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The History of Skateboarding Culture (Chunk 1)
Ever since I was a little kid, the sport of skateboarding has been an inspiration to my lifestyle. Most people learn to ride a bicycle as their first “vehicle”, but that wasn’t the case with me. For some reason, my parents decided to get me a skateboard before anything, and I fell in love with it instantly. I became obsessed with the way that people rode these skateboards in a fashion that made it look so natural and easy. I started small, learning how to ollie off and up curbs and what not, but slowly started setting goals for myself and found myself jumping off of stair sets by the time I had finally gotten comfortable with the board. In this paper, I will be outlining the amount of cultural impact that the skateboarding scene has had throughout the world ever since it was invented. Many people seem to think that it is just a certain “punk” brand of teenagers who feel the need to scoot around on wheels, but in many ways, skateboarding has broken into the mainstream through forms of fashion, music, art, and even film making. For example, clothing brands such as Quicksilver, Volcom, Supreme, Diamond Supply Company, Vans, and Nike SB have risen to the forefront of streetwear and casual attire and many
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people don’t even know they are “skate companies”.
My overall goal for this project is to educate my peers on the fact that skateboarding and street culture go hand in hand, as well as gain a way to delve deeper into the history of skateboarding through both my mentor, Shawn Thompson, and through sources such as Thrasher Magazine, Skateboard Magazine, and
other skateboarding news sources on the internet. My mentor, Shawn Thompson, age 26, is a family friend who I know through my parents that grew up in Concord and Clayton skateboarding. Since he is older than I am, I basically wanted to see what the differences were between his upbringing in the skateboarding community and mine. I also want to draw heavily from the historical significance of skateboarding in the city of San Francisco due to the boom of skateboarding progression that took place there because of all the unique features and spots the city has to offer with its steep hills and crazy terrain. Since California happens to be the birthplace of skateboarding and San Francisco happens to be one of the pinnacles of skateboarding history, why not take advantage of the fact that I live in the same area and learn more about it. I’ve been studying and learning about the skateboarding culture through documentaries and magazines and talking to other skateboarders for my entire life, now that I finally get a chance to do a project so important and so big on one of the passions I have had for my whole life, I am happy that I can justify it with deeper research and really get to know the industry and culture in a more important and personal way. For the physical aspect of this project, I am making a skateboard from scratch. This skateboard will be hand pressed and shaped and painted in the hopes of representing the artistic side of skateboarding culture through specific types of artwork and certain style that has been used in the skateboarding industry and among skateboarders ever since the skateboard was invented. Skateboarding History and Culture (Chunk 2) For the first topic of my research paper, I would like to cover the history and origins of skateboarding itself and how it came to the forefront of street culture. For starters, skateboarding originated in Los Angeles California when surfers decided they wanted to be able to surf down the sidewalk when they weren’t surfing waves. Though the exact creator of the skateboard isn’t clear, groups of surfers in the 1950’s just started putting wheels on wood to start this fad. By the 1960’s however, skateboarding started to draw attention. Companies like Jack, the renown surf company Hobie, and Makaha started to facilitate popular downhill and freestyle competitions. Although skating had finally gained attention, the whole sport seemed to die in 1965. Skateboarding was considered to be a fad that had already come and gone. (skateboardingmagazine.com) This decline in interest primarily had to do with safety issues and countless injuries surrounding the clay wheels that skateboards were made of back in the day. After skateboarding seemed to go away for the most part, a man named Frank Nasworthy invented urethane wheels in 1972 as a safer and undoubtedly better alternative to the dangerous clay wheels. This invention alone made way for the resurrection of skateboarding. Eventually competitions came back, but this time, one team by the name of Zephyr “showed the world what skateboarding could be”(skateboardingmagazine.com). Nobody knew that skateboards could be ridden in the fashion that the notorious Zephyr team rode them in. This allowed for the progression of skateboarding from being a hobby, to becoming something more competitive and serious. Team members of Zephyr included Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, and Jay Adams, who are widely known as the “Z Boys” of “Dogtown”, or Venice Beach. Then, in 1978, Alan Gelfand created a revolutionary trick called the ollie, which was named after his nickname “Ollie”, in which a skateboarder would slam their rear foot and pop the board off of the ground. Since then, people like Rodney Mullen have created multiple spinoffs of the ollie in which the board flips in various ways when in the air. Ever since the 70’s, skateboarding has grown as a rebellious subculture that revolves around the progression of the sport and the freedom of self expression that comes from such a large “unorganized” sport. Skateboarding is all about looking at ordinary places and changing them into playgrounds for creativity. To most people the street and buildings are just a street and buildings, but to a skateboarder, the street is a canvas for expression through the performance of unique tricks that can be applied in infinitely many ways. Before the street was used widely as a source of