87-504: Eric Koston (born April 29, 1975) is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the Tony Hawk's video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games Skate 2 and Skate 3 . Koston co-owns both Fourstar Clothing (with Guy Mariano ) and the skatepark /website " The Berrics " (with professional skateboarder Steve Berra ). Eric Koston
174-474: A Los Angeles , California surf shop, meant to be used by surfers in their downtime. The shop owner, Bill Richard, made a deal with the Chicago Roller Skate Company to produce sets of skate wheels, which they attached to square wooden boards. Accordingly, skateboarding was originally denoted "sidewalk surfing" and early skaters emulated surfing style and maneuvers, and performed barefoot. By
261-541: A production designer where she met, worked with and befriended many famous skaters including the real Alva, Hawk, Hosoi and Caballero. Skateboarding was, at first, tied to the culture of surfing . As skateboarding spread across the United States to places unfamiliar with surfing or surfer culture, it developed an image of its own. For example, the classic film short Video Days (1991) portrayed skateboarders as "reckless rebels". California duo Jan and Dean recorded
348-414: A designated skating area within this public space keeps the space under nearly constant watch and drives homeless people away, increasing the feeling of safety in and near the space. The activity attracts artists such as photographers and film makers, as well as a significant number of tourists, which in turn drives economic activity in the neighborhood. Recently, barefoot skating has been experiencing
435-417: A majority of people who skateboarded during this period did not ride vert ramps. As most people could not afford to build vert ramps, or did not have access to nearby ramps, street skating increased in popularity. Freestyle skating remained healthy throughout this period, with pioneers such as Rodney Mullen inventing many of the basic tricks that would become the foundation of modern street skating, such as
522-433: A more diverse and controlled picture of skateboarding. As more professional skaters use hip hop , reggae , or hard rock music accompaniment in their videos, many urban youths, hip hop fans, reggae fans, and hard rock fans are also drawn to skateboarding, further diluting the sport's punk image. Group spirit supposedly influences the members of this community. In presentations of this sort, showcasing of criminal tendencies
609-447: A pro-model skate shoe, with their name on it, once they have received a skateboarding sponsorship after becoming notable skateboarders. Some shoe companies involved with skateboarding, like Sole Technology , an American footwear company that makes the Etnies skate shoe brand, further distinguish themselves in the market by collaborating with local cities to open public skateparks , such as
696-421: A revival. Many skaters ride barefoot, particularly in summer and in warmer countries, such as South Africa , Australia , Spain and South America . The plastic penny board is intended to be ridden barefoot, as is the surfboard-inspired hamboard . Electric skateboards became popular during the 2010s, as did self-balancing unicycles in a board format. The sport of skateboarding made its Olympics debut at
783-767: A series on the team called the Dogtown articles, which eventually immortalized the Zephyr skateboard team. The team became known as the Z-Boys and would go on to become one of the most influential teams in skateboarding's history. Soon, skateboarding contests for cash and prizes, using a professional tier system, began to be held throughout California, such as the California Free Former World Professional Skateboard Championships, which featured freestyle and slalom competitions. A precursor to
870-471: A skateboard. One of the earliest sponsored skateboarders, Patti McGee , was paid by Hobie and Vita Pak to travel around the country to do skateboarding exhibitions and to demonstrate skateboarding safety tips. McGee made the cover of Life magazine in 1965 and was featured on several popular television programs— The Mike Douglas Show , What's My Line? and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson —which helped make skateboarding even more popular at
957-437: A team of 12, including skating legends such as Jay Adams , Tony Alva , Peggy Oki and Stacy Peralta , they brought a new progressive style of skateboarding to the event, based on the style of Hawaiian surfers Larry Bertlemann , Buttons Kaluhiokalani and Mark Liddell. Craig Stecyk , a photo journalist for Skateboarder Magazine , wrote about and photographed the team, along with Glen E. Friedman , and shortly afterwards ran
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#17330937032591044-450: A team of thirteen skateboarders and has released four videos. Koston was also a part-owner of the Lakai shoe brand that, like Fourstar, is distributed by Crailtap. The Berrics is a privately owned, indoor skatepark owned by Koston and Steven Berra. It is also a website that features content filmed in the skatepark, as well other skateboard-related media. The facility's name is a portmanteau of
