This chapter explores how international skateboarding competitions may shape the future of skateboard design, questioning whether the demand for precision and high-level tricks will give rise to a new type of skateboard. It also highlights the artistic and athletic aspects of skateboarding and its impact on design.
Watch a skate video today, and you'll notice how similarly shaped the boards are. It’s called the “popsicle” design, because the deck is narrow in the middle and rounded off at both ends, like a popsicle stick. This may seem stupid simple, but that basic, clean popsicle shape is actually the product of a lot of experimentation and iteration. In 1989, one particular board would cement skateboard design as we know it. But to understand it, we have to go back over a decade to the mid-70s, as more and more money poured into the growing sport.
The Double Kick