skateboarding expression, the mainstream was found in backyard pools. When a cerain shape of pool is emptied out, it is heaven for a skateboarder with its perfect quarter pipe ramp shape. Old magazine covers were plastered with pool skating pictures, which boosted the vert skating industry (skateculture.info). Eventually pool skating slowed down to a certain extent because of issues with legality and trespassing that came with it. Big names like Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero were part of the vert skating movement. Vert skating is a form of skateboarding that involves huge ramps and aerial spins, which appeals to the masses through competitions like the X Games and the Dew Tour, however, I am more focused on the aspects of street skating because vert skating is more of an industry focused on spreading the sport of skateboarding itself, however, street skating is more geared toward the expression and lifestyle that comes with skateboarding and is embodied by a vast amount of people throughout the world. Street skateboarding is more of the “punk” type of skateboarding because it is about street credit and “conquering” the city with your skate crew by becoming known through tricks done at certain spots throughout said city. It is also known as the rebellious side of skating because of the attitude of “not giving a f*%$” about what other people think. These types of skateboarders also tend to be more hardened and stubborn with skateboarding. Examples of this include things like “pushing mongo”, which is where a skateboarder awkwardly pushes with their front foot rather than their back foot resulting in a “nerdy” look which is bagged on by true skateboarders everywhere. This along with things like not doing “pressure flips”, which are flip tricks that are essentially cheated versions of an original trick, are the reasons why I love to involve myself in the culture. Another huge part of skateboarding is photography and videography. Skateboarding gets promoted by skateboard manufacturing companies through the creation of videos made by their teams of professional skateboarders. These teams and individuals within the teams will film for months or even years traveling around the world to different spots and compile skate videos in the end. The result is the viewing of these videos by kids who either want to get into skateboarding or are just trying to see the new professionals and new revolutionary tricks. These videos cause people to pick favorite companies, which leads to the increase of sales on their boards. On the other side of marketing is magazines. Skateboarding magazines have been a huge part in the growth of the sport ever since they were started. Magazines like Thrasher Magazine and Skateboard Magazine have been publishing photos and articles of skateboarding and specific companies which gets read by hundreds of thousands of people every time a new issue is released. This keeps skaters aware of new and important changes and developments in the skateboarding scene. Overall, there are countless reasons for skateboarding to be as popular as it is, so there’s no wonder as to why the sport has been growing rapidly since the 1970s. Art and Style (Chunk 3) Throughout the development of skateboarding, the style of the skateboarders has developed as well. In the 60s and 70s, skaters were still wearing those short shorts that everyone associates with that time period, but that was only because skateboarding hadn’t taken off yet. As the sport progressed, kids started to adopt more of a punk-like fashion. A heavy part of this fashion is shoes. Since skateboards have grip tape, shoe companies started to make flat bottom shoes to get the most surface area touching the grip tape as possible. These shoes are made by companies such as Vans, Lakai, Supra, Etnies, DC, and plenty more. Out of all these companies, however, Vans is the absolute leader. This is because of the fact that they were the first well established company dedicated to skateboarding shoes, as well as the undeniable fact that they comfortable for every kind of foot. Nowadays you see everyone wearing Vans because they are just so comfortable, but before they became mainstream, only the skateboarders were wearing them and were often made fun of for them (skateculture.info). Ever since Vans went mainstream as a shoe company, you can pick out at least 3 in every 10 teenagers wearing Vans. This is true because of how skateboarding goes hand in hand with self expression, and with a shoe company that puts out virtually endless possibilities of shoe patterns and styles, it is a no brainer why Vans is so popular (skateculture.info). In addition to the shoe industry’s relation to the skateboarding industry, many clothing companies completely base their catalog around skateboarding style. These companies include big names like Diamond Supply Company, Volcom, Quicksilver, and Supreme. These companies gained a way into the skateboarding culture by sponsoring skateboarders, and surfers alike, giving them free clothes on their backs. In turn, people would see their favorite professional skateboarders in videos wearing specific clothing brands, so naturally, these people would go to the local skate shop or clothing store and buy the brand they want. Ever since then, skateboarding clothing companies have created multiple styles and fits that get worn by people whether they are skateboarders or not. In addition to shoes and clothing, art has been tied to skateboarding since it’s birth. Art is especially influential to skateboarders because of how many different types of artwork are printed on the mass produced boards a company puts out. These styles can include graffiti and abstract art, but a lot of them are comical and really interesting whether or not you are a skateboarder. Over the years, skateboarding has embodied more of a cartoon and “gnarly” style with companies putting more and more outlandish art on the bottoms of their boards. This attracts people to buy skateboards and apparel from the companies while spreading cool art at the same time. Style and skateboarding go hand in hand whether