1131-432: A television show called Surf's Up in 1964, hosted by Stan Richards, that helped promote skateboarding as something new and fun to do. As the popularity of skateboarding began expanding, the first skateboarding magazine, The Quarterly Skateboarder was published in 1964. John Severson , who published the magazine, wrote in his first editorial: Today's skateboarders are founders in this sport—they're pioneers—they are
1218-470: A unique Florida trick until the summer of 1978, when Gelfand made his first visit to California. Gelfand and his revolutionary maneuvers caught the attention of the West Coast skaters and the media where it began to spread worldwide. The ollie was adapted to flat ground by Rodney Mullen in 1982. Mullen also invented the "Magic Flip", which was later renamed the kickflip , as well as many other tricks including
1305-423: A variety of new ways to complement academic lessons in schools, including new non-traditional physical education skateboarding programs, like Skatepass and Skateistan , to encourage youth to have better attendance, self-discipline and confidence. This was also based on the healthy physical opportunities skateboarding was understood to bring participants for muscle & bone strengthening and balance, as well as
1392-578: Is a Danish professional skateboarder . He is one of three skaters to have competed at every X Games . He has a total of 12 X Games medals. At 46, he became the oldest skateboarder to ever compete in the Olympic Games and the first male skateboarder to ever compete in a park event in the Olympic Games when he represented Denmark in the men's park event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo . Rune Glifberg
1479-506: Is a skinny, flexible skateboard made of polypropylene with ribs on the underside for structural support. These were very popular during the mid-1970s and were available in a myriad of colors, bright yellow probably being the most memorable, hence the name. In 1975, skateboarding had risen back in popularity enough to have one of the largest skateboarding competitions since the 1960s, the Del Mar National Championships, which
1566-530: Is absent, and no attempt is made to tie extreme sports to any kind of illegal activity. Female based skateboarding groups also exist, such as Brujas which is based in New York City . Many women use their participation in skate crews to perform an alternative form of femininity. These female skate crews offer a safe haven for women and girls in cities, where they can skate and bond without male expectations or competition. The increasing availability of technology
1653-475: Is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard , as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job , and a method of transportation . Originating in the United States, skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $ 4.8 billion in annual revenue, with 11.08 million active skateboarders in
1740-637: Is apparent within the skateboarding community. Many skateboarders record and edit videos of themselves and friends skateboarding. However, part of this culture is to not merely replicate but to innovate; emphasis is placed on finding new places and landing new tricks. Skateboarding video games have also become very popular in skateboarding culture. Some of the most popular are the Tony Hawk series and Skate series for various consoles (including hand-held) and personal computer. Whilst early skateboarders generally rode barefoot , preferring direct foot-to-board contact, and some skaters continue to do so, one of
1827-424: Is said to have had up to 500 competitors. The competition lasted two days and was sponsored by Bahne Skateboards and Cadillac Wheels. While the main event was won by freestyle spinning skate legend Russ Howell , a local skate team from Santa Monica , California, the Zephyr team, ushered in a new era of surfer style skateboarding during the competition that would have a lasting impact on skateboarding's history. With
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#17330937032591914-484: Is the owner of Numbers edition skateboards along with his friend Guy Mariano. Along with friend and professional skateboarder Mariano, Koston cofounded the Fourstar clothing brand in 1996: "The year was 1996, Guy Mariano and I had no clothing sponsors, and at that point in our lives we had purchased enough Polo, Hilfiger and Nautica gear to think, hey, maybe we should start a clothing company." As of July 2013, Fourstar sponsors
2001-508: The "Nike SB Blazer Mid" as the "Koston" edition to this line of shoes that was quickly growing in popularity in recent years. Eric took inspiration for these shoes from his more mellow family life now in his late 40's, with Nike stating "the Koston Blazer reflects his newfound passion for beachside time surfing with the fam." As a sponsored rider for the Oakley sunglasses brand, Koston completed
