Crude attempts of skateboarding were made in the 1920s when a three-wheeled pedal-car device was fashioned to move around on wheels. For the next three decades, several improvements and modifications were made to skateboards in the US. The later versions had removable handles and steering axles called ‘trucks’ which allowed the riders to turn and direct their skates. Such innovations finally led to the elementary form of skateboards, as we know them today.

Skateboard Evolution
Peter Parken, a surfing enthusiast from San Diego, is the first known person to have skateboarded on a wooden plank mounted with roller skate trucks. In the 1950s, skateboards were mostly homemade by kids by nailing the roller-skates to planks. In 1958, a person named Bill Richards, who owned a surf shop in North Hollywood, California saw some boys using skateboards. He decided to make some by attaching wheels procured from a roller skate company, to surf boards. They were known as ‘sidewalk surfboards’. Popular artists Jan and Dean recorded a song “sidewalk surfing” which was a big hit. The song made this concept highly popular in the whole country. But the concept didn’t flourish as one would have thought. Its craze faded away and skateboarding became a sporadic activity.

The first national skateboard championship was held in 1965 and a summary of the tournament was shown by the ABC channel. 50 million skateboards were manufactured until that time and the sport began to earn recognition.

In 1971, a gentleman named Larry Stevenson designed a skateboard with a kicktail, an upward curve at the back, which made maneuvering comfortable. Similarly in 1973, a man named Richard Nasworthy designed the polyurethane wheels which were used in skateboards giving excellent traction. The sale of skateboards began increasing steadily. Read the rest of this entry »

Downhill Longboarding Tips

There is no dearth of tips you can use to improve your longboarding skills. For a longboarding beginner, the mantra is to start slow and take it easy.

Tip 1
Once you get the hang of longboarding and get the basic things in order, learn to turn. Before you take on the slightly uphill task of going uphill, with your skate board, you might want to try the less intimidating task of learning to turn.

Tip 2
Another vital one amongst the longboarding tips for beginners is to imbibe and practice the ways to stop the board from rolling or come to a halt. Trying out a wrong method or doing a correct method in a wrong way could lead to an injury. So learning the correct way to come to a halt with your skate board is very important. Footbraking, air braking, sliding, carving, rolling, riding it our are some of the prominent longboarding tricks for stopping. You would also be interested to learn how to skateboard.

Tip 3
Good equipment is always a good choice if you are serious about skateboarding, or rather longboarding. Good sliding gloves, trucks, helmet and the like will be a good investment. Check out about new wheels, get yourself updated about the advanced equipment coming in the market.

Tip 4
Starting on the flatland before you tread the tougher paths, is advised for those who have just ventured into longboarding. This will get you better acquainted with kick pushing and turning and overall using the longboarding skateboard well. Read the rest of this entry »