In a recent mini documentary by Vox, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk talks about some iconic skateboarding spots throughout America.
The short video begins by talking about the skateboarding boom through the 60's and 70's and how many people began skating empty swimming pools, drainage ditches and empty pipes. They also explain of the significance of the introduction of polyurethane wheels in the early 1970's.
It covers the skateboarding progression from ditches and pools to half pipes and talks of how people began building their own ramps in the 80's. We see clips from vintage skateboard videos such as 'Wheels of Fire' and 'Search for Animal Chin' from the late 80's and they highlight Natas Kaupas's iconic 720 'Natas Spin' on a sidewalk fire hydrant from the 1989 'Streets of Fire' video. In recognising the progression to street skating, Tony Hawk states the reaction to this was that most skateboarders were thinking 'the whole world is a skatepark now!'
There are so many legendary skate spots covered in the video such as the Viper Bowl, Baldy Pipe, the banks at Kenter Canyon Elementary School, Wallenberg High School, Hollywood High, El Toro, the Carlsbad Gap, the 'Gonz Gap' at Embarcadero in San Francisco and Jamie Thomass' attempt at the 18 foot drop at the aptly named 'leap of faith.'
Check out the video below;