it be shoes, clothing, or art. My mentor, Shawn Thompson, and I both went through a similar sort of “culture shock” in terms of the skateboarding scene. When I was starting to enter the world of skateboarding, I started to realize what all these skater kids were wearing and how similar it was to everything I would see in the videos and magazines. I also realized how every time I would go out to skateboard, “I felt eyes from [skaters] judging me based on what I was wearing and how I carried myself as a skateboarder” (observation). Shawn went through similar scenarios as a kid growing up riding a skateboard, he told me that he “specifically remembers wearing basketball shorts and some running shoes that [he] wore every day when some random guy on a skateboard, only a couple years older than [him], came up to [him] and completely ripped into [him] about what [he] was wearing” (Shawn Thompson). These accounts along with many other situations I have run into like all the times I was made fun of for wearing a helmet because of how it looked help me realize how much of a die hard passion skateboarders really have. Skateboarding isn’t simply just a hobby anymore in terms of the way that skateboarders think about each other. It’s more like a family of people worldwide. If you represent what other the majority of skateboarders want to be represented, then you will be accepted into their culture with open arms, but if don’t believe in the freedom and artistic nature of this culture, then you will be forced to turn away from it. That being said, skateboarders tend to get in fights with many different groups of people. The majority of skateboarders never take kind to roller bladers, scooter kids, and bmx bikers. If you ever go to a skatepark, you will quickly pick this up. The skateboarders of the park will always hang out at one side of the park while the bikers and scooter kids will hang out on the other side of the park. The main reason for this are that scooters and bikes get in the way of skateboarders all the time, especially since the little kids are usually the ones riding them. Often you will see a skateboarder run into a bike or scooter and get extremely mad at the person riding it. At the same time, however, if you see a skater hit another skater they will both say sorry and return to their business. Something about the way skateboarders act is just not the same with riders of other things act. For some reason they understand each other a lot easier and tend not to feud. Skateboarding is beginning to become vastly mainstream across the globe. Even though the sport originated in Los Angeles, California from surfing, it has still managed to find itself in essentially every country. This fact alone points out that skateboarding isn’t just some fad like “extreme roller blading” was. Skateboarding culture is home to a growing number of people and it simply isn’t stopping. Even if people aren’t using skateboards for tricks, it is a valid way of transportation for anybody. Skateboarding culture is and will continue to evolve, and the growth of the culture will only help it join ranks with organized sports.
Diversi, M. (2006). Street Kids In Nikes: In Search Of Humanization Through The Culture Of Consumption. Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies, 6(3), 370-390.
The first skateboards were made in the 1950’s being used as an exciting activity to take part in when the waves were down. From then and now the sport has changed tremendously, thanks to a group of young skaters from a slum area of Venice Beach or Dog-town, as the locals called it, known as the z-boys in the 1970’s. Even though skateboarding was already known and invented, the z-boys are the ones who made skating famous and took it to new heights in popularity. But how did they do this? The Z-boys made this sport what it is today, and played a very important part in the history and evolution of skateboard style and quality.
To conclude, skateboarding is getting bigger every year. The problem is that there arn’t enough skateparks to support the growing population. Major cities can invest in a professionally designed park to increase the population of the city, and to draw out skateboarders out bad areas. By getting communities to work and donate a little money, we could build more skateparks in reasonable places like beside a playgrounds. Lowering the amount of vandalization done by skateboarders who are just looking for a place to practice. With your involvement, you can be the one supporting the growing population of skateboarders and the one making a difference in a child’s life by allowing a skatepark to be built near by.
As hip hop culture became prevalent in pop culture, so did black culture. Hip hop stems from black struggle. Their vernacular, songs, and spiritual ways were different from what whites were used to. Their different lifestyle of “living on the edge” was intriguing yet inaccessible for the whites living among them. Thus, this initiated America’s fascination with the culture. It became about what people assume and perceive about black people rather than what they actually are. In essence, an essential to cool is being on the outside, looking in. In the media and celebrities today,
The second article, “Commercialization of the Rap Music Youth Subculture” by M. Elizabeth Blair, expresses the point of the use of rap music to sell a product even though advertisers know nothing of the subculture....
Skateboarding was the new way and most fun way of transportation in the 1960’s. One of the reasons that I think this is because of the history of skateboarding and what the idea of skateboarding came from. I also think that skateboarding was the most fun way of transportation in the 1960’s because that was when the first major advancement to the skateboard happened. And last but not least is that the ollie was invented in the 1960’s. And by the way did you know that the brilliant idea of skateboarding is actually from the idea of surfing.
Since the beginning of hip hop culture, its music, its style of art, and style of dance has had a major effect on the world and it has increased. ...
