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The first skateboards were actually more like scooters, with the undercarriage consisting of rollerskate wheels attached to a two by four. Once the pushbar of the scooter-like contraption was broken off, skateboarding was born.

1950's

It wasn't until the 1950's, when the surfing craze was in full swing, that people realized skateboarding could recreate the feeling of riding a wave. This connection with surfing gave skateboarding a direction that would influence everything to come, from maneuvers and style, to terrain, fashion and attitude. It was during this time that modifications were made to the trucks making it easier to maneuver. By 1959 the first Roller Derby Skateboard was for sale.

1960's

In the early 1960's companies such as Larry Stevenson's Makaha and Hobie Alter's Hobie began to mass-produce the first true surfing-inspired skateboards. Some of the early proponents of surf-style skateboarding included Bill and Mark Richards, Dannu Bearer, Bruce Logan and Torger Johnson. Skateboarding became very popular almost overnight, and companies were fighting to keep up with demand. Over fifty million skateboards were sold within a three year period, and the first skateboard contest was held in Hermosa Beach, CA in 1963. Then in 1965 a slew of so-called safety experts pronounced skateboarding unsafe - urging stores not to sell them, and parents not to buy them. The skateboarding fad died as quickly as it had started, and the sport entered its first slump. Skateboarding would experience other slumps in its history. This pattern of peaks and valleys would come to be known as the "ten-year cycle," although the slumps weren't exactly ten years apart.

1970's
It was during this first slump that Larry Stevenson invented the kicktail, and the first generation of skateboarders laid down the foundation of tricks and style. However, they were still largely limited by equipment. Then in 1973 the urethane wheel was invented, revolutionizing the sport. The new wheels provided much better traction and speed and, combined with new skateboard specific trucks, allowed skaters to push the difficulty of maneuvers to new levels. Tricks at this time consisted of surfing maneuvers done on flat ground or on banks. Empty swimming pools and cylindrical pipes were exploited as terrain for the first time.

During the 1970's skateboarding experienced a large growth stage whish saw the construction of numerous concrete skateparks, a rank of professional skaters, magazines and movies. During this period modern skateboarding evolved to include vertical skating among its disciplines of slalom, downhill, freestyle and longjump.

Key advances in the sport included the aerial, the invert and the ollie, which may be the single most important trick in the evolution of skateboarding, next to the kickturn. This was the first time skateboarding had stars, some of the first really big names being Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. The look of skateboards also changed from being six to seven inches in width to over nine inches, providing better stability on vertical surfaces. Near the end of the 70's, spiraling insurance and slowing attendance forced all but a few skateparks out of business and skateboarding entered its! Second slump.

1980's

In the 80's the plywood ramp and streetstyle revitalized skateboarding just as the urethane wheel had revitalized the sport in the 70's. Forced to take an underground, do-it-yourself attitude, skaters began to create their own wooden skate ramps in backyards and empty lots and turn previously unrideable street terrain, such as walls an handrails, into free-skate parks. Skater-owned companies became the norm and innovations in board and truck size allowed the trick envelope to be pushed even further. This generation had its own group of skate stars, some of whom still compete today including Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero. Towards the end of the 80's the focus shifted to street skating and Vert riding became less popular, it was the era of the first street stars like Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas and Mike Vallely.

With all this grass-roots action taking place it was inevitable that skateboarding would go through another growth phase. This time the cycle peaked around 1987 after skateboarding had directly influenced international culture ranging from the hard-edged punk style of music that most skaters preferred to the baggy, earth-tone clothes and retro tennis shoes that skaters wore.

The current cycle of skateboarding has been fueled by many items including new companies, more varied and difficult terrain, a new, more hard-core, almost dangerous attitude, and most importantly by a new generation of kids who have discovered the exhilaration feeling of rolling along of a board with wheels. Some of the people who exert heavy influence on the sport are former pros who have started companies like Steve Rocco of World Industries. The ollie has come into its own as the foundation for 80% of street tricks and about 60% of vert tricks, with the focus being on more technical and larger tricks.

