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One of the first technological advances was clay wheels, which made for a smoother ride. They were adopted from commercial skating rinks. However, the equipment found on the streets still lacked eye-catching graphics, and most pioneering skaters made their own equipment using wooden boards and old iron skate wheels.

In the beginning, the term used for outdoor activity was “sidewalk surfing”! Surprising, isn’t it? The concept refers to the sport that Southern California surfers had adopted when the ocean was flat or the waves were too small to ride.

They found a way to pound the concrete of boardwalks and the asphalt of their coastal towns by mimicking the maneuvers, tricks and body movements they performed on the waves.

So who exactly invented the skateboard?

Skateboard history tells us that the world’s first modern skateboard was designed and manufactured in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

While it is not possible to identify the sole creator and inventor of the first skateboard in history, we do know that several young people were using the Flexible Flyer sled for fun at about the same time.

Teenagers surfed barefoot on unforgiving metal wheels that caused the skateboard to stop dead in its tracks at the slightest creak and wear.

At first, toy companies cashed in on the hype with gimmicky products like the Scoot Kit and the Roller Derby skateboard with metal wheels.

But soon, companies run by skateboarders and surfers began designing specialized products and turning them into lucrative businesses.

Two key personalities helped shape the early designs of what we now call skateboards: Bill Richard and Richard Lawrence “Larry” Stevenson.