Hip hop originated in the ghetto areas of New York during the 1970’s and is a mixture of DJ, MC, B boy and Beat boxing. In his studies of defining hip hop, Jeffries concluded that these mixtures of art forms do not define hip hop but rather that Hip hop itself is a culture of these elements. “Hip-hop is like a culture, it’s a voice for black people to be heard. Our own style, our own music” (Jeffries. 2011; 28). Jefferies identifies hip hop as a social movement, which stems from the concept of ‘collective identity’ (Jefferries.2011; 27). This can be defined as “an individual’s cognitive, moral and emotional connection with a broader community” (Polletta and Jasper. 2001; 84). Which relate to Smitherman’s views that hip hop is a celebration of black culture uniting these individual to form a collective community. (Smitherman. 1997; 20) .These Theorists generally accept that hip hop is culture and it’s the production of its creators and the individuals who consu...
These six words in many ways defined the late 1980s and 1990s, encapsulating the rise of hip-hop, NIKE, Michael Jordan, and the racial-class narratives embedded in each of them. The problem of such ethos are highlighted in a music video from Seattle’s very own Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
Hip hop has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, it is a great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the streets, hip hop's influence has become well received by a number of different races in this country. A large number of the rap and hip hop audience is non-black. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Because it has become the fastest growing music genre in the U.S., companies and corporate giants have used its appeal to capitalize on it. Although critics of rap music and hip hop seem to be fixated on the messages of sex, violence, and harsh language, this genre offers a new paradigm of what can be (Lewis, 1998.) The potential of this art form to mend ethnic relations is substantial. Hip hop has challenged the system in ways that have unified individuals across a rich ethnic spectrum. This art form was once considered a fad has kept going strong for more than three decades. Generations consisting of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians have grown up immersed in hip-hop. Hip hop represents a realignment of America?s cultural aesthetics. Rap songs deliver a message, again and again, to keep it real. It has influenced young people of all races to search for excitement, artistic fulfillment, and a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass (Foreman, 2002). Though it is music, many people do not realize that it is much more than that. Hip hop is a form of art and culture, style, and language, and extension of commerce, and for many, a natural means of living. The purpose of this paper is to examine hip hop and its effect on American culture. Different aspects of hip hop will also be examined to shed some light that helps readers to what hip hop actually is. In order to see hip hop as a cultural influence we need to take a look at its history.
Black culture in our society has come to the point where it is allied with pop culture. The most popular music genres, slang terms, to dance forms it all comes from black culture. Hip hop emerged from black culture, becoming the soul of it that is seen in the media. Hip hop helped the black community by creating new ways of expressing themselves, from breakdance, graffiti, rap and other music, to slang. This culture was rooted in their tradition and created from something new. Hip hop created a new form of music that required the use of turn tables, ‘cuts’, loops, rhythm, rhyme, stories, and deep-rooted emotions, but also incorporated black oral forms of storytelling using communal authors.
Hip hop is a subculture and global movement that started in the South Bronx, New York City during the late 1970s. In a post-civil rights era, where deindustrialization dominated, where racism and discrimination still existed, hip hop gave discriminated youths a chance to voice their opinions, and address their struggles in America. It created jobs for African-Americans and has forever transformed America’s politics and culture. Since then, it has only spread worldwide. The culture of hip hop has made its way to other countries such as Germany, South Korea, Australia, Africa, etc., becoming a global phenomenon. The issue, however, is that hip hop is often misunderstood, and seen only as the stereotypes society and mainstream hip hop perpetuates.
Adolescents like to have a place they can call their own. In the fifties, teenagers hung out at the malt shop, sipping cherry cokes and rockin' with Elvis. Today, in small town USA, they're jam skating while listening to the favorite group of the month. I was amazed to find a microcosm of life blooming on a 70 x 160-foot cement slab known as a roller skating rink.
A Single Youth Culture Youth culture and youth subcultures have been a subject of research since the early 1930s. It is most certainly true today that there is not one singular youth culture but a variety of different youth subcultures. The 90's can not be described as the same as the 60's or 70's or even the 80's. There are many reasons put forward by sociologists for this such as there are more styles available today, media influences us more and there is a higher disposable income per household to spend on fashions. This paper will explore the reasons behind the existence of youth cultures in previous years and why the same format has not occured in the 1990's.
All moderately sized towns should have a skatepark for three main reasons: it will make the town look like a nice place to live, the kids in the town won’t be getting into trouble for skating around town, and it is a lot safer than skating in the streets. In countless cities around the world, well-built skateparks have also been proven to be valuable community assets with tremendous benefits. Instead of viewing skateboarding as a negative problem that needs to be solved, these forward-thinking communities have found ways to embrace these sports while showcasing their artistic and acrobatic spirit(“The Benefits”).