2088-456: The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo , with both men's and women's events. Competitions took place during July and August 2021 in two disciplines: street and park (see Skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics ). With the evolution of skateparks and ramp skating, the skateboard began to change. Early skate tricks had consisted mainly of two-dimensional freestyle maneuveres like riding on only two wheels ("wheelie" or "manual"), spinning only on
2175-416: The 360 Kickflip , which is a 360 pop shove-it and a kickflip in the same motion. The flat ground ollie forms the basis of many street skating tricks, allowing skateboarders to perform tricks in mid-air without any more equipment than the skateboard itself. A recent development in the world of trick skating is the 1080 , which was first ever landed by Tom Schaar in 2012. Skateboarding was popularized by
2262-548: The Nike SB team was accompanied by a YouTube video that parodied the George W. Bush shoe-throwing incident . Nike SB immediately promoted Koston's recruitment to the brand's team with a signature shoe—the "Eric Koston 1" model—and a contest for consumers, entitled "Mr. Control It All". A promotional campaign, identified by the hashtag "#thelegendgrows", was launched by Nike to coincide with release of Koston's second signature shoe model
2349-615: The Vans Warped Tour and the Vans Triple Crown Series. As it eventually became more apparent that skateboarding had a particular identity with a style of shoe, other brands of shoe companies began to specifically design skate shoes for functionality and style to further enhance the experience and culture of skateboarding including such brands as; Converse , Nike , DC Shoes , Globe , Adidas , Zoo York and World Industries . Many professional skateboarders are designed
2436-579: The etnies Skatepark in Lake Forest , California. Individuality and a self-expressed casual style have always been cultural values for skateboarders, as uniforms and jerseys are not typically worn. This type of personal style for skateboarders is often reflected in the graphical designs illustrated on the bottom of the deck of skateboards, since its initial conception in the mid-seventies, when Wes Humpston and Jim Muri first began doing design work for Dogtown Skateboards out of their garage by hand, creating
2523-587: The " Michael Jordan of skateboarding" by teammate and professional skateboarder Brandon Biebel. Paul Rodriguez has identified Koston as the person that he would most like to model his career after and explained Koston's significance in a July 2013 interview: "This guy to me is the end all, be all. You got to understand, this guy, he's my 100% role model in life. I studied everything he's ever done. You know, I love this guy, he's my favorite skater—period." Rodriguez also stated that his all-time favorite video parts are those of Koston. Skateboarder Skateboarding
2610-487: The "Duraflex Surfer" and the "Banana board" are characteristic. Some skateboards during that time were manufactured with company logo's or stickers across the top of the deck of the skateboard, as griptape was not initially used for construction. But as skateboarding progressed and evolved, and as artists began to design and add influence to the artwork of skateboards, designs and themes began to change. There were several artistic skateboarding pioneers that had an influence on
2697-579: The "Eric Koston 2". An advertisement that included other Nike athletes, such as Tiger Woods , and Koston's Nike SB teammates was filmed and a behind-the-scenes video was also published on the brand's YouTube channel. Koston used the Eric Koston 2 design as a basis for a limited edition golf shoe, named the "Koston 2 IT", and a corresponding launch was held in London, UK at the 1948 Stadium store in Shoreditch . During
Eric Koston - Misplaced Pages Continue
2784-540: The "Fear and Loathing in Australia" video project that was filmed in early 2013. Accompanied by teammates, Rune Glifberg , Ryan Sheckler , and Curren Caples, Koston appears in a video that was published on June 5, 2013 and photographs that were shot by professional skateboarder Arto Saari . Koston revealed the injuries that he has sustained throughout his career on the micro-site for the project: "Nothing major. Few bad ankle sprains, dislocated finger, stitches and tendonitis in
2871-779: The "Impossible" and the " kickflip ". The influence that freestyle exerted upon street skating became apparent during the mid-1980s; however, street skating was still performed on wide vert boards with short noses, slide rails, and large soft wheels. In response to the tensions created by this confluence of skateboarding "genres", a rapid evolution occurred in the late 1980s to accommodate the street skater. Since few skateparks were available to skaters at this time, street skating pushed skaters to seek out shopping centers and public and private property as their "spot" to skate. (Public opposition, in which businesses, governments, and property owners have banned skateboarding on properties under their jurisdiction or ownership, would progressively intensify over
