In various parts of the world, skateboarding clearly stands out as one of the most popular and well-loved action sports. Accomplished with a simple skateboard, this sport is not going anywhere anytime soon – it has surely come to stay. One of the most intriguing things with skateboarding is that it is steadily modified by the skaters over the years. In other words, there are no fixed or rigid rules that guide the sport. This explains why many youths and millennials connect the game with their idea of freedom and exploration.
Now worth almost $5 billion, skateboarding is a very huge market with the sales of all related merchandise running into mind-boggling revenues on a yearly basis. For you to know how advanced and accepted skateboarding is, it will be represented in 2020 in the Olympics in Japan. In many nations, there are specially-constructed skateparks that have been put in place for skateboarders to utilize to the fullest. These skateparks often have all the needed facilities that will make any skateboarder happy and more than delighted.
It is very interesting to see how skateboarding has evolved over time – from wooden boxes to high-tech maple wood veneer board decks. For something that started out as a kind of hobby to what is now a sport recognized and loved all over the globe, it is surely an excellent voyage for the pioneers of the energetic game. But how did skateboarding manage to become wildly popular in a world filled with various kinds of sporting activities?
Well, there is no way one will talk about the spread and popularity of skateboarding without mentioning the role played by the American movie industry. Hollywood really made skateboarding famous with its powerful productions that were devoted entirely to what was then regarded as an emerging subculture. It was around that same time that a similar effect was observed in the world of surfing. Movies played a very prominent role in the promotion of both skateboarding and surfing. This practice was most visible during the 1980s especially in the United States of America.
As there is now an international body that oversees the sport, there are regularized and standardized gear that professional skateboarders can always make use of. Just as expected, skateboarding has not escaped its own fair share of controversy and criticism in different parts of the world. Some blame the sport for the destruction of public property while others deride the sport because of safety issues. Injuries can occur in skateboarding, but this can be reduced to the barest minimum if all those involved adhere to the standardized safety guidelines and procedures. Having survived all the challenges over the decades, it is very clear that skateboarding is not going anywhere anytime soon.