Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an activity in which a person will either ride a skateboard or perform tricks on one. The person who uses the skateboard will often be referred to as a skater. More often than not, skateboarding is displayed as being an extreme sport in the mass media. However, it can be a hobby, method of making money, or even a form of transportation. A 2002 study found that there are at least 18 million skaters in the world, and today, the number is probably much higher. The study also found that over 80% of skaters were 18 years of age or younger, and over 70% were male.
As far as sports go, skateboarding is an activity which is quite new. It started off as sidewalking surfing in the United States, and most experts agree that the activity first became prevalent in California. Skateboarding has been around since the 1950s, and many of the skateboarding tricks which are used today were developed in the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore, skateboarding is seen as being a uniquely American sport. The skateboard that we're familiar with today wasn't first invented until 1958. An interesting fact about the history of skateboarding is that the activity was actually first performed by surfers. Because there were times when the ocean was flat on California beaches, surfers decided to use skateboarding as an alternative.
Skateboarding continued to grow during the early 1960s, and it quickly became a multi-million dollar industry. However, skateboard sales had fallen greatly by the mid 1960s, and the activity didn't get a resurgence in popularity until the 1970s. In skateboarding history, the 1970s is often referred to as being the "Second Generation." It was during this time that polyurethane skateboards were invented. The third generation started in the 1980s and went into the 1990s, but the introduction of trick skating changed the skateboard world forever.
This was largely due to the introduction of ramps and skateparks. While tricks started out with wheelies and other basic techniques, it eventually begin to evolve. Today skateboarders have complex techniques that rival the likes of other sports, and the industry has become large and very profitable. Skateboarding has even led to a subculture, and the media has often portrayed skateboarders as being highly rebellious. However, this image has slowly begin to falter in recent years. However, t here are some publications which still create a punk image where skaters are considered to be rebels.
