#1....skateboarding in general?...I was in the first grade and I can remember being at Sears with my mom and seeing my first skateboard...yellow plastic with red wheels...I had to have it...I rode it up and down the driveway and I have a few pictures to look back on that time..my next board was in the seventh grade..I skated from time I was like 11 till I was 18 or so..and then on and off all the time from then till now..I'm 35 and I still love the feeling of being on a skateboard...it has been something that has always stuck with me..that I cant get away from...when I say skateboarding I think of words like...individualism..creativity...and freedom..
and sense of personal accomplishment when you learn something new on your skateboard that cant be beat...and sometimes just a few minutes of skate time can really clear my head and be the most relaxing thing there is...I wouldn't trade my times as a "skater" for anything.
#2....history and changes?..as far as I know..skateboarding was invented by surfers, busting up old steel wheeled roller skates and putting the wheel sets on 2 by 4's..more or less an invention of a few creative minds out of boredom and not being able to surf..from wood to plastic to wood again,,from skinny to wide to skinny again...the boards have now evolved to the best they are due to the progression of skaters..each time I see a new video I am always amazed at what can be done on a skateboard..my big era was the 80's..early grab launches..foot plants and hand plants...mainly street skating with a wide board with no nose..now skaters rarely touch their boards with their hands, skate parks are everywhere, and the boards are totally different...skateboarders are pretty much the same I think..the big change I see is that now it seems okay to be a skater..you are generally accepted by other types of people and its not such a fringe thing to be anymore..which is good.
#3..skateboarding today?.skateboarding today has evolved to an outrageous level when it comes to the pro scene..the types of things that are being done, street skating, ramps, parks, tech, or big is on a whole other level..skaters are doing stuff that was never even thought of much less thought possible..just look at any new DVD and you'll see what I mean..what it takes to be a pro now is nowhere what it was 20 years ago.the nineties skaters started the new style and now it has gotten out of hand..I mean, who knows what's next.
#4...the most important thing about skateboarding?... is the skaters ..if there are no skaters there will be no skate parks, skate shops, evolution of the skateboard, progression or anything..it takes skaters wanting to get that same feeling I got in the first grade..it takes skaters out there being noticed by others making the way for the next kid..it takes people willing to open skate shops and skate parks and do whatever it takes to keep the scene going in their town..never stop skating.