2958-593: The "Rune Pro Mid" models. Glifberg is a playable character in the first five games of the Tony Hawk series of video games that consists of the four Pro Skater games and Tony Hawk's Underground . Glifberg is a part-owner of Pipeline Distribution and runs a Copenhagen-based event company "RunEvent". RunEvent was the organizer of 2010's "Burning of the Witch" skateboard contest at Amager Strandpark in Copenhagen. Burning of
3045-419: The "vert" skating movement, skate parks had to contend with high liability costs that led to many park closures. In response, vert skaters started making their own ramps, while freestyle skaters continued to evolve their flatland style. Thus, by the beginning of the 1980s, skateboarding had once again declined in popularity. This period was fueled by skateboard companies that were run by skateboarders. The focus
3132-680: The 1960s a small number of surfing manufacturers in Southern California such as Jack's, Kips', Hobie , Bing's and Makaha started building skateboards that resembled small surfboards, and assembled teams to promote their products. One of the earliest Skateboard exhibitions was sponsored by Makaha's founder, Larry Stevenson , in 1963 and it was held at the Pier Avenue Junior High School in Hermosa Beach , California. Some of these same teams of skateboarders were also featured on
3219-578: The 1970s but have remained mostly alike since the mid-1990s. The contemporary shape of the skateboard is derived from the freestyle boards of the 1980s with a largely symmetrical shape and relatively narrow width. This form had become standard by the mid-1990s. By 2001, skateboarding had gained so much popularity that more American people under the age of 18 rode skateboards (10.6 million) than played baseball (8.2 million), although traditional organized team sports still dominated youth programs overall. Skateboarding and skateparks began to be viewed and used in
3306-404: The 1986 skateboarding cult classic Thrashin' . Directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin , it features appearances from many famous skaters such as Tony Alva , Tony Hawk , Christian Hosoi and Steve Caballero . Thrashin' also had a direct impact on Lords of Dogtown , as Catherine Hardwicke , who directed Lords of Dogtown , was hired by Winters to work on Thrashin ' as
3393-481: The 1990s became dominated by street skateboarding . Most boards are about 7 + 1 ⁄ 4 to 8 inches (180 to 200 mm) wide and 30 to 32 inches (760 to 810 mm) long. The wheels are made of an extremely hard polyurethane , with hardness ( durometer ) approximately 99A. The wheel sizes are relatively small so that the boards are lighter, and the wheels' inertia is overcome quicker, thus making tricks more manageable. Board styles have changed dramatically since
3480-555: The Sewer Slide. Some of the development concepts in the terrain of skateparks were actually taken from the Escondido reservoir. Many companies started to manufacture trucks (axles) specially designed for skateboarding, reached in 1976 by Tracker Trucks. As the equipment became more maneuverable, the decks started to get wider, reaching widths of 10 inches (250 mm) and over, thus giving the skateboarder even more control. A banana board
3567-557: The United States. Glifberg signed a contract with Flip Skateboards and, as of July 2021, he remains a member of the company's professional team. Glifberg was sponsored by shoe company Etnies at around the same time as he joined Flip and his second signature shoe was called the Forsvar , meaning "defend" or "defense" in Danish. As of September 2012, Glifberg has released a line of signature shoes with Converse that consists of "The Allston" and
Eric Koston - Misplaced Pages Continue
3654-472: The Witch was jointly sponsored by Volcom , one of Glifberg's sponsors, and Thrasher Magazine . RunEvent organized Glifberg's 25th skateboarding anniversary that was held at Fælledparken in Copenhagen during the summer of 2011. In 2009, Glifberg and architect Ebbe Lykke founded the skatepark design firm Glifberg+Lykke in Copenhagen. The duo have since taken the lead on a number of projects in Europe, including
3741-462: The activity, although legal, has damaged curbs, stoneworks, steps, benches, plazas, and parks. The first skateboards started with wooden boxes, or boards, with roller skate wheels attached to the bottom. Crate scooters preceded skateboards, having a wooden crate attached to the nose (front of the board), which formed rudimentary handlebars. The boxes turned into planks, similar to the skateboard decks of today. Skateboarding, as it exists today,
3828-410: The announcement that Koston, along with professional skateboarder Guy Mariano, would no longer ride for the company. The news was announced through Girl's Instagram page, captioned "Thanks for the memories". Both skaters were original team members of Girl, riding for the company for 22 years. On January 8, 2016, a picture was posted to Skate Mental's Instagram page of Koston's name on a deck. The picture
