The first manufactured skateboards were created in a California surf shop by Bill Richards. Seeing an opportunity to cash in on this hobby, he produced the skateboards and sold them to surfers looking for ways to improve their balance and have a few kicks. By the mid 60’s, skateboarding had stopped being trendy and virtually died out.

A little over a decade later, skateboarding exploded back on the scene and has become a significant part of our culture. Now you will find numerous skate parks in almost every city, with more than 15 million kids and adults being active participants. Skateboarding is no longer considered a hobby, but a competitive sport.

Many young kids dream of being a pro skateboarder like Tony Hawk, Jake Brown and Danny Way. Depending on the popularity of the skater, they can easily earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Most skaters make money through a combination of product endorsements, competitions and sponsorships.

Product endorsements can be quite lucrative for many popular skaters. Essentially the skater will attach his or her name to a product and endorse it to the public. Then the company will advertise through television and print media, hoping the popularity of the skater helps them to sell more of the product.

A skater can also earn money by placing highly in skateboarding events. The more popular the event, the bigger the purse and the better chance the skater has of attracting a sponsor.

Most pro skaters are striving for a sponsorship. The sponsor will pay many of the skater’s expenses, including travel, food and supplying them with free merchandise. The more the skater wins, the more lucrative contract they can stand to earn.

Since skateboarding is such a high risk sport, may skaters don’t compete much past the age of 30. The sport can wear their bodies down and the injuries all add up over time. This is why most pro skateboarders try to earn as much money as possible while their short window of opportunity is still open.

Vintage skateboard

Old School Skateboards Are Back

Old school skateboards are becoming more and more popular. They are a unique way of expressing yourself, and let’s face it, we all want a board that no one has. Skateboarding has been around for many decades, and so much has changed and influenced the sport as well as the actual skateboard that people ride on. Skateboarding was particularly popular in the 1980s, and has since become even more popular in the current decade. Read more about old school skateboards

Vintage Skateboards Are A Tribute To Skateboarding

Vintage skateboards are starting to become wildly popular among not only older skate rats trying hoping to reminisce about “days gone by” but younger skaters as well. In fact owning a vintage skateboard is a great way to express yourself in the park or on the ramp. While it may not ride as well as a new board, it has that “something” you can’t quite explain. Read more about vintage skateboards

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Are Cheap Skateboards Worth It?

So you are in the skateboard shop and looking at new boards, but your last paycheck left you a little short. Now you are considering those cheap skateboards on the shelf, because honestly it is all you can afford right now. Let me tell you why this is a bad, bad idea. Read more about buying cheap skateboards

When it first took off in the 1940s to the 1950s, skateboarding became the sport of choice for California surfers and beachgoers who wanted to have the water experience on land. Skateboards from that time basically looked like plain planks of wood on huge rubber wheels.

A few decades later, the sport started to lose its popularity, even though the skateboard design had evolved to include new wheels and axels, as well as more durable board decks.

Today, skateboards from the 1940s, 1970s and even 1990s are considered vintage skateboards. The word vintage in skateboarding refers to boards that are over 15 years old. And today, people love collecting vintage skateboards as much as they love collecting other vintage items. Although most of them cannot even come close to the durability and performance standards of modern day boards, they remain sentimental pieces to the collectors who absolutely love the sport.

A true collector of vintage skateboards will want to own pieces from every decade considered “vintage”. One would want to think that the older vintage pieces from the 1950s for example will cost that much more than vintage boards from the 1980s. However, most people are actually collecting boards from the 1980s, so those are usually priced higher.

Most vintage skateboards will cost anywhere from $100 to $200, depending on its condition, the year it was made and the brand. Some of the popular old school brands include names like Nash, Union Surfer, Roller Derby, Powell, Dog Town, Vision, Alva, Bad Company, Big Pimp, Brand-X and Boulder. Some of these names are much rarer than others, so you will have to look far and wide to find them. And people might want to sell them for more than they are worth, just because they are rare.

Owning at least one vintage board is something I feel helps connect us with the history of our sport and pays tribute to long past skaters who helped shape skateboarding into what it is today!

Article Tags: skateboard vintage

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Is it really worth getting banged up because you bought a cheap skateboard? I don’t know about you, but I would rather be on my board grinding than waiting in some emergency room filling out paperwork – but that’s just me!

