When the Waves Are Flat

From sidewalk surfing and competing on wooden stages, performing surf inspired
maneuvers, to sliding down hand rails, dropping in on 25 foot quarter pipes, and shredding mini
ramps, skateboarding has changed over the past 40 years. Originally serving an alternative to
surfing when waves were not up to par, skateboards were dangerous contraptions used for
transportation mainly. As technology advanced, skaters were able to develop style, create a
standard of talent and produce a wide array of surf inspired maneuvers. Skateboarding was
originally influenced by surfing and over time, they have come to grow apart.
What were original styles like, and how did people emulate surfing? In 1975, the first
skateboarding competition took place in Del Mar, California at the Ocean Festival. The Zephyr
Skate Team took the world by storm, with the help of the invention of urethane wheels,
competing like no one had ever seen before. Riding low and smooth, like no one in the public
eye. From lay backs, to hand stands, to 360s, they were basically surfing on land at a level most
surfers could only dream of (A Brief History of Skateboarding). With the creation of urethane
wheels, every driveway was then a wave to carve, every hill a giant swell and every ditch a
steep wall (Sidewalk Surfing: Old Skating Movies from the 70s, 2014).
Furthermore, skateboarding advanced, evolutionized and began to differ from surfing
more and more. In 1978, a skater named Alan Gelfand invented the ollie. This revolutionized
skateboarding at the time, temporarily. In the late 1970s, during the second drop in popularity of
skating, skateparks began closing down due to lack of popularity; thus, limiting skaters ability to
advance, temporarily. As time went on, skaters began to make their own backyard ramps (where
mini ramps came from) and skate whatever they could find. This caused skateboarding to
become more of an underground movement (A Brief History of Skateboarding, 2015).

The whole world then found itself being skateboarders skatepark; people taking the
streets rather parks. This is when the rise of street skating began. People like Mike Vallely, and
Natas Kaupas are the pioneers of this very non-surf related style of skating. Different shape

boards came out allowing street skaters to overcome obstacles otherwise impossible. Hand rails
were then being used to grind down, benches were being ollied over, and any cement obstacles
was either skated off of, on or around. The kickflip, nollie, and tre flip are a few influential tricks
invented in the late 70s and 80s (The Evolution Of Skateboarding).

Who were the original top names in skateboarding, who helped evolutionize it and who
are the legends of today? In 1963, skateboarding was at one of its many peaks of popularity. At
the time, Torger Johnson, Woody Woodward and Danny Berer pioneered skating as a whole and
are the source of the freestyle style of skating. Rather the skating styles of today, their styles
were comparable to dancing ballet or even ice skating with a skateboard (A Brief History of
Skateboarding, 2015).
Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta were the first big names in competition. They
were the first guys to be recognized and appreciated. They brought about the punk/skater culture,
the technique of pool skating, and they invented ariel skateboarding by skating empty swimming
pools. Skateboarding went from a hobby to a widely recognized extreme sport very quickly
because of these skaters ("The History of Dogtown and the Z-Boys."). Frank Nasworthy
contributed to the evolution of skating in this era with his invention of urethane wheels (A Brief
History of Skateboarding).
In the 1980s, Rodney Mullen, Daewon Song, and Mike Vallely were the originators of
street skating. Mullen created more tricks than any other skater in history, Song pushed the limits
of what was really even possible, and vallely made a style of his own unlike any other.

Today, and in the recent years, Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriguez and Andrew Reynolds are
some of the best skaters and prodigies. At a very young age, Sheckler began to show extreme
skill, he was very quickly enacted into skating history. Rodriguez was recognized as a prodigy at
the age of 14, and turned pro at 16. He still competes today ("Paul Rodriguez Profile."). Andrew
reynolds has been recognized as the best street skater in the world, he has influenced many

skaters with his ability to jump the gaps that he does, and he has been idolized by many
professional skaters in history ("The 30 Most Influential Skaters Of All Time.").