3915-491: The back wheels (a "pivot"), high jumping over a bar and landing on the board again, also known as a "hippie jump", long jumping from one board to another, (often over small barrels or fearless teenagers), or slalom. Another popular trick was the Bertlemann slide , named after Larry Bertelemann's surfing maneuveres. In 1976, skateboarding was transformed by the invention of the ollie by Alan "Ollie" Gelfand . It remained largely
4002-506: The best those companies, éS and Lakai could do. But we couldn't totally execute it…it was getting as good as I could get it, but it wasn't quite there. But with Nike, I get to use all those bits and pieces that I've always wanted to use, and I have access to a lot of great technology and a lot of, basically cutting-edge shit, that like, it's cool, you know. And I can really, truly, feel like I can innovate. So there's that, but not only that, they actually function; I guess from start to finish, even
4089-629: The city streets and into organized skateboarding activity areas. By 2006, there were over 2,400 skateparks worldwide and the design of skateparks themselves had made a transition, as skaters turned designers. Many new places to skateboard designed specifically for street skaters, such as the Buszy in Milton Keynes , UK, and the Safe Spot Skate Spot program, first initiated by professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek throughout many cities, allowed for
4176-737: The common skateboards were made of maple plywood. The skateboarders took advantage of the improved handling of their skateboards and started inventing new tricks. Skateboarders, most notably Ty Page, Bruce Logan, Bobby Piercy, Kevin Reed, and the Z-Boys started to skate the vertical walls of swimming pools that were left empty in the 1976 California drought . This started the " vert " trend in skateboarding. With increased control, vert skaters could skate faster and perform more dangerous tricks, such as slash grinds and frontside/backside airs. This caused liability concerns and increased insurance costs to skatepark owners, and
4263-481: The company the team included Danny Way and Matt Hensley, but Koston sought a larger entity and later parted ways with the company. Following H-Street, in 1992, Koston joined 101 (a division of World Industries headed by Natas Kaupas) and in 1993 the Girl team and appeared in the videos Goldfish , Mouse , Yeah Right , and Pretty Sweet . Koston was a leading team rider for the éS brand and an "Eric Koston éS Game of Skate"
4350-587: The creation of smaller alternative safe skate plazas to be built at a lower cost. One of the largest locations ever built to skateboard in the world, SMP Skatepark in China, at 12,000 square meters in size, was built complete with a 5,000-seat stadium. In 2009, Skatelab opened the Skateboarding Hall of Fame & Skateboard Museum. Nominees are chosen by the IASC. Efforts have been taken to improve recognition of
4437-589: The cultural heritage as well as the positive effects of encouraging skateboarding within designated spaces. In 2015, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. , hosted an event at which skateboarders accompanied by music did tricks on a ramp constructed for a festival of American culture . The event was the climax of a ten-day project that transformed a federal institution formerly off-limits to
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#17330937032594524-461: The culture of skateboarding during the 1980s, that transformed skateboard-deck art like Jim Phillips, whose edgy comic-book style "Screaming Hand", not only became the main logo for Santa Cruz Skateboards , but eventually transcended into tattoos of the same image for thousands of people and vinyl collectible figurines over the years. Artist Vernon Courtlandt Johnson is said to have used his artwork of skeletons and skulls, for Powell Peralta , during
4611-582: The culture of skateboarding, as many people began collecting skateboards based on their artistic value and nostalgia. Productions of limited editions with particular designs and types of collectible prints that can be hung on the wall, have been created by such famous artists as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring . Most professional skateboarders today have their own signature skateboard decks, with their favorite artistic designs printed on them using computer graphics . In January 2019, Sotheby's in New York auctioned
4698-402: The development (first by Norcon , then more successfully by Rector) of improved knee pads that had a hard sliding cap and strong strapping proved to be too-little-too-late. During this era, the "freestyle" movement in skateboarding began to splinter off and develop into a much more specialized discipline, characterized by the development of a wide assortment of flat-ground tricks. As a result of
4785-731: The early 1970s, the precursors to the modern skateparks for skateboarding would be the repurposing of urban hydro and storm water infrastructure such as the Escondido reservoir in San Diego , California. Skateboarding magazine would publish the location and skateboarders made up nicknames for each location such as the Tea Bowl, the Fruit Bowl, Bellagio, the Rabbit Hole, Bird Bath, the Egg Bowl, Upland Pool and
