Around the world in the 1950’s, creative surfers had begun nailing planks of wood to roller skate trucks to simulate the feeling of surfing on dry land. At that point, skateboarding was a pastime, a fun way to spend the day when the waves were flat.

In 1963, board company, Makaha held the first skateboard competition in Hermosa Beach, California. In 1964, the Hobie Super Surfer Team went on the road from California to New York with a van full of skateboards and surfboards. They sold fifty million boards over the next few years, officially spawning a new sport, but by the end of the decade, there had been enough injuries on the rudimentary equipment to raise a sort of Red Scare. Stores were warned not to sell the deathtraps and mothers were begged not to buy them.

Over the course of the next few years, board technology improved. Urethane wheels replaced their brittle clay predecessors and the board itself adopted the modern kicktail shape. It was a Renaissance for skateboarding. Pool skating, which started in the early seventies, was easily adapted to the vert ramp, while on the street, skateboarding took on a number of shapes, including slalom, downhill, freestyle and long jump.

In 1977, Alan Gelfand did the first ever ollie, paving the way for modern day skateboarding. By this time, skateboarding had developed a devoted following. Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta, from an area near Santa Monica, known as Dogtown, were becoming superstars, and skateboard companies were popping up everywhere. However, by the end of the decade, safety and insurance issues were again ransacking the lifestyle and skateboarding went into its second recession.

Throughout the 80’s, skateboarding grew into an industry. Thrasher Magazine was published in 1981 and Transworld Skateboarding appeared in 1983. Skater-owned companies like Powell Peralta, Vision/ Sims and Santa Cruz dominated the market. With all the creative energy in skateboarding, it wasn’t long until skaters learned how to turn city architecture into “free skate parks.” Mike McGill unveiled the McTwist and Tony Hawk, then 16 years old, won the first ever 1984 World Vert Championship title.

The 90’s brought another recession to skateboarding. For the first half of the decade, companies floundered and skate parks closed. Insurance companies made it virtually impossible for skate facilities to stay in business and everybody suffered.

But the core of the industry stayed true to the sport and the tricks kept progressing. In 1995, ESPN launched the first ever Extreme Games and skateboarding became the darling of mass media culture. Instructional videos as well as internet exposure brought skating to a new generation of enthusiasts while games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater opened the experience up to a whole new demographic. Insurance laws were passed which made it easier to run skate parks and, once again, skateboarding’s popularity rocketed.

Today, there are almost ten million skateboarders, up 106% from 1996. There are more than 300 companies producing parts, generating $1.4 billion in annual sales. Skateboarding is everywhere from TV commercials to billboards to major motion pictures. And it shows no sign of slowing down.