How Will Olympics 2020 Change Skateboarding?

[spathiphyllum]

Skateboarding can be described as hesh..

https://bit.ly/2jUg8ah

But how will Olympics 2020 change this?

Skateboarding has always been a culture and a lifestyle..

Will the Olympics bring a different, more serious competitive vibe to skateboarding?
Will the Olympics bring a more accepting light to skateboarders?
Will the Olympics help inspire different style skateboard or patterns on the board? Maybe even Olympic specific brands may surface?

[woofgang]

will anyone care?

[jim360]

Well, I'd have assumed skateboarders would.

[spathiphyllum]

Yes. Absolutely.

[Mozz71]

Did it change BMX when that was included for the first time a couple of Olympics ago?

[spathiphyllum]

I fee like it's different Mozz.

A skateboard has always been classed as a toy. It has difficulty when it comes to legalities regarding riding on the path and riding on the road. It's always faced backlash from certain types of people saying it's for kids or people who get ASBO's etc..

BMXing never really had that mentality, it was never as "ghetto" as skateboarding.

[douglas9401]

Kewel.

[Mozz71]

Agreed Spath, but they were both thought of as "for kids/teens". I'm not sure the public's perception of either will change that much. Tony Hawks did far more to make skateboarding mainstream than the Olympics will ever do.

[spathiphyllum]

I disagree... Tony Hawk hasn't done anything for skateboarding. Only himself.

Rodney Mullen made skateboarding what it is that we know today.

The Olympics have given skateboarders an opportunity Tony Hawk never could have.. the opportunity to skate for your country, to actually become a success without having to be scouted by brands to sponsor you.

The olympics also gives skateboarding the option to become a sport that is in schools, giving skaters opportunities to become teachers etc..

What has Tony Hawk done for skateboarding?

[Mozz71]

He popularised it, bringing it to the attention of the masses.

In the same way David Beckham bought football to the public eye in the USA, Hawk bought competitive skateboarding into the public consciousness.

[spathiphyllum]

Even still.. Tony hawk is one man.. I get what you mean, all the video games etc.. etc..

But the Olympics is a prestigious, professional and respected sports competition. I think this is going to shape the world of skateboarding towards more a more legal and structured style rather than street rats shotgunnign beers then sending themselves down stair sets.

[spathiphyllum]

there are 750,000 people in the UK that skateboard.

[scottmiller]

Yes for skateboarding lovers of course. Its a fun sport.