The 1960s
By Dale Smith
The 1960s is known as the birth of the manufactured skateboard. Makaha, Val Surf and Hobie were the early names which come to mind. Skateboarding grew slowly until 1964. At this time, toy companies along with surf shops, bike shops, department stores and roller skate rinks supplied skateboards. Skateboard companies then began to make skateboards in high production. The materials used in the high production boards were solid oak, ash and mahogany. Sometimes the materials were used in combinations by using vertical and horizontal laminates. The first production skateboard trucks were made by companies such as Chicago, Sure Grip and Roller Derby. At this time, private label trucks were made by Hobie, Makaha, Sport Fun, and Leisure Line to name a few.
New design wheels and hard rubber wheels enabled skateboarders to perform new maneuvers which couldnt be done on the new metal wheels. Some of the new maneuvers were: 360s, Coffin, Handstands, One and Two-foot Nose and Tail Wheelies and Heelies.
The one person best known for these innovative moves was the 1965 International Skateboard Champion John Freeze. Other big names in the 60s era were the Hilton Brothers: Dave and Stevie, Skip Feye, Torger Johnson, Bruce Logan, Bob Mohr and Willie Phillips. All of these skaters were finalists in the First International Championships in 1965. The event was held in Anaheim at the La Palma Stadium and was shown on ABCs Wide World of Sports.
About six months prior to this championship, a magazine named Skateboarder made its premier. The magazine featured the latest in equipment, the newest moves, product ads, stories and pictures. At the same time, many mainstream magazines such as Look, Time, Saturday Evening Post, Surfing Magazine and newspaper articles covered the sport. These flamed the fire for music such as Jan and Deans Sidewalk Surfing, and for a beach movie boom which in turn inspired people to produce the first skate movies. The first skateboarding movie was Skater Daters 18 minute film in 1966. Skate contests soon began and the first skateboard park was Surfers World in Anaheim, California.
The phenomena of skateboarding grew so fast that is was seen all throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
After 1967, popularity and promotion of the sport died until the development of the urethane wheel in the early 1970s.
The 1970s
Skateboard Heyday
Was the 1970s
By Eric "Arab" Groff
The 1970s is still considered by many to be the glory days of skateboarding. Every kid on the block had a board and skateparks were everywhere, with the first park being Carlsbad Skatepark in Southern California. Much of skateboardings growth would not have been possible if it wasnt for a man named Frank Nasworthy, who single-handedly changed skateboarding forever with the creation of the Cadillac Urethane skateboard wheel. This new product set the stage for skateboards to go above and beyond where they had been before with pool riding, downhill slalom, pipes, ramps, parks and sidewalks... Skateboarding had become accessible and effortless for everyone.
Although there were other advancements in skateboard design like kicktails, wide trucks, 10 inch boards, radial wheels and precision bearings, Nasworthys wheels would prove to be the greatest invention and contribution to skateboarding. (and you can quote me on that).
With all the new designs and equipment, skateboarding was really coming into its own in the 70s, especially in the moves done on a skateboard. In the 60s, skate moves emulated surfing moves like hanging ten, carving, cut backs, walking the nose and the coffin. But in the 70s, skateboarders created a whole new style and moves with new tricks including aerials, ollies, grinders, fakies and rock & rolls. Todays snowboarders and surfers use many moves of 1970s skateboarding. But the credit should always go to the skaters of the 60s, who started it all.
The big names in 70s skateboard culture were the Logan brothers, Bruce and Brad, Laura Thornhill, Ellen Berryman, Greg Weaver, Waldo, Mike Weed, Henry Hester, Dale Smith, Russ Howell, Steve Cathy, Connie Toft, and many others including the world champion Tony Alva. Whoever said you cant teach an old dog new tricks, should check Tony out now...been skating for over 30 years, and is better today than ever.
Favorite skate spots were the Fruit Bowl, Vermont Drop, The Dog Bowl, The Reservoir, Mt. Baldy Pipe, Soul Bowl, Brea Spillway, San Onofre Pipes, L-Pool, the Funnel and many other skateparks that defined the decade.
Many rivalries were created by the media between different areas in Southern California. Skate areas and their residents included the Z-boys of Dogtown (Santa Monica-Venice area), the Down Southers (San Diego) a\, the Badland Boys (Upland/Clairemont) and in the middle of it all was Orange County that didnt really have a name for its skaters.
Nothing ever really became of the hype, we all skated in each others territories, just with a respect for whos backyard you were in, especially those dogtowners, who had a really bad rep.
