MDT Extreme Sports

Where were we, where are we now and where skateboarding is going? The BeginningIf we will try to figure out the future, it’s probably a good idea to back head first and see how this thing started. It all started in the fifties, when Californian surfers and roller skate wheels attached wooden planks started driving their local streets. Skateboard manufacturers started to germinate in the early sixties, and a new lifestyle was born. Urethane skateboard wheels were invented in 1972 and are still used today. Mid-70s saw the first skateboard park begins to appear, which obviously led to new styles of riding, new tricks and new boards went vertical skaters. In the mid-70s, a new competitive scene was born when a slalom and freestyle competition at the Ocean Festival in Del Mar, California, was held. The famous Zephyr skateboard team put the world upside down with their new aggressive approach to freestyle skating. In 1978, the most famous of all skate trick, the “Ollie” was invented by Alan Gelfand (the 70s were a great decade for skating). The ’80s were a decade of relatively slow for skateboarding Although there was a push to the popularity of the VCR when the first skateboard videos were introduced came. The Bones Brigade video show was extremely popular and was Steve Caballero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Rodney Mullen, Stacy Peralta, Kevin Staab and well-known name among the skating fraternity. The first Extreme Games were held in Rhode Iceland in 1995, and a skateboard contest was a lot of attention leads to an increased interest in the sport and raised their profile in the wider community. Skateboarding was also part of the first Winter X Games in ‘97 and was really competitive skateboarding became mainstream. The biggest thing to skateboarding in 2000 affected the popularity of the console game. Skateboarding games are great for the format and its hit games each year in the 2000s years. A new generation of skaters was marketed as children to their controllers for the console born of necessity. The Future of Skateboarding Skateboarding Competitiveness will be created as a legitimate mainstream sport in the same way as surfing and surf culture. Only a few decades, surfers were looked down as untrustworthy miscreants. In those days the parents do not think twice about wandering into the surf shops in every mall and loading to Surf clothing with labels for their offspring, who may not even know what looks like a beach. Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Rip Curl, Billabong and Quiksilver are all now familiar global brands. Like it or not, watch skating on the same route to go. We will see mind blowing tricks using energy and athleticism that seems unthinkable today. Skate heroes just go and expect a lot more advanced global competitive scene to see. Once again it is instructive to take a look at the way surfing. The competitive surfing scene decades before their act together in the late 80’s, when the bold step was the ultimate control of the sport to a single governing body, had failed. A new man-on-man format was introduced and races have the best waves on the best time of year. The general interest of the sport finally overcame bigotry and commercial interests and poor, not competitive matches were discarded. Now, surf the big breakthrough – it has a sophisticated, multi-level competitive scene with massive media attention. Can you skate in the same way? Yes, if it can be. When it comes to the local skate parks and ramps, expect higher walls, bowls and more of them. As the current generation of skaters grows and gets her little say in the Council spending and infrastructure and it is good news for skaters, parks and ramps. The technology will Skateboards same way that it enters into force, many other products. Stronger, lighter materials will be displayed and the rapid distribution of information means that board and truck design in advance even faster. The impact of the Internet is both a challenge and an opportunity for the local skateboard shop. E-commerce growth rates are huge and more people are trying to buy skateboards online. The Web is a distribution model that actually brings the consumer closer to the skateboard camp. If you long for the old days of the 70 wooden board, you can not do much for you, but if you have a child on a limited budget is good news. Expect more technically advanced products at lower prices. If skateboarding is the same line as other markets, we can further consolidation seen between the major brands like Billabong takeover of the sector ninth Other major players in the market today are skateboard brands like Birdhouse, Girl, Zero, Plan B, element and blind. There is a fair chance we could buy a large company to a stable of major skate brands that the price that comes with tape, apparently to help with product prices will be beneficial to see, but can not be in their original product design and creativity result (when was the last time received, Ford and GM came up with a cool product?). In every market where the big get bigger, it creates opportunities for small players to cut their own niche in local markets and buyers with less brand conscious. Maple is still the premium building material for decks, but surely approaching the day when Maple will be replaced, at least for some species of the board. New styles of the Board will continue to emerge – the humble skateboard, from the early days, developed in longboards, cruisers, retro boards, pool boards, mountain boards and old school. As lighter, stronger and better quality truck wheels, it would plan for a new deck forms, and original artwork. So there you have it, gives a brief look at the past and a glimpse into the future – and the future looks good!

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