4872-498: The early leading trends associated with the sub-culture of skateboarding itself, was the sticky-soled slip-on skate shoe , most popularized by Sean Penn 's skateboarding character from the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High . Because early skateboarders were actually surfers trying to emulate the sport of surfing, at the time when skateboards first came out on the market, many skateboarded barefoot. But skaters often lacked traction, which led to foot injuries. This necessitated
4959-639: The extreme sport of street luge , that was sanctioned by the United States Skateboarding Association (USSA), also took place during the 1970s in Signal Hill , California. The competition was called "The Signal Hill Skateboarding Speed Run", with several competitors earning entries into the Guinness Book of World Records , at the time clocking speeds of over 50 mph (80 km/h) on a skateboard. Due to technology and safety concerns at
5046-477: The film Back to the Future for its influence in this regard. Examples can be seen in promotional material, in interviews in which professional skateboarders cite the film as an initiation into the action sport, and in the public's recognition of the film's influence. Tony Hawk has stated that “there are plenty of legendary pros that I know of that started skating because they saw that [film].” Skateboarding during
5133-515: The first. There is no history in Skateboarding—its being made now—by you. The sport is being molded and we believe that doing the right thing now will lead to a bright future for the sport. Already, there are storm clouds on the horizon with opponents of the sport talking about ban and restriction. The magazine only lasted four issues, but resumed publication as Skateboarder in 1975. The first broadcast of an actual skateboarding competition
5220-409: The following decades.) By 1992, only a small fraction of skateboarders continuing to take part in a highly technical version of street skating, combined with the decline of vert skating, produced a sport that lacked the mainstream appeal to attract new skaters. During this period, numerous skateboarders—as well as companies in the industry—paid tribute to the scenes of Marty McFly skateboarding in
5307-457: The full set of the 248 skateboard deck designs ever sold by Supreme , collected by Ryan Fuller. The full set sold for $ 800,000 to 17 year old Carson Guo from Vancouver who plans to exhibit them in a local gallery. New York based SHUT Skateboards had a goldplated skateboard for sale at $ 15,000 in 2014, then the most expensive skateboard in the world. Rune Glifberg Rune Glifberg (born 7 October 1974), nicknamed " The Danish Destroyer ",
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#17330937032595394-480: The knee. #minor." As of September 2018, Koston is sponsored by the following companies: Nike SB, Skate Mental, Independent Truck Company , Spitfire Wheels , Fourstar, Diamond, Supreme, The Berrics, Oakley, Jessup, and Skullcandy. On Friday, February 20, 2015, he did a promotional spot on his Instagram account for the McDonald's Corporation , making him among the first popular professional skateboarders to advertise for
5481-486: The marketing side of things it's above and beyond, it's crazy. In 2016, Nike and Koston would release the "Nike SB Koston 3 Hyperfeel", taking inspiration from Nike's soccer line. This shoe would be one of the first skateboarding shoes to incorporate an ankle collar made of Flyknit material to provide support and stability. Upon the shoe's release, Koston claimed it to be "the most progressive SB [Nike Skateboarding] shoe to date". In September 2022, Koston and Nike would drop
5568-485: The mega-chain. In a 2009 video segment, Koston stated that his setup consisted of a Girl skateboard deck (8 and one-eighth-inch wide), Independent 139 trucks (high), 50 millimetres (2.0 in) Spitfire wheels, Bones Swiss bearings, and Bones yellow bushings (medium). Koston does not reveal the type of hardware or griptape that he used at the time, but, as of August 2012, he is sponsored by Diamond (hardware) and Jessup (griptape). On November 19, 2015, Girl Skateboards made
5655-580: The need for a shoe that was specifically designed and marketed for skateboarding, such as the Randy "720", manufactured by the Randolph Rubber Company, and Vans sneakers, which eventually became cultural iconic signifiers for skateboarders during the 1970s and '80s as skateboarding became more widespread. While the skate shoes design afforded better connection and traction with the deck, skaterboarders themselves could often be identified when wearing
