Page 38 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART ONE
The ’60s were filled with people trying to emulate surfing. Unfortunately, a good many were falling hard on clay wheels. Their injuries became so serious that cities started to ban skateboarding. “The devil’s toy” went underground.
The ’70s is when I first jumped on a board. Looking back, I’d say my timing was pretty good. The second era of skateboarding was indeed magical. So many critical things were created. The 70’s skate boom brought the introduction of the urethane wheel. Things were happening so fast, that every month, dozens of new products were being introduced. Skaters were creating tricks that got more mind-blowing with each edition of SkateBoarder Magazine. It was such an incredible moment in time and then POOF — it was gone. Skate companies folded overnight, skateparks were bulldozed and most people just moved on. I kept at it and wound up being the only skater in my neighborhood.
This boom/bust cycle also resurfaced in the late ’80s and mid ’90s. A bust hit around in 2018, but the pandemic created a fierce demand for skateboarding. Over three million skaters were added in the USA alone due to COVID. I can’t imagine what the Olympics will do for millions of kids worldwide.
I am aware that each generation of skaters has a certain fondness and bias to- wards their particular time period. It’s a heady combination of being young, experiencing freedom and doing something a little dangerous.
But I am also aware that skateboarding has become so incredibly ubiquitous. It’s everywhere. Back in the day, if you spotted someone wearing a skate t- shirt or skate shoes, you’d ask if they skated. It was kind of like a secret soci- ety. In the time before cell phones, skateboarding wasn’t fully underground, but it sure felt like it. Nowadays, if you stop someone who is wearing a Thrasher t-shirt or riding on a longboard or Penny skateboard, they’d think you’re very strange. I don’t say this to knock these people — but the fact skate- boarding has morphed into something very different than when I first started. It’s debatable whether the changes within skateboarding have been positive or negative. All I know is that try as you might, you will never stop change and progression from happening within skateboarding — and that’s what makes it great.
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