1990's

In regards to the "ten-year cycle," the sport once again started on an upward swing in 1995, due in part to exposure it received from ESPN's first Extreme Games in Rhode Island. This served to bring skateboarding, which had long been viewed as a rebel sport, perhaps because of the danger and occasional illegality of the endeavor, a step closer to the mainstream. Many of the skaters who competed felt that ESPN's coverage of the sport raised skateboarding's overall image with the general public and is a good thing for the future of the sport. In 1996 the Extreme Games were again held in Rhode Island, once more exposing the sport of skateboarding to millions of people. Skateboarding was also included in the 1997 Winter X Games in the form of a CrossOver event that also included in-line skating, bicycle stunt, and snowboarding.

The impact of media coverage on skateboarding has moved it from an underground sport to a spectator sport over the last four years. It was brought an influx of companies and their advertising dollars, which had previously ignored skateboarding, as a vehicle for promotional purposes. Advertisers have seen that skateboarding has become a prime sport through which they can reach their favorite demographic: youth males.

Skateboarders have been present in campaigns for products from soft drinks to potato chips, candy to phone companies. Thus, most of what is happening in skateboarding today is coming not from the skateboarders themselves, but from corporate sponsors and the mass media. The primary focus of the sport remains on street skating, as can be seen throughout both the editorial and advertising pages of the major skateboard magazines, where street skating photos continue to dominate. However vert skating is making a comeback, due in part to the large number of new skateparks being built. These skateparks have also given boost to the skating community in many towns. The many different ramps, pipes and bowls present at these parks have led to a change in equipment. These technological changes applied to skate products have improved skateboarding hear steadily over the last two decades. While in the early 90's small boards and tiny wheel ruled, now there is a wide range of boards and wheels being seen under the feet of skateboarders. Wheel diameters are larger, deck width continues to grow, and longboards are gaining in popularity, especially in beach communities and among those that just want to use their skateboards to cruise or as a mode of transportation. Downhill skateboarding has also seen resurgence in recent years due in part to the visibility of the street luge.

One of the biggest trends at work is among softgoods. In the past, clothing fashions have consistently reflected the changes influenced by those who skate. Footwear is currently getting all the attention. According to the Transworld Skateboarding Business Summer 1998 Retailer Survey shoes represented 26.5 % of the market share, followed by decks (26%), apparel (16%), trucks (11.5%), wheels (11%), and accessories (9%).

There have been many organizations and governing bodies for skateboarding throughout its history. The two main organizations today are the IASC (International Association of Skateboarding Companies), and World Cup Skateboarding, which is the leading competition organization. World Cup Skateboarding is run by former NSA (National Skateboarding Association) president Don Bostick, with competitions featuring Street and Vert disciplines. Competitors are usually on factory teams, rather than national teams. This is due to the growth of sponsorship and sponsorship dollars put into events, which has changed the face of competitive skateboarding tremendously. Skateboarding is beginning to earn respect as professional athletes and are receiving greater amounts of purse money from contests.

2000's

"Today a pro can make anywhere from $1000 to $10,000 a month," says Danielle Bostick of World Cup Skateboarding and the X Games. These earnings are based on winnings, depending on how well a skater places in any given competition and how many competitions a skater competes in during any given month. Most skaters who are sponsored also earn a monthly salary from one or more companies, which sponsors them as team riders. This is a considerable change from the past when pro skaters had to work a regular job as well as compete according to Bostick.

Skateboarding can be enjoyed by kids as young as two years, but the majority of pro skaters' range from early teens to early twenties. Most skateboarders don't train in any usual sense of the word, and they don't even think about their diet. Skaters just do what they love to do: skate, all the time. Skateboarding is fun, and when having fun is the goal, it never seems like training. Of course many skateboarders do other things for fun as well, such as surfing and snowboarding, which is actually extreme sports cross-training.

Revision as of 07:33, 24 May 2006

For an article on American Indians see Native Americans in the United States or Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

An Indian American (also called Asian Indian to contrast with the "American Indians" so named by historical accident) is commonly a resident or citizen of the United States who has ancestry originating in India. Indian Americans either were born in India and immigrated to the United States or were born in the United States and have Indian ancestry. Most Indian Americans are Hindus by religion, but there are also many Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Jews among them.They often refer to themselves as "Desi" (of the Desh, or motherland aka India) or sometimes as "brown."

