10 curiosities about skateboarding

True skateboarding lovers did not come to this article to see “skating was created by surfing” or anything similar.

They came to see 10 curiosities that they haven't seen anywhere else about skateboarding and its history, we assure you of one or two surprises when you read them. There is nothing as pleasant as getting to know and nurturing yourself with the history of your favorite sport, in this case skateboarding.

If you are ready to know what was one of Hawk's best years and the reason for this, who was Patti McGee, the impact that Rodney Mullen had and many other curiosities. Let's meet them.

The 10 best curiosities of skateboarding

Get ready to see the list with the 10 best skateboard curiosities, where we will do a general review of its history.

Roller Derby Skateboard

It was the year 1963 when the company Roller Derby Skate began to market the first Skate Board of its brand. It was manufactured and launched in the state of California, more specifically in La Mirada. It had several peculiarities compared to what we are used to seeing, the first of which is that it had no bearings.

The company decided to launch this product for sale when it began to see an explosion in the skateboarding market. To put it in some way, an attempt was made to take advantage of the boom that sport had in the region.

The other particularity is that it was largely produced, not manually and controlled as they had been doing previously. In terms of visual characteristics, it was similar to Alf Jensen's Bun Board.

Linda Benson

The other particularity is that it was largely produced, not manually and controlled as they had been doing previously. In terms of visual characteristics, it was similar to Alf Jensen's Bun Board.

Her relationship with skateboarding was that after the impact she had on surfing, the Hanse'ns brand decided to pay tribute to her by releasing an exclusive Board model for her. This model was a professional performance model created for her and the other women.

Patti McGee

This will be another name that will sound familiar to you over time, she was the first woman to become a professional skateboarder. How did this happen? Similar to Linda, she was a dedicated surfer who enjoyed riding the waves, but when there were no waves…she was pavement surfing. That was when she began her love of sports, even becoming a professional.

As several of his achievements we have that he won the first exclusive skate championship for women. LIFE magazine decided to put her on the cover of it, thus becoming a pop culture character at the time.

Tucson and Arenys, emblematic cities

When it comes to emblematic names, the city of Tucson has a place in the hearts of all skate lovers. This was where the first skatepark in the world was built and opened to the public, it was called Surf City and its inauguration was in 1965.

As a slight detail, Patti McGee attended the opening ceremony. After that, many more parks began to be seen all over the world. In Spain we have the case of Arenys de Mar, the city where the first skatepark in our country was built.

Pier Avenue

It was 1963 when the first official skateboarding championship was organized in California, more specifically on Pier Avenue. The Makaha brand was in charge of sponsoring the event and innovated in the form of qualification, giving priority to displacement, ability, slalom, freestyle and other aspects.

Beginnings of skateboard wheels

The wheels that we know today are wonderful if we compare them with those that were being implemented from the beginning. These were constructed of metal and clay, materials that had good durability, but a grip that left much to be desired. Something in which if improvement was seen from the already traditional was in speed, but this was overshadowed by the difficult control.

But oh lord, Frank Nasworthy is here to change the whole sport. He was in charge of inventing urethane wheels, a change that would be a before and after for all skaters.

Rodney Mullen el mago de los trucos

In skateboarding we know an almost infinite variety of tricks that we can practice. Have you ever wondered if someone was in charge of creating them? This is the case of Rodney Mullen, creator of more than 30 emblematic skateboard tricks, among which we find the kickflip, hellflip, 360 flip, impossible, and the list goes on.

A California in drought

When the state of California went through one of its worst droughts in 1975, there was a small group of skateboarders who took advantage of it. The situation was quite critical with the water, there was hardly any for personal consumption, much less to use a swimming pool.

What better homemade skatepark for fans than hundreds of empty pools? They were able to see the positive side of the situation and hundreds of skaters went skating taking advantage of the drought.

1999, golden year for Tony Hawk

If you're a die-hard fan of Tony Hawk and skaters in general, you'll know that this was the first year in which a successful 900 was made at an X-Games. It was a feat at the time and a stunt that will stick in the minds of many fans. It was also this year when the first edition of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was launched, a video game that would mark an era in the childhood of many.

Thrasher Magazine

Known by the community as "the skate bible" it is one of the most recognized magazines in the world. There is a false belief that it is a clothing brand, but no, it is its merchandising related to the magazine. Magazine that many Americans read online and subscribe to. It was founded in 1981 and since then it has come with an impeccable reputation.