Skateboarding Secrets Revealed: 8 Amazing Fun Facts You Never Knew

1. Ollie Inventor's Need for Speed

Swap your deck for an engine: Alan "Ollie" Gelfand, the inventor of the ollie, is just as skilled behind the wheel as he is on a skateboard. He not only holds the 1987 World Karting Association's Grand National Championship title, but also builds custom Volkswagens that he races in various competitions, owns the German Car Depot for servicing German vehicles, and even constructed the perfect 48-foot skateboarding bowl called Olliewood in Hollywood, Florida.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Swedish Skateboard High School

Skate or die, academically speaking: In Malmö, Sweden, students are kick-flipping their way to an education at Bryggeriets Gymnasium, a non-profit high school that uses skateboarding as a teaching tool, offering courses in rehab, nutrition, individual goal setting, industry studies, and the arts, all while boasting a 1998-built skate park at the heart of their campus.
Source => dwell.com

Did you know that snowboarding began as a toy for two little girls? Discover how an engineer's "snurfer" invention led to the adrenaline-pumping sport we love today!

=> Fun Facts about Snowboarding

3. 1965: Golden Era of Skateboarding

Once upon a gnarly wave, skateboarders surfed the concrete sea and frolicked in a world where kickflips and ollies ruled the lands, and "pop" was more than just a musical genre: In 1965, skateboarding hit its zenith with 50 million skateboards produced between 1963 and 1965, while witnessing the opening of the first skatepark, Surf City in Tucson, Arizona, the first televised championship on ABC's Wide World of Sports, and Skaterdater, the first-ever skate-themed film, scoring an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Film.
Source => museumofplay.org

4. Lexus Creates Hoverboard

Forget Toys'R'Us and welcome to the future, Marty McFly style: In 2015, Lexus revealed a hoverboard that uses superconductors and magnets to levitate, thanks to the Meissner effect, but it's not available for commercial use.
Source => wired.com

5. Australia's Legendary Snake Run

Before the land down under became synonymous with kangaroo courts and outback shenanigans, it was home to a group of rebellious teens who forged their own thunderous mecca on a skatepark: The legendary Snake Run in Australia, built in 1976, is the world's second oldest surviving skatepark and Australia's oldest. The design, inspired by surfing, featured wave-like bowls created by the skaters themselves, who also reconvened for the park's 40-year anniversary celebration.
Source => oldest.org

6. Skateistan: Skateboarding for World Peace

Who said skaters can't ride their way to world peace and empowerment: Skateistan, an award-winning non-profit organization, combines the gnarliness of skateboarding with education to uplift children and youth in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa, boasting over 1,800 students from 20+ ethnicities, with girls making up more than half of their rad roster.
Source => saferspaces.org.za

7. Skateboards in the Smithsonian

Skateboards can't hang in museums, you say? Smithsonian begs to differ: The National Museum of American History's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation hosted an event called Innoskate, celebrating the creative prowess of skater culture through demonstrations, discussions, interactive educational activities, and the acquisition of skate-related items for their collections.
Source => si.edu

8. "720°" - Early Skateboarding Video Game

Before Tony Hawk Pro Skater was even a twinkle in the eye of a pixelated hawk: Atari Games introduced "720°," a 1986 video game where players cruised through suburbia, mastering board tricks for points and tickets to shred in the coveted skate parks. The pièce de résistance move? A gravity-defying 720° turn launched from a ramp, etching the name into video game history across multiple platforms.
Source => en.wikipedia.org