The US Census of 2000 counted 1.679 million people in the category "Asian Indian," accounting for 0.60% of the total population of the United States, up sharply from 0.33% as per 1990 Census. In 2000, Indian Americans were the third largest subgroup of Asian Americans, after Chinese Americans and Filipino Americans, however they had the highest compound average growth rate of all Asian subgroups at 7.49% per year from 1990 to 2000. Assuming continuation of the decennial growth rate the subgroup's population in the US would be 2.4 million or 0.80% of population by the beginning of the year 2006. Unlike the Chinese and other East Asian subgroups with significant concentration in the West Coast, Indian population is more evenly spread across the US mainly in the urban areas in general and the large metropolitan areas in particular.

The U.S. Congress passed a resolution on April 26, 2005, (House Resolution 227) to honor the Indian American community and Indian Institutes of Technology graduates [1]. Many individuals, particularly those in the fields of medicine and technology, consider Indian Americans to be the epitome of the model minority. Indeed, according to the U.S. Census Indian Americans have the highest median income of any ethnic group in the U.S. ($60,093). They are considered a very affluent community. In addition, Merrill Lynch recently revealed that there are nearly 200,000 Indian American millionaires. According to the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, there are close to 41,000 Indian American doctors. Indeed according to US Census 2000, about 64% of Asian Indians in The United States have attained a Bachelor's degree or more.[2]

Demographic and cultural profile

File:Indian wheelie.JPG
An Indian-American boy

Like the terms "Asian American" or "South Asian American", the term "Indian American" is also an umbrella label applying to a huge mosaic of cultures, and people of widely varying socioeconomic status, education, places of residence, generations, views, values, lifestyles, and appearances. While statistics below describe general trends, no attempts can fully portray the diversity of the community. They are known to assimilate into American culture easily because they have no language barriers and come from a similar society.

Indian Americans tend to be extremely well educated; many are doctors, engineers, and IT experts. Indian Americans are also very well represented as small business owners, (i.e.,hotel owners, motel owners) and restauranteurs.[3]

Settlement

The states with the largest Indian American populations are California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois. However, there are large Indian populations in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, and Florida, as well. The metropolitan areas with the largest Indian American populations are New York City, San Francisco (including San Jose and Silicon Valley), Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles [4]. Another metropolitan area that has seen rapid growth of its Indian-American population in recent years is Pittsburgh.

In contrast to immigrants from East Asia, who tend to be concentrated in California and other areas near the Pacific coast, Indian Americans are more evenly distributed throughout the country.

Languages

Indian Americans often keep hold of their native Indian tongues, whether it be Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Sindhi, Bengali, Oriya, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Rajasthani, Kashmiri, or any of the other plethora of Indian languages. This is one of their defining traits, unlike many other Eastern minorities that immigrate to the US attempt to completely merge with the American people, taking on Western names and often abandoning their native tongue. English is usually natural to Indians as it is fluently spoken in India itself.

Cultural establishments

There are many Hindu temples across the United States. ISKCON, Chinmaya Mission, and Swadhyay Pariwar are well established in the U.S. Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Jains, Muslims, and Christians from South Asia have also established their religions in the country.

Swami Vivekananda brought Hinduism to the West at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions. The Vedanta Society has been important in subsequent Parliaments.

A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada initiated a popular ISKCON also known as Hare Krishna movement while preaching Bhakti-yoga.

They have brought Indian cuisine to the United States, and Indian cuisine has been established as one of the most popular cuisines in the country, with hundreds of Indian restaurants in each major city and several similar eateries in smaller cities and towns. There are many Indian markets and stores in United States. Some of biggest Indian markets are in Chicago, New York City, the Philadelphia Metro, Edison, New Jersey, and Houston.

See also

Entertainment

There are Hindi radio stations in areas with a high Indian populations. Several Indian movies have been in the top 20 at the U.S. box office during their opening weeks, despite playing in only a fraction of the theaters that Hollywood movies premiere in. The Asian Variety Show usually airs on public television and caters to the Indian American audience.

Several cable and satellite providers offer Indian channels: Sun TV, Star TV, Zee TV, Sony TV, NDTV and Gemini. Others have offered Indian content for subscription, such as when India played Australia for the Cricket World Cup in 2003.

MTV premiered a network called MTV Desi in July 2005 which targets Indian Americans in the U.S.

