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SKATE CULTURE
I've found one of the pioneers of photographic skateboard C. R. Stecyk III between the 70-80 when skate boarding was like surfing on concrete with no massive tricks or high ramps, the boards where old fashion with a pointed front just like penny boards, obviously they eventually evolved in the skate boards of today.
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Secondly there is a more resent photographer like Mike Blabac that I feel is really good at finding the perfect angles and backgrounds that embrace the skater and make the picture look beautiful, and powerful, he really inspirers me to take pictures and not only that it gives me the feeling of wanting skate in a urban environment.
Skate boarding was born in California in the "1958" and was referred to as "Sidewalk Surfing" some surfers found a way to mimic surfing on land by attaching metal roller skate wheels to a small wooden board, they could make endless asphalt waves on which they could practise there surf manoeuvres.
Obviously the metal wheels where dangerous and caused many accidents and injuries, there for it was considered a dangerous sport, but in 1972 Frank Nasworthy invented urethane wheels that were so successful that they still use them today.
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And after the discovery of the possibility of skating in a empty pool, it was Tony Hawk who broke the boundaries of skate boarding by launching him self out of the side of the empty pool in the air, and that changed the view of what was possible in skate boarding.
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Riding a skateboard has been associated with danger, carelessness, and laziness and skaters are marginalized more than people who chose to ride bicycles, scooters or rollerblades. Skateboarding is not only a means of travel or even just a sport. As a subculture, skaters value creativity, risk, and freedom.
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Whereas traditional sport is organized and run by adults, skateboarding is not. There are “no referees, no penalties, no set plays.
You can do it anywhere and there is not a lot of training”.
Within skateboarding comes the space to make decisions, challenge oneself, and not have to abide by strict guidelines about what is acceptable or how to be successful.
http://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultures-and-scenes/skater-subculture/ (this is where I got most of my info from)
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