The Surf/Skate Conundrum

I remember my first visit to a surf shop in South Carolina in 1975 and just being completely awed and captivated with the atmosphere – the quivers of short boards and big guns, surf t-shirts and board-shorts, Endless Summer posters and the smell of fiberglass and coconut permeating the atmosphere from the stacks of boards and baskets full of Mr. Zogg’s Sex Wax. From my first moments learning to stand up on a wave, to skinning my knees on my first fall on a clay-wheeled “Goofy-Foot” skateboard with single-action trucks, a fantastic mythology of tropical island surf lifestyle was forming in my young mind. The fleeting glimpse of freedom experienced when riding a board of any kind has been my panacea in a world of ever increasing complexity. During the late 1970’s skateboarding went from a kiddy-fad to a full-fledged underground cult/sports movement. I rode competitively in contests at local east coast parks and pursued and built numerous backyard half-pipes. After skateboarding died back out in the mid 1980’s my “bro’s” and I were marveling at the emergence of “snurfers” on the local sledding hills, followed years later by snowboards actually being allowed on ski slopes (no way!), and the first appearance of rail-grab aerial maneuvers by surfers in the water. The cross pollination of these sports has been an ever-present catalyst which has contributed significantly in pushing the creative envelop which makes them what they are today. A prime example of this can be shown by tracing the evolution of the most amazing of aerial maneuvers, the McTwist (essentially an inverted 540° flip). This move was named after pro skater Mike McGill who first pulled it off in the 1984 Del-Mar skateboard contest. The standard by which other snowboard moves are measured today, the McTwist actually evolved from Z-Boy Jay Adams’s early aerial skateboard attempts in backyard swimming pools, which were in turn inspired by surfer Larry Bertelman’s low-pivotal surf style in the 1970’s.Another example of the absence of boundaries in the realm of the extreme has been the bond between equipment innovators and manufacturers and the athletes who push the limit of what is possible (often the innovators are riders themselves like Jeff Ho or Jack Burton). Action Sports sponsors are in touch with the equipment needs of their respective athletes and provide more than clothing, they provide the tools by which these artists create their landscapes, relentlessly pursuing stronger, lighter, more aerodynamic designs. After insurance costs closed most of the skateparks in the 1980s, the need for terrain became critical, and skaters like Mike Mapp, CEO of RampTech in Annandale, VA, stepped up to the plate building state-of-the art facilities for the X-Games and other events. Now that these sports have become more mainstream, public facilities have emerged, creating new opportunities for promotion and partnering with local governments who realize the increasing popularity of extreme sports and the need for such facilities.