So similar, but yet so very different. Photos: Mathieu Chirico (L), Pixelperfektion (R)//Unsplash
Modern skateboarding was invented by surfers, so it makes sense that there are countless parallels between the two. But the reality is that while skateboarding may have surfers to thank for its earliest beginnings, surfing has a lot to thank skateboarding for. While the surfboard label Hobie was producing skateboards in the mid ‘60s, and America’s youth was hit by the sidewalk surfing craze, by the ‘70s, surfers were copying skaters’ style instead of the other way around.
While people often talk about how similar the two are, the most common comparisons seem to be of the “it’s a person moving outside using a board,” “style matters,” and “it’s an individual pursuit” themes. But, the more you research surfing and skating, the more layers of similarity you discover. And nowadays, the two often share the same stage: as just one example, ex-professional surfer Jamie Brisick interviewed iconic skater Tony Alva for an episode of The Surfer’s Journal “Soundings.” And as it turns out, Alva was mentored by Bunker Spreckles: yes, the mysterious, flamboyant, and famed surf legend Bunker Spreckles.
One of the most integral parts of surf history lies in the changing board designs: each decade can, more or less, be characterized by what people rode in the water. The balsa boards of the ‘40s and ‘50s, the glassed longboards of the ‘60s, the shortboard revolution of the late ‘60s, the Lightning Bolt label of the ‘70s, the introduction of the thruster in the ‘80s, the potato-chip boards of the ‘90s Momentum Generation. But fast forward to today and surfers still ride older boards. Retro shapes are advertised in surf shops everywhere. The logging movement, from the ‘90s onward, was a call to return to surfing’s roots and reject the modern shortboarding that has become almost ubiquitous since its invention in the late ‘60s.
And while skateboarding certainly pays homage to its past (all the skate museums around the world, The Skateboarding Hall of Fame, etc.), I don’t usually see people riding old boards down the road. And I’m sure they do, I just never see it. So, I was curious about skateboarding’s roots: surely there are changing boards, styles, and social movements, just like surfing!
Beginning with board design, writer and surf historian Matt Warshaw notes in the “skateboarding” entry of EOS that “forerunners to the skateboard date back to the early 1900s, when European and American preteens made scooters by attaching metal rollerskate wheels to wooden planks and vegetable crates.” These designs were pretty dangerous, as children would often attach wheels to any piece of wood they could find. However, most historians (including Warshaw) agree that the first skateboards leading to modern day designs began in the ‘50s and ‘60s by surfers looking for something to do when the waves went flat.
Writer Zane Foley explains the changing board designs in skateboarding as reflecting the changing desires of each era. For example, “When Rodney Mullen started perfecting the kickflip, it was evident a sharper tail and larger nose was needed to pop higher and sustain flight.” And each era has distinct boards that categorize that time, just like surfing. From the DIY boards of the early 1900s, to the Roller Derby skateboards of the ‘50s, to the surfboard-copy boards of the ‘60s (with flat or cambered decks – think Penny boards!), to the kicktail boards of the ‘70s (thank you, Larry Stevens!) to the fish boards of the ‘80s and ‘90s (most importantly the Barnyard Board of ‘89 with a double tail), all the way to the popsicle boards of the ’90s and today. And, just like surfing, skaters today ride all different kinds of boards depending on the situation. Do they call it a quiver? Not sure. But do they have different boards for different types of line drawing and maneuver-executing? Absolutely.
And, just like surfing, certain skaters have legendary status in the community. Skating is perhaps an even tighter-knit community than surfing (since surfing has exploded ever since the popularity of Gidget and mass-produced boards). This may be due to the DIY nature of skating (people making their own skate spots) or the fact that skate parks bring people together, and there’s usually fewer of them than surf spots. On the North Shore of Oahu, for example, the big skate park is called the Banzai Pipeline, and every day it doesn’t rain, skaters from all over flock to it to flow the bowl and practice new tricks. Surfers, on the other hand, are spread across the seven miles from Lani’s to Turtle Bay, and you could easily go a whole week without running into another surfer without even trying.
Iconic skateboarders include Tony Hawk, Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, Jay Adams, Laura Thornhill, and CR Stecyk III of Dogtown, to name a few. Plenty of these legends are equally iconic to the surfing world, such as Warren Bolster, Christian Fletcher, and Skip Frye! The reasons skaters reach legend status are similar to why surfers make names for themselves in history: inventing new maneuvers, pioneering new board designs, and bravely charging sketchy spots. (Though, for skaters, more water makes things slippery and gnarlier. For surfers, it’s the opposite – the shallower, the hollower… and the scarier!)
And skate photography is just as much of a cultural touchstone as surf photography. Photographers such as J. Grant Britton, Glen E. Friedman, and Patrick O’Dell (the guy behind Epicly Later’d) have documented skateboard’s people and subculture over the years, resulting in their well-deserved fame.
And don’t forget the equivalent of surf music… skate music! The sounds are a bit different (more aggressive, often DIY or punk-influenced) but still very much the key to getting stoked. Black Flag, DEVO, and FIDLAR are just a few of many skate artists you should check out while driving to a new spot. And, of course, both surfers and skateboarders love making edits… and we all know the key component to a good edit is the music selection.
Overall, surfing and skating both have stylish and innovative histories, relying on people to experiment, build things, and rip it up no matter where they are. Both surfing and skating draw from each other heavily, and that’s part of what makes them so cool. Bored of surfing? Try learning to drop into a bowl! Bored of skating? Try learning to do airs on a wave! Even though they’re similar, each one is intricate and challenging. But no matter which one you watch, seeing people draw unique lines and speed through places most people would never expect just never gets old.
