Skateboarding: the technology behind the tricks

Skateboarding is relatively new to the list of Olympic sports, having made its first appearance in the Tokyo 2020 games. Its addition (together with sports such as breakdancing, surfing, and rock climbing) is a sign of the International Olympic Committee’s desire to maintain the appeal of the Olympics to the younger generation.

Much like its practitioners, skateboarding is a relatively young sport (especially considering that comparable sports such as roller skating and cycling began in the 1700s and 1800s). The immediate predecessor to skateboards is generally agreed to be the scooter. Boards with a handle attached (e.g. “Skeeter Skate” or “Jet Boy Scooter”) have existed since the 1940s. Some users thought to remove the handle, and thus the skateboard was born.

However, early skateboards had the pretty major limitation of not being able to steer. A solution to this was proposed in Albert C Boyden’s patent (US3023022) for a “child’s coaster”. The patent was filed in 1959, and claimed a board with triangular blocks underneath so that it could be steered by leaning left and right. This important change elevated early skateboards from simply being a primitive child’s toy, to equipment that could be enjoyed by a more serious adult userbase (if Californian surfers can be described as “serious”).

1959, the first skateboards were mass produced by the Roller Derby Skate Corporation. Following this, there were subsequently several other key innovations, such as replacing the fragile clay wheels with polyurethane wheels, and the incorporation of closed precision bearings (which didn’t fall apart on impact). However, one particularly influential development was the “kicktail” by Larry Stevenson in the 1960s. Prior to this point, skateboards used a flat deck, often resembling the appearance of a surfboard. In his patent (US3565454, granted in 1971), Stevenson described how the tail could improve safety and could allow the rider to perform “a wheelie or spinning maneuver”.

What Stevenson had probably not expected was how much more the kicktail could achieve than simply wheelies and spins. For example, it was the presence of the kicktail that allowed the first “Ollie” to be performed in 1978 (on a vert ramp). In 1982, legendary skater Rodney Mullen was the first to perform the Ollie on flat ground, with other iconic tricks such as the kickflip, heelflip, and the impossible following shortly afterward. From here, the standard of skateboarding skyrocketed, and the top-level tricks of today can now only be fully appreciated with the help of high-speed cameras! While this progress is astonishing, it is worth remembering that none of these tricks would be possible without the innovations in the 50s and 60s.

Technology and tricks aside, the most widespread effect of skateboarding is arguably seen in its fashion. Many will be familiar with brands such as Vans® and Supreme®. However, what may not be as well known is that these brands were originally skating brands before becoming mainstream fashion icons. As a result, arguably the strongest and most commercially important intellectual property resulting from the skating industry lies in the trade marks protecting these brands.

To summarise, despite being a relatively new sport, Skateboarding is an interesting case study for how rapidly innovation, protected by IP, can change both the sport itself and culture as a whole.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article, or if you have any questions about patent or trade mark protection, then please email us at gje@gje.com.