The Huntington Beach International
Surfing Museum premiered its newest
exhibit, "The Evolution Of The
Skateboard," on Saturday, February 17,
1996. It didn't take much persuasion to
convince the Board of Directors of the
direct correlation between surfing and
skateboarding in the 50s and 60s (eg:
sidewalk surfing). I assured them that with
the help of many collectors, manufacturers,
and others interested in helping, we could
put together a first-rate collection
chronicling the history of the skateboard
in all its glory. We set out to share with
the general public and the skaters of today
the evolution and innovations of the
skateboard from its first inception in the
50s to its present day status.
The exhibit features things from the
30s that look like skateboards (planks of
wood with roller skates attached to them
from the 50s) and the first manufactured
boards of the 1960s. The 1970s brought
the advancement of the urethane wheel,
the kicktail and precision bearings.
Silkscreened graphics were the rage in the
80s; artistry and expression plagued that
decade. And in the 90s, small wheels and
double kicks are the standard. The
skateboard has come a long way since
those early metal-wheeled contraptions,
but its basic design (four wheels and two
trucks mounted to a board) hasn't changed
in almost forty years. Salba loaned the
Tunnel board he won first place with at
the first pool contest ever held (Spring
Valley, 1978); to some skaters, that's
equivalent to the bat that Babe Ruth used
to hit his first home run. Also featured are
downhill skate cars, stand-up boards, a
1963 Toby Cart Motor Board (predecessor
to the Motoboard), slalom boards and
many other unique and obscure things.
In conjunction with the premiere of the
"Evolution" exhibit, a vintage skateboard
swap meet was held in the parking lot of
the HBISM and was a big success. All ages
had loads of fun buying, selling, trading.
and just reminiscing with skate stars old
and new. Highlights of the day: Dale
"Sausage Man" Smith turned the ever
infamous Waldo on to a mint condition.
NOS Cloud Model from Tunnel (Waldo
wants to ride Baldy again twenty years
later); some young pup bought a board
from me because he couldn't believe that
the thing was older than his mom and
dad; two ladies came in off the street and
bought about ten boards to decorate their
house (a pink GT for the bathroom, a red
Roller Derby 10 to go over the fireplace, a
yellow Hang Ten for the bedroom, etc);
Lloyd, the Fred Sanford of skateboards,
blazed through in about a half hour and
dropped a mother-load of cash; and my
score of the day was a first issue of
Thrasher (mint condition) that completed
my collection.
Seventies legend
Waldo Autry diplays
his namesake cue, a
gift from Dale Smith's
sea of skate relics.
WHIRLY
COARD
+
The
Evolution
Of The
Skateboard
Exhibit
Skate trader, Todd Huber shows off a rare
"whirly board" from his vast collection.
Everyone hates us.
Skateboarders, other companies, the magazines, the "Industry".
Everyone.
Skaters hate us because our ads are always too wordy (like this one),
and never have hot full-color skateboarding photos.
We don't change our graphics every week,
and we've kept the same logo for four years.
They hate us because we don't make the freshest clothing,
and none of our pros have a signature shoe.
They hate us because we don't put our pros on pedestals
for them to worship.
Other companies hate us because we were the first to lower our prices.
Because we openly admit we sell through mail-order,
instead of forming a "separate" business and selling direct for the same
high prices that they do, making twice as much, and screwing over
the very shops that support them.
And because we make fun of those companies
who bounce from one trend to the other, losing a pro here,
stealing a pro there, changing their "image" to fit the times,
and then folding up and restarting with a "new" name
as a "new" company.
Actually, we really couldn't care less about other companies.
Some of the "unbiased" magazines (they know who they are)
hate us because we won't advertise in their full-color glossy trend-rags,
so they give our pros less coverage than they deserve.
The "Industry" (whoever that is) hates us because
we don't know our place.
Because we're a small company that has been around for too long,
not playing by "their" rules but somehow making it.
Alot of people hate what they don't understand.
So where does that put you?
CONSOLIDATED
20 Тиклани
-Arab
SKHA BOARDS
1840 41st. Ave. 102-134 Capitola, CA 95010 ph 409.457.8206 fax 408.457.8219
Not even available in the United Kingdom, but hated there too.