In fact, many boards on the market aren’t as good as the manufacturer would have you believe. They will mark up pre-made boards and give you the false sense of security that you are buying a good board. But in reality, it is called perceived value. Many skaters think that because a board has a big tag, it is a high quality board. Wrong!

It is up to you to learn how to tell a good board from a wrecked board in waiting, without looking at the price. So what should you be looking for? Here are a few hints to help get you started:

The first thing you will want to check out is the deck. This is going to be supporting all of your weight and a cheap deck is going to split on you at the worst time (think rail grinds). Check to make sure the deck is made of high quality wood and the edges are sealed properly. A good test is to jump on the board a few times and listen if the wood cracks. If you hear it cracking, throw that puppy back on the shelf.

What do the wheels look like? You don’t want to buy a board with cheap plastic wheels. You need to familiarize yourself with the best wheels on the market, and if you have to, replace the wheels on your board after you buy it. Remember, it isn’t worth it.

Finally, check the truck and be sure it is sturdy and sealed properly to the board. If you see plastic sealants instead of rubber ones, yep, put it back on the shelf. The trucks need a good sealant like rubber or they are bound to crack and come loose.

So yes there is a difference between getting skateboards cheap, and a cheap skateboard. So now that you know the difference, maybe it is worth waiting for your next paycheck to buy a better one?

There are marked differences between an old school skateboard from the 1980s and modern day boards. For one, skateboards from the 80s were much wider and had shorter noses. This design was used specifically for vertical ramp skating which was very popular at that time. Another marked feature of skateboards in the 80s was the large soft wheels which were commonly used. Also, many models had side rails for those skateboarders or skaters who wanted to do board slides on rails in public parks and skating arenas. Old school skateboarding, though, wasn’t much different from today, however.

Fast forward to modern day and you will now find skateboards that have decreased in width by just about 4 inches. Of course, these more modern boards are not only used for vertical ramp skating but for free skating as well. The wheels have also become significantly smaller, which is a significant advancement in technology that allows faster board rotation for skaters. Additionally, the smaller wheels allow for lighter boards that are easier to carry around than the ones from the 80s with the large soft wheels.

Apart from the width and the size of the wheels, not much more has changed between skateboards from the 1980s and those used today. In fact, there has not been any significant change since the mid 1990s. Today, most skateboards are between 7 ¼ to 8 inches wide, and 30 to 32 inches long. The wheels are still being made of hard polyurethane material that contributes to their sturdiness.

Although the skateboards have changed somewhat in design between the 1980s and now, the sport has still managed to maintain its popularity; in fact, it now appeals to a wider range of people now than it did before.

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Skateboard parts

Trustworthy Longboard Trucks

One of the most important parts for any skateboard is the longboard trucks. Longboard skateboard trucks need to handle the speed and weight of the rider, without collapsing or bending. If a longboard truck is made poorly, it can mean a long trip to the ER. Read more about longboard trucks

Choosing The Right Grip Tape

One of the most important accessories to any skater is skateboard grip tape! Once you start skating, you will come to realize how helpless you are without it and how badly the quality of your skating can be if you do not use the right type. Read more about skateboard grip tape

Choosing The Right Skateboard Wheel

Skateboarding is a sport that definitely allows the participants to change and upgrade different parts of the board whenever they feel like. One of the popular parts that is frequently changed are skateboarding wheels. A skateboard wheel will come in a wide range of sizes, colors as well as degrees of hardness to give you a certain type of skating experience. Read more about skateboarding wheels

The long boards trucks are the axle type fittings at the base of the deck that connect the deck to the wheels of the board. Each board comes with two trucks, and it should be obvious how important the trucks are to the safety and sturdiness of your long board.

The long board has been able to provide skateboarders with much more speed than standard skateboards. Although their weight and size make it more difficult to perform tricks on them, many people live on the need for speed that they can get from the long boards. Therefore, it is important that you can find manufacturers of high quality long board trucks so you have a safe yet speedy ride when you are on your board.

Some of the best manufacturers of skateboarding trucks include Independent, Tracker and Randal. All three manufacturers have been around for awhile, and have been able to provide the market with high-quality long board trucks that ensure a safe ride each time the skateboarder jumps on the board. Of the three, the Tracker line provides more moderately priced trucks, ranging from $19 to a high of $40. The Independent line is next, offering trucks from $40 to $50. Randal, which is the most expensive on the market right now, offers long board trucks from $48 to $52.