History and immigration

Timeline

Classification

Racial classification of Indian** immigrants by the U.S. judiciary (source)
Year Case Judgement Rationale
1909 In re Balsara White congressional intent
1910 U.S. v. Dolla White ocular inspection of skin
1910 U.S. v. Balsara White scientific evidence, congressional intent
1913 In re Akhay Kumar Mozumdar White legal precedent
1917 In re Sadar Bhagwab Singh not White common knowledge, congressional intent
1919 In re Mohan Singh White scientific evidence, legal precedent
1920 In re Thind White legal precedence
1923 U.S. v. Thind not White common knowledge, congressional intent
1923 U.S. v. Akhaykumar Mozumdar not White legal precedent
1925 U.S. v. Ali not White*** common knowledge
1928 U.S. v. Gokhale not White legal precedent
1939 Wadia v. U.S not White common knowledge
1942 Kharaiti Ram Samras v. U.S not White legal precedent
** Court opinions and decisions on the racial classification of Indians, the last of which was in 1942, were made before formal Indian independence in 1947. While often not clear, it was generally assumed at the time that by Indians the courts meant all those originally from the Indian subcontinent, the union of British India and Princely States.
*** 1925 decision ruled specifically against Punjabis while other rulings were generally regarding all Indians, which is understood to have meant all those originally from the region of South Asia.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, due to the originally negligible population of Asian-Indian Americans, the U.S. government did not officially classify Indians as being of any particular race. From 1910 to 1920, anthropologists deemed Indians as Caucasian in accordance with the racial classification system developed by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach(1752-1840) and several courts deemed Indians as white and a few as not white. However, starting from 1923, the official judicial stance has been to classify Indians as Asian. To the right is a table of the case history of judicial racial classification of Indians.

The crucial 1923 Supreme Court case United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind created the official stance to classify Indians as non-white, which at the time retroactively stripped Indians of citizenship and land rights. While the decision was placating racist AEL (Asiatic Exclusion League) demand, spurned by growing outrage at the Turban Tide / Hindoo Invasion (sic) alongside the pre-existing outrage at the Yellow Peril, and while more recent legislation influenced by the civil-rights movement has removed much of the statutory discrimination against Asians, no case has overturned this 1923 classification. Hence, this classification remains and is still relevant today because many laws and quotas are race-based. Thus, Asian Indians are counted as Asian when tallying the Asian quota of University of California schools, as well as when tallying minorities to ensure large corporations are diverse. Some Indians prefer to select a choice other than Asian on forms which ask for a "self-described" racial identity with limited selection. Increasingly, many of these forms explicitly mention "Asian (including the South Asia)" to reduce doubts.

Interestingly, amid a sea of zealous prosecutors working to denaturalize Indian Americans, some clerks either in protest or in naivete continued to process citizenship requests made by Indian Americans in the period when Indians were deemed unassimilable. Bhagat Singh Thind himself, after being stripped of citizenship in 1923 by the Supreme Court, was awarded citizenship by a clerk in New York a few years later. Further marking a certain lack of unity between the governmental organizations, the U.S. Census Bureau has changed over the years its own classification of Indians. In 1930 and 1940, Indian Americans were a separate category, Hindu, and in 1950 and 1960, they were classified as Other Race, and in 1970, they were classified as White. Since 1980, Indian Americans have been called Asian Indian, a subcategory under the Asian category ([6] - see footnote 6) despite the fact that anthropologists have classified most Indians as belong to a Caucasian race of the mediterranean sub-branch. [7] [8] The term Caucasian is still used in forensic anthropology. [9] However a number of other anthropologists reject the aforementioned racial classification of "Caucasian" as having scientific validity. According to a current biological anthropology textbook, "(people used to be referred to by) the archaic terms 'Caucasoid', 'Negroid' and 'Mongoloid,' which are never used in scientific research today." [1]

