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Skateboard Companies: Element, Baker, Zero And Flip
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Published: November 14, 2006
The evolution of skateboarding, which has seen a periodic rise and fall in popularity since its birth in the 1950s, came to the forefront of America's mainstream culture in the early 1990s, and spilled into countless styles, becoming a subculture of its own.
Skateboards claim nearly 12.5 million pairs of feet worldwide, and despite being composed mainly of white males under the age of 18, the spread of skateboard popularity has grown dramatically in recent years. This, in combination with large-scale media attention, has led skateboarding to an increased social acceptance and recognition as a dignified subculture, becoming America's sixth most popular sport.
Skateboarding, in a recreational sense, has evolved as the design of the board itself has changed. Skateboarders have found increased maneuverability as the skateboards lengthened and widened. The board has gone through different periods of adjustment, most famously the shift in the 1970s which most closely resembles the modern design.
Made popular by the Z-boys of Dogtown (another name for Venice, Calif.), skateboards began to be manufactured with tricks and street skating in mind. Boards were slowly altered to meet these new demands in capability called for by such tricks as the ollie or kick flip. New materials were incorporated to strengthen the board as well as the addition of more durable wheels and trucks.
Skateboarding culture has a continually expanding scope. Skateboarding goes beyond the owning and riding of skateboards into fashion, artistic choices and social attitudes by those who associate themselves with the culture of skateboards. Some of these people do not even skateboard.
To some, skateboarding is more of an art form than recreation. The skateboard is like a brush, the streets are the canvas and every skateboarder is an artist. It is not unusual to see a group of four of more skaters taking turns performing tricks, and recording one another on camera, which they will eventually turn into a skateboarding highlight video.
The rise in sales of companies such as DC, Etnies, Element and Flip can be attributed in part to the mainstream public interest in these fashions. Baggy jeans, beanies and hooded sweatshirts are all trends commonly found in tune with the skater dress, which blend punk and hip hop styles. Skaters can claim their own board lines with certain companies. Even big brands like Nike have clothing lines developed solely for skaters.
Skateboarding's movement into mainstream culture can be seen in the large-scale media attention given to the sport. Names like Tony Hawk and Paul Rodriguez have found their way into American homes via ESPN and MTV. Even celebrities such Pharrell Williams, who is not involved in professional skating, are infamous for connecting their celebrity profiles to high-profile skating cliques or crews.
Video games sales for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Underground are usually near the highest in sales for gaming systems like Sony Playstation and Xbox (with more than one billion dollars in gross sales), and even though there still exists a rebellious element to skating, the sport no longer is as negatively stigmatized as it was in previous decades.
Local and national attitudes once held by many government levels are now adapting a more welcoming policy toward skateboarding within communities. The one-time no skating laws are less common today, and many cities and states contain several skate parks. After years of trying to ban skateboarding from streets, parking lots, sidewalks and shopping malls, many local governments have pulled a 180, building countless skate parks in cities and towns across America.
Skateboarders now grind from Oklahoma to China, and from Brazil to Belgium. Competitions can be found on both national and international level. With the increased audience seen from adding snowboarding to the Winter Olympics, many wonder when skateboarding will find its place among the summer games.
The future of skateboarding may be unknown, but its presence has been firmly established within many world cultures, and shows no signs of disappearing soon.
Sources:
Holgate, Steve. US Federal News Service. US Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. Skateboarding Grows From Casual Hobby to International Sport. 30 Aug. 2006.
Waterhouse, Jo, and David Penhallow. Concrete to Canvas. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2006.
Weyland, Jocko. The Answer is Never. New York: Grove P, 2002.
Skateboards claim nearly 12.5 million pairs of feet worldwide, and despite being composed mainly of white males under the age of 18, the spread of skateboard popularity has grown dramatically in recent years. This, in combination with large-scale media attention, has led skateboarding to an increased social acceptance and recognition as a dignified subculture, becoming America's sixth most popular sport.
Skateboarding, in a recreational sense, has evolved as the design of the board itself has changed. Skateboarders have found increased maneuverability as the skateboards lengthened and widened. The board has gone through different periods of adjustment, most famously the shift in the 1970s which most closely resembles the modern design.
Made popular by the Z-boys of Dogtown (another name for Venice, Calif.), skateboards began to be manufactured with tricks and street skating in mind. Boards were slowly altered to meet these new demands in capability called for by such tricks as the ollie or kick flip. New materials were incorporated to strengthen the board as well as the addition of more durable wheels and trucks.
Skateboarding culture has a continually expanding scope. Skateboarding goes beyond the owning and riding of skateboards into fashion, artistic choices and social attitudes by those who associate themselves with the culture of skateboards. Some of these people do not even skateboard.
To some, skateboarding is more of an art form than recreation. The skateboard is like a brush, the streets are the canvas and every skateboarder is an artist. It is not unusual to see a group of four of more skaters taking turns performing tricks, and recording one another on camera, which they will eventually turn into a skateboarding highlight video.
The rise in sales of companies such as DC, Etnies, Element and Flip can be attributed in part to the mainstream public interest in these fashions. Baggy jeans, beanies and hooded sweatshirts are all trends commonly found in tune with the skater dress, which blend punk and hip hop styles. Skaters can claim their own board lines with certain companies. Even big brands like Nike have clothing lines developed solely for skaters.
Skateboarding's movement into mainstream culture can be seen in the large-scale media attention given to the sport. Names like Tony Hawk and Paul Rodriguez have found their way into American homes via ESPN and MTV. Even celebrities such Pharrell Williams, who is not involved in professional skating, are infamous for connecting their celebrity profiles to high-profile skating cliques or crews.
Video games sales for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Underground are usually near the highest in sales for gaming systems like Sony Playstation and Xbox (with more than one billion dollars in gross sales), and even though there still exists a rebellious element to skating, the sport no longer is as negatively stigmatized as it was in previous decades.
Local and national attitudes once held by many government levels are now adapting a more welcoming policy toward skateboarding within communities. The one-time no skating laws are less common today, and many cities and states contain several skate parks. After years of trying to ban skateboarding from streets, parking lots, sidewalks and shopping malls, many local governments have pulled a 180, building countless skate parks in cities and towns across America.
Skateboarders now grind from Oklahoma to China, and from Brazil to Belgium. Competitions can be found on both national and international level. With the increased audience seen from adding snowboarding to the Winter Olympics, many wonder when skateboarding will find its place among the summer games.
The future of skateboarding may be unknown, but its presence has been firmly established within many world cultures, and shows no signs of disappearing soon.
Sources:
Holgate, Steve. US Federal News Service. US Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. Skateboarding Grows From Casual Hobby to International Sport. 30 Aug. 2006.
Waterhouse, Jo, and David Penhallow. Concrete to Canvas. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2006.
Weyland, Jocko. The Answer is Never. New York: Grove P, 2002.
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