~ABSTRACT~

       The aim of these statistics is to determine wheather the mainstream skateboard media are influential in young skateboarders' perceptions of risk. To date, very few studies have been conducted on skateboarding injuries in youth ;  there is, however, a surplus of studies on bicycle helmets and children, which are not applicable to the sport of skateboarding.  This article will discuss how role models and a lack of representation of protective gear in skateboard media, combined with the skateboarding subculture ethos of masculinity, toughness and rebellion, are highly influential on children under the age of fifteen to not wear a  helmet or use other protective gear. Socioeconomic status and parental enforcement are also explored as potential factors.

       Here is the introduction on skateboarding and how we have such a relatively young history. Skateboarding went commercial in 1959 for the first time as it hit the marketplace while the popularity of skateboarding faded time to time and is currently more popular now then ever before.  It is estimated from statistics that there are nearly 900,000 skateboarders alone just in Canada with a considerable proportion of these skateboarders being under ages fifteen.

       Skateboarding is perceived as a dangerous sport due to the associated high levels of injuries as shown on a chart and from skateboarding, it has the least amount of injuries rather then participating in  Hockey, Baseket-ball, Baseball, Football, Soccer , Skiing , Rollerblading , Biking and more. With more proof shown on a chart by statistics, skateboarders are more not likely to cause vandalism or graffiti on school walls or on any other pulic building as well as trafficing drugs or alcohol in a high residential area then other children growing up.  

       Despite the studies highlighting the lowered risk of injury with skateboard protective gear use, there are no known studies examining how the skateboard media might have an influence on children's perceptions of whether they need to wear a helmet or use other safety gear.  This article explains as we begin to explore this gap in risk research.  This is especially due to the amount of popularity of skateboarding ; accordingly there is now an enormus range of skateboard media highly concentrated on for more of a visable approcah including commercials, magazines, video's , videogames, programs on the internet as well as short films on health and safety.  

   ?...How Skateboarding Started...?

       Through time skateboarding has had a rich history behind innovations with full length intriguing stories. Many of these stories are documented by some of our most earliest professional skateboarders such has, Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva, Jason Adams, Alan Gelfand, Tony Hawk, Steve Cabellero, Rodney Mullen, Natas Kaupas , Christian Hosoi ,Bruce Logan, Russ Howell,Tom Sims, Gregg Weaver ,Steve Rocco and many more.  However, This is an accurate most recent documentry  behind skateboarding so sit back and hold on, because S.C.I.P.P will provide you with an overview of the last nine decades.

       Scooters is what started the whole termology of the skateboard.  These contraptions, which date back to the early 1900's featured roller skate wheels for turn ability built right onto a slab of two by four.. Often the wood had  milk crates nailed to it with handles sticking out for control.  Over the next five decades kids drastically changed the look of the scooter and took off the crate and started cruising on two by fours with steel wheels. Tens of thousands of rollerskates were dismantled and joyfully hammered on to planks of wood for the use of transportation.

       Modifications were made in the 1950's to the trucks so the kids could  start to maneuver more easily. Towards the late 1950's, surfing became increasingly popular with interest that kids from all over California would do it. There was a group of regular kids that would go out and surf all day when the tide came in. When the tide did not come in these kids, Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jason Adams worked for Jeff Ho & Zepher Production Surf Shop, building and repairing surf boards and in return getting free prodcut.  With innovations from the shop they hand crafted long boards, which back then was planks of wood hand shaped not to perfection with roller skate trucks & wheels. The wheels were made out of steal with no treads has they tried to grasp that surf feel with there knees bent low and there arms low to the ground for balance.  This termonology was called street surfing.

       In 1959, the first Roller Derby Skateboard was for sale. And wheels were now made out of clay which entered the picture and sidewalk surfing began to take root.  Hitting the 1960's  skateboarding had gained an impressive following amongst the surf crowd.  Larry Stevenson, publisher of Surf Guide begins to help promote skateboarding  and things are looking up.  Larry's company,  called Makaha, designed the first professional boards in 1963 and a team of riders would help promote the company and product.