While judicial racial categorization of Indians has stayed the same since 1923, anthropology has advanced. There have been many different racial classifications for people from India, because many people have had different opinions. In the past, it was determined merely visually that Subcontinental Asians were of a different race than Far Easterners. In the books Human Species(2003) and Physical Anthropology genetic clustering of Cavalli-Sforza (2000) were published to show the genetic relationship of all human populations. Under contemporary anthropology, populations of the world have been mapped genetically in clines which are like gradations of genetic distance. These new genetic distance maps place the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East as closer genetic relatives than the Far East and Southeast Asia, contrary to some peoples' perception. This is due to the fact that Southeast Asians are part of the Oceanic branch of humanity and Far East Asians and Subcontinental Asians are part of the Eurasian branch. More interestingly, Asians have very local genetic clusters inside these regions, implying different Asian ethnic groups have not historically intermarried with each other. Examples of localized genetic clusters include Japan, Korea, Mongolia and China which form separate genetic clusters from each other. Genetically there are no distinct races, so categorization may seem moot. However, the legacy of racial categorization continues to pervade many institutions. [2] [3]

See also

Current Social Issues

Disunity

Indian Americans have not had a unified voice in the American political system as the population is widely dispersed among various regional community groups like Punjabis, Gujaratis, Bengalis, Telugus, Tamils, Maharashtrians and others, all of whom have their own languages, cultures, and traditions.

Also, while a majority of Indian Americans vote Democratic, a substantial number vote Republican decreasing the effectiveness of lobbying for Indian-American causes.

Discrimination

Incidents of deliberate overt discrimination against Indian Americans are few and far in-between. Any discrimination that exists is primarily in the form of being not so welcoming in social interactions, compared to the treatment received, say, by northern European immigrants who are more readily embraced. Indians take it with equanimity since they are used to living in socially diverse settings. In the 1980's, there was a group known as Dot Busters who tried to intimidate Asians Indians in New Jersey, but its range and impact were limited, and the group was short-lived. Since September 11, there were scattered incidents of Indian Americans having been mistaken targets for hate crimes. In one example, a Sikh, Balbir Singh Sodhi, at a Phoneix gas station was murdered by a White Supremacist for being mistaken for an Arab because he wore a turban. In Massachusetts in 2003, a pizza delivery person was robbed, but then beaten for "being Muslim" though he pleaded he was in fact Hindu ([10]).

Immigration

Indians are among the largest ethnic groups migrating to the USA legally. Immigration of Indian Americans has taken place in many waves since the first Indian-American came to the United States in the 1700s. A major wave of immigration to California from the soon-to-be Indian state of Punjab and vicinity took place in the first decade of the 20th century, from around 1900-1910. Immigration from India has taken place in several waves throughout American history with one major wave taking place in the 1950s.

Media Portrayal

File:Dilbert IIT1.gif
File:Dilbert IIT2.gif

Fictional and non-fictional Indian Americans have appeared in the media.


Assimilation

Assimilation has traditionally been less of a problem than for many other immigrant groups, including those from fellow South Asian countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Indian immigrants tend to have good English skills due to their typically coming from more prosperous, educated backgrounds in India.

The image of Indians in the United States is generally of highly educated, respectable professionals with generally smart children. Indian Americans as a community have the lowest crime rate and the highest earnings, causing them to be dubbed the country's "model minority" in a national survey.

Marriage

Indian Americans are generally more conservative than many groups, but they are known to sometimes marry outside their community as well. The rate of marrying members of other ethnicites is generally lower than that of other ethnic groups because many Indian Americans are more recent immigrants. Indian Americans have held tightly to their native culture, and generally try to marry within their regional community (e.g. Telugu with Telugu, Punjabi with Punjabi, etc), although it is not generally considered necessary to marry within caste. However, second generation and third generation Indian Americans are increasingly breaking out of this cycle.

American Born Confused Desi

American Born Confused Desi (ABCD) is a term that refers to people of Desi origin (of South Asian, especially Indian, descent), living in the United States. "Confused" refers to their confusion regarding their identity, having been born in America or lived there since childhood and been closer to American culture than to their native culture. It is sometimes regarded as an ethnic slur, the flip side of the use of FOB (Fresh off the boat) for recent immigrants. It is a close relative of the term Jook-sing for American-born Chinese.

The growing Indian community in North America may be rendering the first term obsolete. While living in insulated communities on the continent, Indian nationals are arguably less exposed to Westernizing influences than they would in the rapidly changing socioeconomic environment of India itself. In many cases, it often seems that Indian Americans who have lived all their lives in the United States are more traditional and conservative than their counterparts in India.

This idea of the confused identity is not unique to Indian Americans alone - British Asians (the term used for Indians and other South Asians raised and living in Britain) also have similar experiences and struggles.