5742-753: The owners' names (the "Ber" of Berra's surname and the "ric" of Koston's first name). Founded by professional Australian surfer Josh Kerr and professional US skateboarders Mikey Taylor and Paul Rodriguez , the Saint Archer Brewing Co. is a microbrewery that is co-owned by the brand's "Ambassadors," including Koston. The team of Ambassadors includes professional skateboarders Sean Malto , Brian "Slash" Hansen, and Bryan Herman; professional and non-professional surfers Taylor Knox, Dusty Payne, Laura Enever, and Jeff Johnson; former professional snowboarder Todd Richards; photographer Atiba Jefferson; and surfboard shaper Chris Christenson . Koston has been described as
5829-473: The positive impacts it can have on youth in teaching them mutual respect, social networking, artistic expression and an appreciation of the environment. In 2003, Go Skateboarding Day was founded in southern California by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) to promote skateboarding throughout the world. It is celebrated annually on June 21 "to define skateboarding as
5916-448: The promotional campaign for the Eric Koston 2, Koston explained his overall experience working with Nike in comparison to the core skateboarding companies he has been sponsored by in the past: Oh it's…it's crazy. It's completely different, I hate to say it, but it's so much better because of what…not only in the design aspect and the resources…cos I've copied so many Nike shoes, you know, I tried to mimic them as close as possible and using
6003-523: The rebellious, creative celebration of independence it continues to be." According to market research firm American Sports Data the number of skateboarders worldwide increased by more than 60 percent between 1999 and 2002—from 7.8 million to 12.5 million. Many cities also began implementing recreation plans and statutes during this time period, as part of their vision for local parks and communities to make public lands more available, in particular, for skateboarding, inviting skateboarders to come in off of
6090-456: The same time that the music genres of punk rock and new wave music were beginning to mesh with the culture of skateboarding. Some other notable skateboard artists that made contributions to the culture of skateboarding also include Andy Jenkins, Todd Bratrud , Neil Blender , Marc McKee , Tod Swank , Mark Gonzales , Lance Mountain , Natas Kaupas and Jim Evans . Over the years skateboard-deck art has continued to influence and expand
6177-471: The shoes, with Tony Hawk once saying, "If you were wearing Vans shoes in 86, you were a skateboarder". Because of its connection with skateboarding, Vans financed the legendary skateboarding documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys and was the first sneaker company to endorse a professional skateboarder Stacy Peralta . Vans has a long history of being a major sponsor of many of skateboarding's competitions and events throughout skateboarding's history as well, including
6264-558: The skateboarding community into a platform for that community to show its relevance through shared cultural action in a cultural common space. By raising £790,000, the Long Live Southbank initiative managed in 2017 to curb the destruction of a forty year old spot in London, the Southbank Undercroft , a popular skate park, due to urban planning, a salvaging operation whose effect extends beyond skateboarding. The presence of
6351-605: The song " Sidewalk Surfin' " in 1964, which is the Beach Boys song " Catch a Wave " with new lyrics associated with skateboarding instead of surfing. Certain cities still oppose the building of skate parks in their neighborhoods, for fear of increased crime and drugs in the area. The rift between the old image of skateboarding and a newer one is quite visible: magazines such as Thrasher portray skateboarding as dirty, rebellious, and still firmly tied to punk , while other publications, Transworld Skateboarding as an example, paint
6438-538: The time, when many competitors crashed during their runs, the sport did not gain popularity or support during this time. In March 1976, Skateboard City skatepark in Port Orange , Florida and Carlsbad Skatepark in San Diego County , California would be the first two large size US skateparks to be opened to the public, just a week apart. They were the first of some 200 skateparks that would be built through 1982. This
6525-405: The time. Some other well known surfer-style skateboarders of the time were Danny Bearer, Torger Johnson, Bruce Logan, Bill and Mark Richards, Woody Woodward, and Jim Fitzpatrick. The growth of the sport during this period can also be seen in sales figures for Makaha, which quoted $ 4 million worth of board sales between 1963 and 1965. By 1966 a variety of sources began to claim that skateboarding
6612-424: The very first iconic skateboard-deck art with the design of the "Dogtown Cross". Prior to the mid-seventies many early skateboards were originally based upon the concept of “Sidewalk Surfing” and were tied to the surf culture , skateboards were surfboard like in appearance with little to no graphics located under the bottom of the skateboard-deck. Some of the early manufactured skateboards such as "Roller Derby",