Although it may be possible to get long board trucks that are used from sites like Amazon.com and eBay, it is definitely not a good idea because the trucks are crucial parts of the skateboarding body. Especially because long boards go much faster than regular skateboards, you need to ensure you have trucks on your deck that will remain intact when you are going at top speeds.

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Skateboards Decks

Putting Together A Complete Skateboard

There are many skateboarding enthusiasts out there who prefer to build a skateboard complete with everything they always wanted. Others will usually opt for cheap complete skateboards to save a little money. While this may certainly work out to be a more affordable way of buying a skateboard, it is important that you understand how to build a complete skateboard and what is needed for the process so you end up with a high-quality product. Read more how to build a skateboard complete with everything you need

Why Buy A Longboard?

For those people who want to experience a different side of skateboarding, longboards skateboards might be the option for you. Long boarding is actually a variety of skateboarding and is a relatively modern sport that originated in the United States sometime in the 1950s. At that time, it was referred to as sidewalk surfing in the California region and was developed by skateboarders who wanted to experience the feel of surfing on a hard surface. Read more about longboards skateboards

Are Blank Skateboards Worth It?

One of the best values in our sport is a blank skateboard. Many skateboarders love to buy tricked out skateboards right off the shelf and won’t even consider buying a blank board. However, this can be a great way of saving money and getting a quality board. Read more about buying a blank skateboard

Skateboard grip tape is actually used on the surface on the deck of the skateboard that allows a skateboarder to ride with a sturdy grip without slipping off the board. Skateboarding grip tape is generally of a sandpaper type feel, hence making it ideal for keeping the skateboarder secure on the board. While it is important that the skateboard grip tape works at holding the skateboarder in place, it should also not ruin your shoes. That is what happens in a lot of cases when people buy low quality skateboard grip tape.

You definitely want to consider quality and durability when choosing the type of grip tape for your deck. If you want a safe and comfortable ride, then it is pointless trying to use a low quality grip tape on your board.

Climate is also an important factor when choosing the grip tape for your board. Of course, because the grip tape is held to the board with an adhesive, certain climates may not allow the tape to hold up as long as in other climates. However, once you consider all the factors like the quality and durability of the tape, the availability of graphics for the tape as well as the climate and what it can accommodate, then you should be able to come up with a good solution.

Many skate shops extend the courtesy of putting grip tape on for clients, but it is an easy process that you can actually do yourself. Each time you change your grip tape you will only need one sheet because it is more than enough to cover the entire board.

Mob, Bones and Jessup are some of the top of the line manufacturers of grip tape for the skateboard. Mob grip tape is easy to apply and the tape also has holes that prevent bubbles from forming when it is applied. With the Jessup line that has been around since 1975 you can guarantee high-quality grip tape that will not ruin your shoes and can be recommended by many professional skateboarders. Bones grip tape is generally inexpensive. However, using it in hot climates will result in it stripping from the board.

Grip tape for skateboards is a relatively inexpensive yet important part of your skateboard. Ensure that you get grip tape from a well-known manufacturer so you have the type of grip that you need on your board.

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Skateboard wheel

The best skateboarding wheels also tie into the kind of activity you plan to do with your skateboard. For example, people who are interested in cruising end up with wheels that are much larger and give more speed, as well as much softer that makes riding over rough terrain more comfortable. For people who do street skateboarding including tricks and all sorts of flips, smaller wheels are ideal as they are lighter and much closer to the ground, thereby making it more convenient for skateboarders to do tricks.

People interested in doing transition skateboarding like wheels that are a lot faster. These are usually larger, and are about 10 mm smaller than cruising wheels.

Some of the best manufacturers of skateboard wheels include Spitfire, Kryptonics, Pig, Ricta and Bones. They all make their own line of wheels depending on the type of skateboarding activity you want to engage in. Spitfire is particularly popular because they make wheels with a guarantee against any kind of defects. If you are looking for high-quality wheel and a wide selection to choose from, then Spitfire is definitely the brand to go with.

Another popular brand is Kryptonics, which has been making skateboard wheels since 1965. With such a record, there is very little doubt about the quality of their wheels.

As previously mentioned, the type of wheels that you get for your skateboard really depends on the type of skateboarding activity you want to pursue. Whether you are interested in transition skateboarding, street skateboarding or cruising, you can guarantee that you will find high-quality skateboarding wheels from any of the top of the line manufacturers. However, be sure to avoid cheap skateboard wheels, as they can break down easily and will lead to a good number of wipe outs.

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