       Finally the first skateboard contest was held at the Pier Avenue Junior School in Hermosa, California in 1963. In 1964, surf legend Hobie Alter teamed up with the Vita Pakt juice company to create a skateboarrd company called Hobie Skateboards.  As most skateboarders took to the streets or the sidewalks, some skaters with brave souls decided to ride empty outdoor swmming pools.  In 1965, international contests, movies (Skater Dater), and the first skateboard magazine (The Quarterly Skateboarder) crossed the country on different trips as a team of skateboarders who elevated the sport to enormous heights. Over fifty million skateboards were built and sold within a three year period. In 1965 skateboarding all of a sudden died again.

       The first crash to the skateboarding's industry came about due to inferior product. There was too much inventory produced and a public upset by reckless riding. The manufacturers were so busy with making product that little was done in the ways of research and development. Where some companies had developed a better quality wheel made out of clay which was also the cheapest to manufacturer. However, clay wheels still did not grip the streets and skateboarders were falling everywhere. Towns and cities started to ban skateboards in response to health and safety concerns and after a few fatal accidents, skateboarding was pushed out of existance (for the time being at least!).

       Manufacturers like Vita Pakt and Makaha lost enormous amounts of  money due to cancelling of orders for the Christmas and holiday season.  Skateboarding remained fairly undergournd over the next eight years or so, and showing up only in areas like Santa Monica, California.  Larry Stevenson during the off years of popularity invented the kicktail and then tried to resurrect skateboarding once again with only a small amount of success.

       A surfer by the name of Frank Nasworthy in 1970 decided to visit a friend at a plastics factory which was in Purcellville, Virginia.  The factory made urethane wheels for Roller Sports, such as roller skates,etc.. Frank then realized that the urethane wheels would fit on his Hobie skateboard, The factory ensured Frank that urethane on roller skates would have decent traction and that they did. Frank  then decided to develop a skateboard wheel made from urethane plastics just for skateboards. As you would expect, the ride was magnificant compared to clay wheels or steal. Frank then promoted the product in the San Diego area and he initially met with a great deal of resistance. however, over time the urethane wheel gained popularity and a following as word spread throughout California of these tremendous wheels. 

       Then in 1973, Frank Nasworthy's had Cadiallac Wheels and that launched skateboardings' second arising. Truck manufacturers such as Bennett and Tracker began making trucks specifically designed for skateboards. Then board manufacturers specialized in a new shape and over night, the industry was back with new products and new ideas.  In 1975,  a company called Road Rider came out with the first precision bearing wheel which ended decades of loose ball bearings.

       Slalom, downhill and freestyle skateboarding are practised by millions. A skateboarding magazine called , "SkateBoarder Magazine" is resurrected and then soon joined with other publications hoping to recreate in on skateboardings comeback. Bruce Logan, Russ Howell, Stacy Peralta, Tom Sims and Gregg Weaver are featured heavily in the magazines that were published.

       In 1976 the first outdoor skateboard park was built in Florida for skateboarders.  Soon followed other skateboard parks began to form in all different parts of North America  as the rash of interest of skaters increased and who needed a facility to showcase there talent.. Skateboarding moved from horizontal to vertical and slalom and freestyle skateboarding became less popular.  Skateboards then also changed from being six to seven inches in width to over nine inches. This increase in size ensured better stability on vertical surfaces. Top riders included Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Tom "Wally" Inoyoue. Wes Humpston and Jim Muir marketed the first successful line of boards with graphics under the Dogtown label. Soon after, almost all board manufacturers put graphics under their boards.

       In 1978, Alan Gelfand found a way to get his skateboard off the ground by olliing off of  transitions. This pushed skateboarding to the next level with the no hand's aerial. The roots of streetstyle developed when skaters started to take vertical moves to flatland.  The Skateboard culture began to link with punk and new wave music. Images of skulls, fire and guns appeared on skateboards thanks to the creative genius of Vernon Courtland Johnson at Powell Corporation.

       Pool skating was hugely popular and as a result of the better technology, skateboarders were now able to perform aerials and go far beyond the coping. Skatepark insurnace became an issue due to the problem of liabilities.  In fact, skatepark insurance was expensive for most of the owners and most of them closed their doors as the bulldozers were brought in.  At the end of 1980, skateboarding died another death for the third time.  Many manufacturers were faced with tremendous losses again.  Suddenly BMX became popular and SkateBoarder Magazine turned into action as most of skateboarders deserted.  Underground skateboarding remained once again.  Some of the more hardcore skaters stayed with skateboarding and started to build backyard half pipes and ramps as more skateparks closed. Skateboarding became more personal.