Politics

The following is a non-comprehensive list of notable Indian American politicians:

Indian Americans as a whole tend to vote in U.S. elections for Democratic candidates.

See also

Books on Indian Americans

Magazines for Indian Americans

Films with Indian American subject matter

Footnotes

  1. ^ John Relethford, The Human Species: An introduction to Biological Anthropology, 5th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003).
  2. ^ John Relethford, The Human Species: An introduction to Biological Anthropology, 5th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003).
  3. ^ Philip L. Stein and Bruce M. Rowe, Physical Anthropology, 8th ed. (McGraw-HIll, 1996)

Associations

News


Race classification and genes

Template:AsAm



The first skateboards were actually more like scooters, with the undercarriage consisting of rollerskate wheels attached to a two by four. Once the pushbar of the scooter-like contraption was broken off, skateboarding was born.

1950's

It wasn't until the 1950's, when the surfing craze was in full swing, that people realized skateboarding could recreate the feeling of riding a wave. This connection with surfing gave skateboarding a direction that would influence everything to come, from maneuvers and style, to terrain, fashion and attitude. It was during this time that modifications were made to the trucks making it easier to maneuver. By 1959 the first Roller Derby Skateboard was for sale.

1960's

In the early 1960's companies such as Larry Stevenson's Makaha and Hobie Alter's Hobie began to mass-produce the first true surfing-inspired skateboards. Some of the early proponents of surf-style skateboarding included Bill and Mark Richards, Dannu Bearer, Bruce Logan and Torger Johnson. Skateboarding became very popular almost overnight, and companies were fighting to keep up with demand. Over fifty million skateboards were sold within a three year period, and the first skateboard contest was held in Hermosa Beach, CA in 1963. Then in 1965 a slew of so-called safety experts pronounced skateboarding unsafe - urging stores not to sell them, and parents not to buy them. The skateboarding fad died as quickly as it had started, and the sport entered its first slump. Skateboarding would experience other slumps in its history. This pattern of peaks and valleys would come to be known as the "ten-year cycle," although the slumps weren't exactly ten years apart.

1970's It was during this first slump that Larry Stevenson invented the kicktail, and the first generation of skateboarders laid down the foundation of tricks and style. However, they were still largely limited by equipment. Then in 1973 the urethane wheel was invented, revolutionizing the sport. The new wheels provided much better traction and speed and, combined with new skateboard specific trucks, allowed skaters to push the difficulty of maneuvers to new levels. Tricks at this time consisted of surfing maneuvers done on flat ground or on banks. Empty swimming pools and cylindrical pipes were exploited as terrain for the first time.

During the 1970's skateboarding experienced a large growth stage whish saw the construction of numerous concrete skateparks, a rank of professional skaters, magazines and movies. During this period modern skateboarding evolved to include vertical skating among its disciplines of slalom, downhill, freestyle and longjump.

Key advances in the sport included the aerial, the invert and the ollie, which may be the single most important trick in the evolution of skateboarding, next to the kickturn. This was the first time skateboarding had stars, some of the first really big names being Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. The look of skateboards also changed from being six to seven inches in width to over nine inches, providing better stability on vertical surfaces. Near the end of the 70's, spiraling insurance and slowing attendance forced all but a few skateparks out of business and skateboarding entered its! Second slump.

1980's

In the 80's the plywood ramp and streetstyle revitalized skateboarding just as the urethane wheel had revitalized the sport in the 70's. Forced to take an underground, do-it-yourself attitude, skaters began to create their own wooden skate ramps in backyards and empty lots and turn previously unrideable street terrain, such as walls an handrails, into free-skate parks. Skater-owned companies became the norm and innovations in board and truck size allowed the trick envelope to be pushed even further. This generation had its own group of skate stars, some of whom still compete today including Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero. Towards the end of the 80's the focus shifted to street skating and Vert riding became less popular, it was the era of the first street stars like Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas and Mike Vallely.

With all this grass-roots action taking place it was inevitable that skateboarding would go through another growth phase. This time the cycle peaked around 1987 after skateboarding had directly influenced international culture ranging from the hard-edged punk style of music that most skaters preferred to the baggy, earth-tone clothes and retro tennis shoes that skaters wore.

