Skateboarding History

Skateboarding is both a sport and a way of life. Creative, physical, graphic, urban and controversial, it is full of contradictions – a billion-dollar global industry which still retains its vibrant, counter-cultural heart. Skateboarding and the City presents the only complete history of the sport, exploring the story of skate culture from the surf-beaches of '60s California to the latest developments in street-skating today. Written by a life-long skater who also happens to be an architectural historian, and packed through with full-colour images – of skaters, boards, moves, graphics, and film-stills – this passionate, readable and rigorously-researched book explores the history of skateboarding and reveals a vivid understanding of how skateboarders, through their actions, experience the city and its architecture in a unique way.

Every culture has a creation myth, and skateboarding is no different. The Ollie forged a new identity for skateboarding after its invention in the 1970s, and it lies at the root of nearly every significant move in street skating today. This groundbreaking no-handed aerial has also affected the evolution of surfing and snowboarding, and has left a permanent impression upon popular culture and language. This, then, is the story of the Ollie, the history and technology that set the stage for its creation, the pioneers who made it happen, and the skaters who used it to start a revolution.

Describes the history of skateboarding, discussing the major events and people of the sport.

"The Tracker book is so important because future generations will be able to learn about skateboarding history--who was involved with it, and how it all happened. It will blow their minds."--Christian HosoiBack in 1975, the Tracker Fultrack was the first truck in history made specifically for skateboarding by skateboarders to incorporate high quality, performance and strength. Trackers truly were (and still are) the Trucks You Can Trust. Four decades later, those four words continue to be the driving force of the brand. TRACKER - Forty Years of Skateboard History is a collection of photos and stories about Tracker and its rich history from the perspective of the people who worked there, as well as the professional riders and photographers who made Tracker a major icon in the skateboard world. This coffee table size book features a skateboarding historic timeline from the early1900's to the present. There are over 1492 color and black and white photos, drawings and scans illustrating the skateboarding story of Tracker Trucks in this 388 page, hardcover book.

Eleven-year-old Sibby Henry liked her old life. Now she's living in a new town with her nan and pops, and is mad at her dad for messing everything up. On her first day of school, she sees a dope skateboard park. But she can’t use it because her precious board is gone forever. To make things worse, Freddie, a super skater and a super jerk, dominates the park. Sibby tries to stay cool, but when Freddie gets in the face of Sibby’s friend Charlie Parker Drysdale, things get too hot for chill. Never one to back down, Sibby accepts when Freddie challenges her to a skateboarding competition. She won’t let anything stop her from proving herself.

Describes the history, equipment, and contemporary practice of extreme skateboarding.

The skateboard decks documented in this special collection are immaculately photographed and laid-out for maximum graphic glory. In "The Bible", the visuals take center stage, but the fascinating vignettes and recollections provided by an A-list of skateboarding personalities from Tony Hawk to Mike Vallely, Mark Gonzales to Stacy Peralta bring context to the aesthetic mayhem. The board graphics within The Disposable Skateboard Bible are broken down by decade: (beginning in 1960) documenting some of the earliest deck designs; through the 70s and the game-changing advent of urethane wheels; the 80s with its ups and downs, big decks and mass-market popularity; finally, the graphic chaos of the 90s through the turn of the millennium. This book is a blue chip, must-have reference for any graphics library.

Skateboarding: the background, technicality, culture, rebellion, marketing, conflict, and future of the global sport as seen through two of its most influential geniuses Since it all began half a century ago, skateboarding has come to mystify some and to mesmerize many, including its tens of millions of adherents throughout America and the world. And yet, as ubiquitous as it is today, its origins, manners, and methods are little understood. The Impossible aims to get skateboarding right. Journalist Cole Louison gets inside the history, culture, and major personalities of skating. He does solargely by recounting the careers of the sport’s Yoda—Rodney Mullen, who, in his mid-forties, remains the greatest skateboarder in the world, the godfather of all modern skateboarding tricks—and its Luke Skywalker—Ryan Sheckler, who became its youngest pro athlete and a celebrity at thirteen. The story begins in the 1960s, when the first boards made their way to land in the form of off-season surfing in southern California. It then follows the sport’s spikes, plateaus, and drops—including its billion-dollar apparel industry and its connection with art, fashion, and music. In The Impossible, we come to know intimately not only skateboarding, but also two very different, equally fascinating geniuses who have shaped the sport more than anyone else.