Dogtown and the Z-Boys

Pool Skating

When did skateboarding jump into popularity? This is a big question that cannot be given in one answer. Skateboarding has had many different jumps and spikes in their popularity but the one that really got it off the ground was the Dogtown days. These were the days before skate parks and street skating, it was a time of hopping fences and skating drained pools during the major droughts in California. This is when skating really made it out to be a sport when it gained widespread popularity. During this time contests for skateboarding were just making an appearance. Making this evolve into a legitimate sport when you are starting to see contests, sponsors and major companies. So to answer this large question for many people, in the 70's with the appearance of the Z-Boys is what really grew the popularity and support for this ever so growing sport. Although it can be debated that it had more of a major growth in the late 90;s or early 2000's, without this time when skateboarding made its arrival, this sport would not be seen how it is seen today.