Skateboarding is a sport that forms an essential part in urban culture, it consists in sliding over a skate and at the same time being capable of performing a series of tricks that include jumps (ollies), turns and spins in the air.

There are different theories on how skateboarding began, but it is sustained collectively that the sport started in the west coast of the U.S, when metal wheels were fixed to a narrow wood plank.

In the 50s, clay substituted metal as the used material for the making of wheels, and the first “surf table with wheels” was sold on the market.

It seems to have emerged as something spontaneous from several people at the same time. It was surfers in the California area who, to pass the time on days without waves, decided to attach four skate wheels to a simple wooden board and "play" at surfing the asphalt. Obviously, these "skateboards" were very rudimentary. Metal wheels were used and they were only dedicated to glide downhill through the streets emulating the movements of surfing.

In the 60's the popularity of skateboarding began to grow and the first companies specialized in manufacturing skates appeared. Of course, it was a style that had nothing to do with modern skateboarding. Those were years where the reigning disciplines were slalom and freestyle. And, of course, a very basic freestyle that resembled a kind of dance with the board on the feet.

Around the year 65, this skate fashion suddenly fell and it seemed that skateboarding would remain as something residual and that it would not go any further. The few companies that existed closed down and, once again, there was no skate equipment to buy. People, despite the difficulties, continued to skate on their own. They went back to the beginning and everyone made their own skateboard as they could. Those were years where clay wheels were used... very dangerous and difficult to control.

When it seemed that all was lost, one of those events happened that changed the course of everything. Frank Nasworthy invented urethane wheels in 1973 and founded Cadilla Wheels. These wheels got a lot of people interested in skateboarding again and skateboarding became more common. Then came '75 and at a slalom and freestyle championship in Del Mar, California the Zephyr team showed a way of skating that had never been seen before and showed what skateboarding could be. From that day on, skateboarding was no longer seen as a fringe hobby and became something taken very seriously and with a lot of possibilities.

On that date, another historic moment took place. Alan Gelfand invented the Ollie. And that trick revolutionized skateboarding forever, opening an infinite range of possibilities.

The 80's were the birth of Modern Skateboarding, as we know it today. It began to evolve a lot in terms of material and tricks. The Vert was the most popular discipline, but at the end of the 80's the street started to grow a lot too. We can say that the 80's were one of the golden ages of skateboarding. We must also remember the boards of those days. The ones we know today as old school, with incredible graphics that also helped to awaken the interest in skateboarding.

In the 90's, young people from all over the world stormed the streets and took advantage of any obstacle in the street furniture to do their tricks. The material evolved to practically the skateboard we know today. The shape of the boards was modified to the current one and the wheels were greatly reduced in size.

At the end of the 90's, the first X-Games took place. This was a big media push for the skateboarding world, and put it in front of large audiences. From then on, although it has never lost its essence, it became known as a sport and a spectacle.

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