A long time ago, actually more like ninety years, skateboarding was given the light of day when school age kids decided to tear apart their roller skates and hammer them onto a wooden two-by-four plank. Back then, around the early 1900's, these scooter-type apparatuses had handles for control. But it wasn't until the 1950's that the handles were taken off ad modifications were made to the trucks (devices that hold the wheels) to make maneuvering much easier. Through the 1960's came more progression and popularity. Skateboards were now being produced and distributed to public. Around the time of 1965, contests were being held for skateboarding, movies were being made, and skateboard magazines were being printed. Skateboarders were everywhere. They were on the sidewalks, in contests and magazines, and even inside swimming pools, without water of course.
It was coincidentally that in 1965 skateboard had died in popularity. The fall of skateboarding was basically the cause of poor products, overload of inventory, and constant outcry of public reckless riding. One of the main problems with skateboard companies back then was that less time was spent actually researching and developing. The outdated clay wheels were the cheapest to manufacture, but they didn't grip the road very well, which resulted in harsh accidents among skateboarders. Out of safety and health concerns, cities started to outlaw skateboarding. Now only way to do what u loved to do was by breaking the law, which is exactly what most skateboarders did back then. So begs the question, " Have skateboarders always been perceived as lawless, rule-breaking adolescents who care about nothing more than wrecking property, defying authority, and rebelling against society?" More importantly, is there a correlation between the stereotypes theses skateboarders are given and the rise in skateboarding over the past decades?.