6699-467: The world. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding would be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo , for both male and female teams. Skateboarding made its Olympic debut in 2020 and was included in the 2024 games. Since the 1970s, skateparks have been constructed specifically for use by skateboarders, freestyle BMXers , aggressive skaters , and more recently, scooters . However, skateboarding has become controversial in areas in which
6786-554: Was born in Copenhagen and began skating at the age of 11 years after a friend brought a skateboard as a gift, which he had bought in the US. He entered his first pro contest in France in 1990 and turned pro in 1992. Glifberg moved from Denmark to Costa Mesa, California , after he finished secondary school in 1995. In the early 1990s, Glifberg turned professional as a vert skater and relocated to
6873-558: Was born in Thailand, in the same hospital as fellow professional skateboarder Alphonzo Rawls (a shoe designer as of 2011). Koston was raised in San Bernardino, California , United States (U.S.) and began skating in 1986. His parents are Americans. One of Koston's first board sponsors was the H-Street company that was co-founded by Tony Magnusson and Mike Ternasky. During Koston's time with
6960-544: Was dangerous, resulting in shops being reluctant to sell them, and parents being reluctant to buy them. In 1966 sales had dropped significantly and Skateboarder Magazine had stopped publication. The popularity of skateboarding dropped and remained low until the early 1970s. In the early 1970s, Frank Nasworthy started to develop a skateboard wheel made of polyurethane , calling his company Cadillac Wheels. Prior to this new material, skateboards wheels were metal or "clay" wheels. The improvement in traction and performance
7047-761: Was due in part to articles that were running in the investment journals at the time, stating that skateparks were a good investment. Notable skateboarders from the 1970s also include Ty Page , Tom Inouye, Laura Thornhill, Ellen O'Neal, Kim Cespedes, Bob Biniak, Jana Payne, Waldo Autry, Robin Logan, Bobby Piercy, Russ Howell, Ellen Berryman, Shogo Kubo , Desiree Von Essen, Henry Hester, Robin Alaway, Paul Hackett, Michelle Matta, Bruce Logan, Steve Cathey, Edie Robertson, Mike Weed, David Hackett, Gregg Ayres, Darren Ho, and Tom Sims . Manufacturers started to experiment with more exotic composites and metals, like fiberglass and aluminum , but
7134-404: Was held annually over numerous years. Koston also appeared in the éS video Menikmati in which he returns to his birthplace of Bangkok. Following his departure from éS, Koston joined the Lakai roster and a video was published onto YouTube to announce the move. After joining the company in 2006, Koston filmed a part for the 2007 Lakai video Fully Flared . Koston's eventual departure for a place on
7221-502: Was initially on vert ramp skateboarding. The invention of the no-hands aerial (later known as the ollie ) by Alan Gelfand in Florida in 1976, and the almost parallel development of the grabbed aerial by George Orton and Tony Alva in California, made it possible for skaters to perform airs on vertical ramps. While this wave of skateboarding was sparked by commercialized vert ramp skating,
7308-487: Was probably born sometime in the late 1940s, or early 1950s, when surfers in California wanted something to do when the waves were flat. This was called "sidewalk surfing" – a new wave of surfing on the sidewalk as the sport of surfing became highly popular. No one knows who made the first board; it seems that several people came up with similar ideas at around the same time. The first manufactured skateboards were ordered by
7395-453: Was quickly deleted. Koston has stated in an interview that he will be riding Skate Mental and WKND boards while he and Guy Mariano work on their unnamed company. In December 2016, he announced the formation of Numbers Skateboards, a company with no apparent identity, but an incredibly talented team of top names and new talent. In August 2024, Koston joined EDGLRD 's skateboarding team founded by Harmony Korine and led by Sean Pablo . Koston
7482-430: Was so immense that from the wheel's release in 1972 the popularity of skateboarding started to rise rapidly again, causing companies to invest more in product development. Nasworthy commissioned artist Jim Evans to do a series of paintings promoting Cadillac Wheels, they were featured as ads and posters in the resurrected Skateboarder Magazine , and proved immensely popular in promoting the new style of skateboarding. In
7569-547: Was the 1965 National Skateboarding Championships, which were held in Anaheim , California and aired on ABC's Wide World of Sports . Because skateboarding was a new sport during this time, there were only two original disciplines during competitions: flatland freestyle and slalom downhill racing. Animated cartoons of the time occasionally featured skateboard gags. Two Road Runner cartoons made in 1965, Shot and Bothered and Out and Out Rout , feature Wile E. Coyote riding
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