The birth of modern street skating

During the 80s, skateboarding underwent yet another revival. Unlike the 70s, however, it was not led by sky high aerial tricks in concrete pools but by an altogether different form of skating - freestyle. Soon to split into a branch known as street skating, freestyle did not rely on the use of expensive skateparks or custom built ramps. The idea of street skating was to perform intricate tricks by manoeuvring the board itself and interacting with the urban environment - benches, kerbs, steps and other urban furniture.

This form of flat-ground skateboarding had undergone a revolution with the adaption of Alan Ollie Gelfland's 1976 no-hands aerial move. At that time, the Ollie was developed to allow a skater to pop his board out of the top of a pool and get airborne without using his hands. In the 80s, Rodney Mullen adapted the Ollie to flat ground and a whole new universe of freestyle skate tricks opened up. Next came the pantheon of Ollie tricks where the board is spun, flipped and twisted; jumping over, onto and off stationary objects. Business investment was no longer needed, all a skater needed was his skateboard, a street and an urban extreme sport was then his to enjoy largely free from interference.

To this day, skateboarding is a very popular extreme sport, boasting worldwide competitions and aficionados in every country on the globe (in 1992 there were an estimated 12.5 million skaters in the USA alone). Big name skateboarders like Tony Hawk earn thousands of pounds from winning global competitions such as the X-Games, not to mention the millions of pounds in revenue from his highly successful line of Tony Hawk Pro Skater video games.

However, for many, skating is more than just a hobby or a competition sport. It's a lifestyle choice and a subculture with its own brand of associated music, clothing and a formidable attitude towards life's challenges.