The current cycle of skateboarding has been fueled by many items including new companies, more varied and difficult terrain, a new, more hard-core, almost dangerous attitude, and most importantly by a new generation of kids who have discovered the exhilaration feeling of rolling along of a board with wheels. Some of the people who exert heavy influence on the sport are former pros who have started companies like Steve Rocco of World Industries. The ollie has come into its own as the foundation for 80% of street tricks and about 60% of vert tricks, with the focus being on more technical and larger tricks.

1990's

In regards to the "ten-year cycle," the sport once again started on an upward swing in 1995, due in part to exposure it received from ESPN's first Extreme Games in Rhode Island. This served to bring skateboarding, which had long been viewed as a rebel sport, perhaps because of the danger and occasional illegality of the endeavor, a step closer to the mainstream. Many of the skaters who competed felt that ESPN's coverage of the sport raised skateboarding's overall image with the general public and is a good thing for the future of the sport. In 1996 the Extreme Games were again held in Rhode Island, once more exposing the sport of skateboarding to millions of people. Skateboarding was also included in the 1997 Winter X Games in the form of a CrossOver event that also included in-line skating, bicycle stunt, and snowboarding.

The impact of media coverage on skateboarding has moved it from an underground sport to a spectator sport over the last four years. It was brought an influx of companies and their advertising dollars, which had previously ignored skateboarding, as a vehicle for promotional purposes. Advertisers have seen that skateboarding has become a prime sport through which they can reach their favorite demographic: youth males.

Skateboarders have been present in campaigns for products from soft drinks to potato chips, candy to phone companies. Thus, most of what is happening in skateboarding today is coming not from the skateboarders themselves, but from corporate sponsors and the mass media. The primary focus of the sport remains on street skating, as can be seen throughout both the editorial and advertising pages of the major skateboard magazines, where street skating photos continue to dominate. However vert skating is making a comeback, due in part to the large number of new skateparks being built. These skateparks have also given boost to the skating community in many towns. The many different ramps, pipes and bowls present at these parks have led to a change in equipment. These technological changes applied to skate products have improved skateboarding hear steadily over the last two decades. While in the early 90's small boards and tiny wheel ruled, now there is a wide range of boards and wheels being seen under the feet of skateboarders. Wheel diameters are larger, deck width continues to grow, and longboards are gaining in popularity, especially in beach communities and among those that just want to use their skateboards to cruise or as a mode of transportation. Downhill skateboarding has also seen resurgence in recent years due in part to the visibility of the street luge.

One of the biggest trends at work is among softgoods. In the past, clothing fashions have consistently reflected the changes influenced by those who skate. Footwear is currently getting all the attention. According to the Transworld Skateboarding Business Summer 1998 Retailer Survey shoes represented 26.5 % of the market share, followed by decks (26%), apparel (16%), trucks (11.5%), wheels (11%), and accessories (9%).

There have been many organizations and governing bodies for skateboarding throughout its history. The two main organizations today are the IASC (International Association of Skateboarding Companies), and World Cup Skateboarding, which is the leading competition organization. World Cup Skateboarding is run by former NSA (National Skateboarding Association) president Don Bostick, with competitions featuring Street and Vert disciplines. Competitors are usually on factory teams, rather than national teams. This is due to the growth of sponsorship and sponsorship dollars put into events, which has changed the face of competitive skateboarding tremendously. Skateboarding is beginning to earn respect as professional athletes and are receiving greater amounts of purse money from contests.

2000's

"Today a pro can make anywhere from $1000 to $10,000 a month," says Danielle Bostick of World Cup Skateboarding and the X Games. These earnings are based on winnings, depending on how well a skater places in any given competition and how many competitions a skater competes in during any given month. Most skaters who are sponsored also earn a monthly salary from one or more companies, which sponsors them as team riders. This is a considerable change from the past when pro skaters had to work a regular job as well as compete according to Bostick.

Skateboarding can be enjoyed by kids as young as two years, but the majority of pro skaters' range from early teens to early twenties. Most skateboarders don't train in any usual sense of the word, and they don't even think about their diet. Skaters just do what they love to do: skate, all the time. Skateboarding is fun, and when having fun is the goal, it never seems like training. Of course many skateboarders do other things for fun as well, such as surfing and snowboarding, which is actually extreme sports cross-training.

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