and do the tricks they want. There are no other players to influence what you do. This independent, no rules, free thinking mentality attracts creative people to skateboarding. The kind of people who like to do their own thing.
The culture surrounding skateboarding is filled with independent and sometimes very opinionated skaters. The attitude of the skater often reflects the era when they started skateboarding. The young ones are so good and have such a great energy.
The most famous cities in the world for skateboarding are Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Vancouver and Barcelona. They all have some claim to their reputation. Even if they aren't all as good to skate as Barcelona.
Check out the daily skateboard news. This is updated everyday. Get the latest articles from inside and outside skateboard culture from around the world.
Everyday.
There were many ups and downs in skateboard history. From sidewalk surfing to the booms of the seventies and the eighties, being banned, to becoming one of the fastest growing sports.
What was it like when I started?
There wasn’t much to go around when I started skateboarding in the early nineties. There were no skateparks, few places to buy skateboards. It was banned in a lot of public and private spaces. Most people thought of skaters as criminals just out to cause problems. This core group of skaters didn’t have much but they were innovators. The tricks became very complex and technical. The equipment got simpler and higher quality.
The innovations that were made in the 90’s brought skateboarding back slowly. It was accessible easy and super cool. It grew steadily into the millennium. Even catching the interest of the Olympic Games.
What it is like to be a skateboarder today?
That is very different to what is happening today. Skateboarding has gone mainstream; from Disney movies, video games and million dollar skateparks. Tony Hawk is a household name.
Skateboarding has made such an impact of the mainstream it has spawn some copies. The culture copy cats like rollerbladers, scooter kids and to a lesser extent bmx.
Skater’s these days can get equipment everywhere. The junk you can buy at the local Wal-Mart, to shops in malls and of course the local core skateshops. Did I mention all the skateparks!
It has become a popular and diverse sport that is here to stay. the yearly Go Skateboarding Day on June 21st adds to skateboarding's strength. A great format for enjoying this day is a Skateboard Jam competition. These can be held in one location or in many around the city. The skaters can travel and skate together between the different locations. I give a disclaimer on the internet wiki sites that don't know crap about skateboarding.
There are three major types of skateboarding:
Street. The majority do this
Transition. Sometimes misnamed as Vert
Longboarding. A skateboard culture all its own
Each type has so many variations. As many as your imagination can come up with.
A lot of skateboarding is based on tricks.
The main trick for street skating is the Ollie or the jump. With that trick you can do hundreds of spins, slides and flips. There is a whole section of this site dedicated to learning and how to do skateboard tricks. Some tricks can only be done on certain terrain. The ramps and rails and things you can find in skateparks.
In Skateboard Culture I will focus on the lingo and the struggle of being a skater when I was young. I will also talk about how awesome things have gotten now. With things like skateboard camps where kids can and live and learn with the pros.
Or other stuff like skateboarding and religion might pop up or the many different personalities of skateboarding.Everything from skateboard history and who invented the skateboard, to my first skateboard, how I kept skating as a kid with no money and how much skater girls rock!
Check out my skateboard news updates on a daily basis. There is a lot to cover and it will be fun to tell some of these stories and adventures.