It’s a sunny day at the skate park. Kids clad in helmets and knee pads roll up and down ramps, slide across rails, and jump over ledges. One skater zooms up a ramp and launches into the air. Her feet move in a flash as the board spins. At just the right moment, she reaches down to grab the board and presses it to her feet. As she lands, a proud grin spreads across her face. 

It can take a skater hundreds of tries—and falls—to master a trick like this one. Gravity constantly pulls skateboarders down to Earth. If they can’t stay balanced, they fall to the ground.

Skateboarders weren’t always able to land such high-flying tricks. Over more than 60 years, skateboarders have pushed the limits of how they can move on a board. During that time, engineers have designed boards that help skaters ride faster, go farther, and jump higher in the sky. 

It’s a sunny day at the skate park. Kids wear helmets and knee pads. They roll up and down ramps. They slide across rails and jump over ledges. One skater zooms up a ramp and launches into the air. Her feet move in a flash as the board spins. At just the right moment, she reaches down to grab the board. She presses it to her feet. As she lands, a proud grin spreads across her face.

It can take a skater hundreds of tries—and falls—to master a trick like this one. Gravity constantly pulls skateboarders down to Earth. If they can’t stay balanced, they fall to the ground.

Skateboarders weren’t always able to land such high-flying tricks. Over more than 60 years, skateboarders have pushed the limits of how they can move on a board. During that time, engineers have designed better boards. These boards help skaters ride faster, go farther, and jump higher in the sky.

To bring skateboarding back to life, engineers had to solve a problem. How could they change skateboards to make riding them more stable—and more fun?   

In 1969, skateboard maker Larry Stevenson set out to help. He added a piece of wood to the back of the board. He called it a kicktail. (See Parts of a Skateboard.) Pushing down on it popped the front of the board off the ground, so riders could steer.

In 1972, a young skater named Frank Nasworthy wondered if strong plastic wheels would make for a smoother ride. He tested the wheels on his own board. Success! They gripped the ground much better and had more cushioning than older designs. 

Soon new technology helped wheels spin faster. Designers also created new types of trucks, the metal devices that connect the wheels to the board. The new trucks let riders control their direction by just shifting their weight. 

With a smoother, faster, and safer ride, skateboarding exploded in popularity. Across the country, skaters rolled down hills and wove around obstacles.  

Skateboarders were moving in new ways, but they still hadn’t found a way to get up in the air. When would skaters learn how to fly?

To bring skateboarding back to life, engineers had to solve a problem. How could they change skateboards to make riding them more stable—and more fun?

In 1969, skateboard maker Larry Stevenson set out to help. He added a piece of wood to the back of the board. He called it a kicktail. (See Parts of a Skateboard.) Pushing down on it popped the front of the board off the ground. This allowed riders to steer.

In 1972, a young skater named Frank Nasworthy had an idea. He wondered if strong plastic wheels could make for a smoother ride. He tested the wheels on his own board. Success! They gripped the ground much better. They also provided more cushioning than older designs.

Soon new technology helped wheels spin faster. Designers also created new types of trucks. These metal devices connect wheels to the board. The trucks allowed riders to control their direction. They could do this by just shifting their weight.

With a smoother, faster, and safer ride, skateboarding became very popular. Across the country, skaters rolled down hills and wove around obstacles.

Skateboarders were moving in new ways. But they still hadn’t found a way to get up in the air. When would skaters learn how to fly?

In 1976, Southern California experienced a drought, a long period with very little rain. To save water, people drained their swimming pools. Skateboarders flocked to these empty concrete bowls. Zooming down one side and up the other, they quickly learned how to propel themselves off the pool’s edge and—briefly—into the air before gravity pulled them back down. 

All of a sudden, skateboarders were trying out new airborne tricks. Designers created new skateboards to make their tricks possible. Boards became shorter and wider so skaters could make tight turns more easily. New types of kicktails helped give riders more lift to send them higher in the air. 

“Skateboarding wasn’t about speed anymore,” says Mark Widmann. He’s a designer at Santa Cruz Skateboards, the oldest skateboard maker in the world. “It was about doing cool tricks in the park or pool.”

To practice jumps, some skaters built their own wooden ramps to skate on. That led to “vert skating,” a style that took off in the 1980s. Skateboarders sped back and forth between two ramps, jumping and flipping their boards on each side. 

In the 1990s, designers added kicktails to both the front and back of skateboards so riders could jump in either direction. Skateboarders began inventing new tricks on benches, curbs, and stair rails. To these “street skaters,” entire cities became laboratories to investigate new ways to move.

In 1976, Southern California experienced a drought. This was a long period with very little rain. To save water, people drained their swimming pools. Skateboarders raced to these empty concrete bowls. They zoomed down one side and up the other. They quickly learned how to propel themselves off the pool’s edge. They would rise briefly into the air before gravity pulled them back down.

All of a sudden, skateboarders were trying out new tricks in the air. Designers created new types of boards too. They wanted to make the flying tricks possible. Designers began making shorter and wider skateboards. These boards could make tight turns more easily. They also designed new types of kicktails. This helped give riders more lift. This would send them higher in the air.

“Skateboarding wasn’t about speed anymore,” says Mark Widmann. He’s a designer at Santa Cruz Skateboards. This company is the oldest skateboard maker in the world. “It was about doing cool tricks in the park or pool.”

Skaters wanted to practice jumps. So they began building their own wooden ramps to skate on. That led to “vert skating.” This style took off in the 1980s. Skaters sped back and forth between two ramps. They would jump and flip their boards on each side.

In the 1990s, designers added kicktails to both the front and back of skateboards. That allowed skaters to jump in either direction. Skateboarders began inventing new tricks. They did tricks on benches, curbs, and stair rails. To these “street skaters,” cities became laboratories to explore new ways to move.