       In 1981, publication began with a new magazine comapny called "Thrasher Magazine"   in an effort to provide the hardcore skateboarders with updates of information on the skateboard scene. Although skate contests were still held, the turnout was small and the prize money was even smaller. In 1982, Tony Hawk won his first skateboard contest at the Del Mar Skate Ranch. By 1983, skate manufacturers like Santa Cruz, Powell Peralta and Tracker begin to see the sport on the upswing. In that same year another skateboard magazine was issued called "Transworld Skateboarding" which entered the skate scene.

       In 1984, Vert was the main focus of skateboarding slowly  followed closely by a streetstyle of skateboarding. A comapny called Launch ramps became popular. Powell Peralta created the first "Bones Brigade" skateboard video thanks to the highly creative talents of CR Stecyk and Stacy Peralta. The video featured all the team skaters and helped to propel skateboarding to the third annual quarter of new levels of popularity.  Dozens of many new manufacturers  wanted a peice as skateboarding was entered its third wave of popularity.  Numerous vertical champions emerged including Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi, Lance Mountain and Neil Blender. In the street, Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas and Tommy Guerrero took the ollie to new heights. Freestyle skateboarding was also a part of the scene thanks to the incredible Rodney Mullen who dominated all competitions. Rodney Mullen was the first person to ever do a flat ground ollie over 6 inches in height.

       Midway through the 1980's there were three main manufacturers which handled most of the skateboarding market, they were , Powell Peralta, Vision/Sims and Santa Cruz. Board royalites and contest winnings escalated and some pro skaters pulled down earnings of ten thousand dollars per month. The National Skateboard Association, headed up by Frank Hawk, held numerous contests across North America and eventually throughout the world. Skateboard shoes from Airwalk, Vans and Vision became enormously popular along with skate clothes.

       Towards the end of the decade, skateboarding shifted it's focus to streets.  Skating  vert riding became less popular and a number of pro skaters decided to leave the larger manufacturers and start their own skate companies. One of the first skaters to do this was Steve Rocco who started up World Industries. Over time, the personality of skateboarding world change the world's over view as new school skateboarding was born.  This is where most of the focus was on ollies and technical tricks and skateboarding had a new attitude.

       By 1991,  world wide the skate industry was deeply affected. As in the past, a number of manufacturers were faced with large economic losses. The industry turned extremely negative as it was approached 3 times. Thought of process of reinventing itself was there and  Big brother began publication in 1992. Just like in the past most of the hardcore skateboarders remained with the sport, but this time, the attention for the sport was fading more and more. By the mid 1990's, skateboarding once again reemerged and the fourth annual quarter in skateboarding was displayed again.  In 1995, skateboarding gained a great deal of exposure at the ESPN 2 Extreme Games. Skateboard shoe manufacturers like Etnies and Vans began selling huge quantities of product and were joined by other soft good manufacturers eager once again to cash in on skateboarding's popularity.  Plan B, a deck company was formed, with great enthusiasts such as Colin McKay, Danny Way, Rodney Mullen , Rick McCrank plus more great ones designed by Mike Ternasky who passed away towards the end of the 1990's from a terrible car crash.

       Towards the end of the 1990's, skateboarding's main focuses remains streetstyle and the industry is filled with numerous manufacturers and marketers. In many cases, pro skaters develop their own product and manage their own companies. Longboarding, a once forgotten art began to make a comeback and downhill skateboarding enters a whole new dimension thanks to street luge. In California, skateboard parks have started to be built once again thanks to a change in legislation. The hard work of Jim Fitzpatrick and the International Association of Skateboard Companies has ensured that other states follow California and more parks are scheduled for construction over the next few years.

       Over the past 40 years, skateboarding has had its peaks and valleys of popularity. Poor product, safety concerns, Insurance issues and recessions have all contributed to the valleys. However, skateboarding technology has vastly improved since clay wheels. In terms of injuries, the sport remains much safer than football, rollerblading, hockey (when you look at percentage of participants injured). Despite safety concerns or economic recessions, the sport endures simply because it is so much fun to do.

                                                                                                              rewritten by Scott Duncan