Contests in the 70s were a place for rivals and teams to put their money where their mouths were, and have remained huge to this day. The contest sites were incredible...Los Angeles Sports Arena, Long Beach Arena, Jack Murphys Stadium in San Diego, Catalina Island in California. Teams competed in freestyle, slalom, vertical, high jump, barrel jump and cross country skating. Later on, bowl riding was introduced at the skateparks with the Hester Series paving the way for the modern ramp competition weve seen in the 80s and 90s.
I never in my wildest dreams could imagine that back in the 70s (my heyday) that skateboarding would be so huge and skaters would be doing what theyre doing in the 90s. You guys blow my mind. You are the future. Skate safe.
The 1980s
Skateboard Rebirth
By Todd Johnson Esquire
In the 80s skateboardings crazy ride suffered through death yet enjoyed a rebirth and maturity not unlike its boom in the 70s. The tragic loss of popularity that closed almost all the skate parks, forced the true skateboarders to start a new underground in the backyards on homemade ramps.
Hardcore skaters did kept key parks open on both coasts and where there were no park ramps - streets and pools were continually ridden.
Organizations such as MESS (Mid Eastern Skateboard Series) MARS (Midwest Amateur Ramp Series), and CASL (California Amateur Skateboard League) provided a positive and solid foundation for the NSA (National Skateboard Association) pro/am series that would begin in 85 and soon host competitions all over the United States.
Truly devoted riders began networking through independent zines that provided information on the local skate scenes all across the country. Throughout this long transition, many aspects of skateboarding took drastic changes.
Board size in 1980 was a common 10x30, 7-ply maple laminated deck. Concave wheelbase, nose and tail lengths became concerns and experimentations of all ideas were ridden. Some manufacturers did vary their selection to include longboards, freestyle decks, and smaller street shapes. Wheels slowly got narrower, taller, and consequently lighter. Truck companies toyed with turning geometrys, weight and pivot angles but the overall successful design remained the same.
Since the endangered round wall was scarce, ramps gained in popularity and acceptance and the style of riding progressed. Ramps provided an easier, more accessible wall to practice on. The wall was the same transition the entire width of the ramp. Obstacles on the lip such as extensions, channels/ /roll-ins, and escalators broke up the backn forth limit ramp riding suffered in comparison to pools.
Despite ramp development many skateboarders kept to the streets, backyard pools, ditches and pipes where the only changes were the skills and talents of the riders.
Most of the tricks invented in the 70s were improved upon in the 80s. The straight-armed aerial spawned such innovative moves as stalled inverts to fakie, the vertical 540 slide got airborne, three wheels outgrew into seven-foot airs and higher.
Freestyle changed from spinning 360s and caspers to ollie impossibles and one-footed 540 shove-its. Carving down the street and grinding a pool couldnt be improved upon and was enjoyed throughout the decade. Skateboarding was always changing in the 80s and left itself open for more in the upcoming 90s.
Top skaters in the 80s:
Micke and Steve Alba, Duane Peters, Steve Olsen, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Mike Smith, Jim Grey, John Lucero, Neil Blender, Eddie Reatigui, Dave Duncan, Mark "Gator" Rogowski.
The 1990s
This article was written by Daniel M. Ting
To those returning to skateboarding after an extended `absence', Be careful and take it easy, slow at the start, perhaps even doing some warm up stretches and stuff if you intend to have a heavy duty shredding session. If you've bought a new board look out for the longer nose (or double kick) your usual foot placement (if you're from the early 80's scene) now should be a bit further back on the board. Painful ankle twisting bails will occur if you nose-dive. Be careful if you intend to slow down using powerslides' the new wheels are a lot harder and (a) wear out much quicker (b) are lot more slippery, you might find yourself with a buttfull of gravel and asphalt. (of couse these speeds can only be achieved going downhill) . The boards today are only 6ply and are not as strong as they used to be (due to thinner shape, I won't get involved with the quality issue) so be careful if you intend to do any boneless-es or big acid drops. Ollies will also be difficult at first, as the board feels and reacts very much like an oversized freestyle board, (good if you were a freestyler) so be careful at those curbs, don't let an injury add to your embarassment of wiping out at a crosswalk.
Once you get used to the new board it turns out to be a very excellent stick , ollies pop higher and easier, flips happen by themselves, it's lighter (a lot) and much more responsive. my only beef with them is the small wheel, they don't roll as easily as a pair of 92 rat bones, and tend to get stuck in sidewalk cracks.
While it may seem to be a sort of culture shock, much has remained the same. I've noticed a general `return-to-friendliness' amoung the new school, and fortunately (at least in my skating area) the `little snotty skate-shit' attitude is hard to come by.
So enjoy yourselves, enjoy your new (or old) deck and have a good time. But remember guys that the age of consent is 18, so leave those skate betties alone ;) (but i'm sure our wive's , pot-bellies and the fact that these new skaters pull off tricks we never dreamed of, will leave us with not much to worry about in this dept.)