5). However, the firm continued to expand through location acquisitions in the UK and U.S., which provided somewhat of a competitive edge over its competition of Pacific Sunwear of California and Quiksilver manufacturers. A purchase of Von Zipper, Element, Kustom, and Nixon retail stores boosted Billabong’s value to $3.45 billion in 2007 (Terry-Armstrong, 2014). Although the firm grew in physical number of locations, its revenue failed to grow as projected. The global recession of 2008-2009 caused
Billabong • Back ground Billabong was founded on Australia's Gold Coast in 1973 by surfer and surfboard shaper Gordon Merchant and his then partner, Rena. Those early days were rather inauspicious, with the pair designing boardshorts at home, cutting them out on the kitchen table and then carting the finished product around to the local surf shop to sell. The business found immediate traction, with surfers drawn to the superior functionality of the Billabong boardshorts. They were also far more
“Skateboarding is for the socially awkward,” I thought to myself dreading going into this project. However, after spending several hours with skateboarders Mike Thacker, Cassious Brownlee, Lance Love, Jarrell Harrison and Sean Hough, I quickly learned that my assumptions, along with most others’ were misleading. Skateboarding is a very respectable, intricate sport that involves passion, heart, determination and perseverance. Skateboarders are risk-takers in the most literal sense of the word. They
anywhere. Street skating uses the environment of the streets to perform tricks on your skateboard. All you need is your skateboard, some streets, motivation, and a little creativity. However there tends to be more to this subculture that others on the outside don’t see. There is a distinct style of clothing and attitude that most have within the street skating culture. I will demonstrate the different elements that go into what makes this a unique culture. I take a participant observer standpoint
The article titled Sisterhood of the Skateboard, is piece written from the New York Times. It was featured in both the online website and in the paper copy of the New York Times. With the online articles, there is a video and a slideshow featured in the article. However, in the paper copy, there is no forms of multimedia. Articles that utilize various forms of media to enhance the reader’s experience of the article possess both the positive and the negative effects that affected the quality of the
A mangled pair of ratty skate shoes step onto the rough grip tape of a long wooden deck that has been cut, shaped, and sanded to perfection. As the feet push off, the board rolls down smooth pavement beginning a ride on an adventurous journey. Glossy polyurethane wheels roll on the asphalt as the rider leans left and right controlling his carves on the street. The wood deck flies just a few inches above the ground with the feel of a surfboard gliding through smooth water while riding a wave.
If you don’t succeed at first try try again. This saying is the main thing that kept me trying when I couldn’t land a trick or even ride a skateboard. It was a long process to learn how to ride, but in the end I’m happy that I fell hundreds of times, broke my arm, and spent countless hours to learn how to skateboard because it has made a positive influence on my life. Skateboarding has had a positive impact on my life because it’s taught me to never give up, like Conor Mcgregor has said, “there’s
(longboardskateboard.org). Structure/Controlling The structure of a longboard has changed a lot through the years. Longboards are a longer form of a skateboard. Longboards are used for slalom and downhill racing. Unlike a longboard, a skateboard is used for doing tricks. However, longboards go farther with one push. Longboards are harder to break than skateboards because they are not used for doing tricks and so are less likely to crash.People figured out that clay wheels are safer than rollerblade wheels
Skateboarding began in the 1950’s because surfers got the idea of surfing the streets. Skateboarding started to grow because it made people who could not surf be able to skateboard. I defined skateboarding as a life style that frees my mind getting away from all worries just going out to a skate park or street with some friends and having fun. Professional skateboarder Ryan Sheckler said “For me, skateboarding is a lifestyle. I really don't know anything different. My life revolves around skating
in front of their store, suddenly they care. In Nacogdoches this is a real problem, and I have personally observed skaters getting told to leave someplace time and time again. The reason of this problem is that there is no designated place to skateboard in Nacogdoches, such as a skate park. Skaters have a tendency to find one particular place they like, and once they find this place they will skate it a lot. And something everyone knows about the excessive use of things is, whether you like
of everyone else in any other action sport? In America, I understand that skateboarding is not 100% accepted. But why are a lot of areas banned from skateboarding? Skateboarding should never be banned because it serves a purpose. As a part of the skateboard community, we (skateboarders) keep the youth and adults out of doing any illegal activities such as using drugs or condoning violence. In fact, skateboarding not only keeps my community safe, but keeps my friends who skate safe as well. To myself
are dangerous, skateparks are getting over populating and they don't invest time. My first reason that scooters shouldn't be allowed, is that scooters are dangerous. Most scooters are younger kids. Do you see more 4 year olds running around on a skateboard or on a razor scooter? That's because you just hop and go on a scooter. They are young, lack tendency for a sustain skatepark effort (Skatepark Development Guide). They are causing accidents or jumping in the way. This means that they are dont
Skateboarding is a sport that many individuals in our society do recreationally or even professionally. There are many popular locations for skateboarding that people go to watch the sport in live action. Hollyfield Park is a popular skateboarding destination that many people come to. In today’s technologically growing society, it is very hard to see people outside playing or doing something they love. Banning this sport is essentially stripping away a large community of people from having fun and
“Clang!” Wheels hitting the pavement. Rolling through the streets like I’m Tony Hawk. ON such nice sunny day, I chose to skate and escape reality for a little. Popping some kickflips down the street. Until I started to approach this sidewalk. Thinking to myself while cruising at a decent amount of speed. “ should I do a trick while I jump onto the sidewalk ?” I could ollie it with no problem but it will be my first attempt doing a trick onto to it. Should I or should I not. I didn’t really have
acquired over time. People will practice for hours on end trying to land tricks or learn a new skill. This is when most mistakes happen. Skateboarders fall, and they get back up again, but sometimes the fall is worse than expected. Falling off a skateboard can lead to anything
Why Skateboarders' Shoes Wear Out So Fast Through out skateboarding history a sand paper material known as grip tape has been glued to skateboard decks. This material made for gripping onto boards also destroys sneaker soles. Grip tape causes friction between sneakers and itself, while making a grip and facilitating control of the board. Pedaling wears out sneakers like walking, but at more accelerated rates; much higher than walking. Becoming more circwnspect, there is the factor of increased
roller-skate wheels. Around the 1950's with the boom in the surfing popularity, skateboarding became more popular. During this time it was known as sidewalk surfing. In the 1960's is when skateboarding really took off. This is when the first skateboards were produced and sold. During this time period skateboarding consisted of cruising around the streets on your board. In 1978 a 15 year old boy by the name of Alan "Ollie" Gelfand invented a trick he called the no-hands air. His friends named
We need more skateparks! 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
Slavery may well be one of the major causes of racism, and United States was one of its victims. Today, let’s visit how it all started in this country, how they overcame it, and how they moved on and faced what is now Juneteenth with bravery and joy. What is Juneteenth? When Spanish explorers brought African slaves to the New World in the 16th century, slavery in the United States started. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived to take control of Texas and enforce the emancipation of slaves in
changed skateboarding forever and converted it from a pastime to a sport. Stephen Holden, a film reviewer for the New York Times, uses the fact that, “the Zephyr Team gained national attention in 1975 when its members competed at the Bahne-Cadillac Skateboard Championship (Del Mar Nationals)” to show that without competition, some sports would never have made it at all. Some people might say that sports are played for the love of the activity and that games/competitions are not necessary. Most others