The Growth of Skateboarding
Image courtesy of the barrics.com
By SAM BARRET ‘21
Five years ago, I bought a skateboard deck from a local shop that was going out of business. That deck had sat in the corner of my room collecting dust ever since, but just a few months back I decided to finally buy the parts I needed to complete my board. I found a website that sold everything I needed, and I ended up buying a set of white Krux Trucks, red white and blue Ricta wheels, and some bearings and hardware. My once dormant, dust-collecting deck was about to see some action. Naturally, last spring, despite having little prior experience skateboarding, I set a goal for myself: I wanted to learn how to ollie before March break, and since then, I have made little progress. However, after seeing many people pick up the hobby on campus, I thought about trying again, and this time I looked for inspiration in some professional skaters as well as some YouTube personalities.
In the past few years, skateboarding has blown up in popularity with more and more people starting at younger ages; youth interest is often seen as key to the growth of a sport and its continued success. For example, almost every town in eastern Massachusetts has a town team enlisting children as young as kindergarteners, and almost all public and private schools have teams as well. Alternative sports, which you might have previously only seen in the X Games, are finally starting to break into the mainstream. Despite mixed opinions in the skate community, skateboarding is going to be included in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, marking the first time skateboarding has been included in the games.
I think an even more critical key to the sport’s recent growth is the popularity of online personalities. Creators like John Hill and Garrett Ginner create YouTube videos about skateboarding and current events in the skate community. These creators reach hundreds of thousands of people and are able to reach an audience with a common interest: skateboarding. The audience for these YouTube channels is constantly growing, and people who watch only one video might suddenly find an interest in skating; I know because I was finally inspired to complete my board after watching a few of John Hill’s videos late one night. Honestly, I probably would have let that board sit in the corner of my room forever if I hadn’t watched that video, and I think the same thing is happening for so many people who view this content. As the sport slowly grows there are more and more different spinoffs and styles that have come to the surface. Almost anything goes in the skate community, and it’s often seen as a very individualistic sport, one you can put your own spin on, between the clothes you wear to the tricks you like, the sport is open to immense interpretation and creativity. In fact, some even call it an art form. This amazing opportunity to express one’s self is the final key in the growth of a sport. As people constantly change and grow, this malleable sport can grow and change with them. The skater decides what they want their skateboarding to look like and that’s why so many diverse groups are picking up the sport.