| The Resurrection |
| Over the next eight years, skateboarding remained fairly underground, showing up only in areas like Santa Monica, California. During this period Larry Stevenson invented the kicktail and tried to resurrect skateboarding but he only met with a small amount of success. In 1970, a surfer by the name of Frank Nasworthy visited a friend at a plastics factory in Purcellville, Virginia.. The factory made urethane wheels for Roller Sports, a chain of roller rinks. The urethaneensured roller skaters would have decent traction and frank realized that the wheels would fit on his Hobie Skateboard. He decided to develop a skateboard wheel made from urethane. As you would expect, the ride is amazing compared to clay. Frank promoted the product in the San Diego area and he initially met with a lot of resistance. Over time however, the urethane wheel gained a following and word spread throughout California of these tremendous wheels. By 1973. Frank Nasworty's Cadiallac Wheels had launched skateboardings second boom. Truck manufacturers like Bennett and Tracker began making trucks just for skateboarding. Board makers sprung up over night and suddenly, the industry was awash with new products and new ideas. |