Borden, Iain; (2024) Park Life: the 1970s Skate Wave. [Magazine_article]. C20 Magazine , 1 pp. 22-27.

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Abstract

In 1976, skateboarding arrived in the UK from the USA, spurred on by American advances in skateboard technology, famous Californian riders like Stacy Peralta and world champion Tony Alva, and brands like G&S, Hobie, Kryptonics and Tracker. Equipped with new polyurethane wheels, metal trucks (turning devices), improved decks and grip-tape (to increase foot friction), hundreds of thousands of skateboarders enthusiastically took up the sport. A year later, British manufacturer Morris Vulcan was making 15,000 skateboards every week, the BBC ran a national competition on the Nationwide programme, and even Prince Charles was seen riding in his blazer and leather shoes. Skateboarding was taking over parks, pavements and plazas, and, unsurprisingly, numerous city councils, newspapers and RoSPA voiced concerns about accidents and collisions. RoSPA was particularly vociferous, producing public service announcements, training programmes, a national conference, the pocket-sized Safe Skateboarding book (“never skate on the streets – it’s highly dangerous”) and an accident prevention code rather childishly titled The Skatcats Quizbook. To help address the situation, the commercial sector responded with the skatepark, creating an entirely new architectural typology – an undulating concrete landscape with features given strange names like “mogul”, “half-pipe”, “pool” and “snake run”.

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