One of California’s most iconic traditions is skateboarding. If you’ve ever been to California, it is likely that you’ve seen people both young and old riding down the street on a skateboard. Today, millions of Californians use skateboards for both work and play, and the skateboarding movement has skyrocketed across the country. What most people do not know is that skateboarding actually traces its roots to California.
It is said that skateboarding was first developed by surfers near Santa Monica, CA during the 1950s. The popularity of the television show Gidget caused a massive surf craze in Southern California and surfing enthusiasts were looking for a way to surf when the waves were flat. Some of them fixed a piece of wood on top of a dissembled roller skate, and the official trend of “landsurfing” was born. People living inland soon followed suit, and landsurfing took off all over Southern California.
