At one time skateboarders were seen as reckless punks, as portrayed in the film about the rise of skateboarding in Venice Beach, California titled “Dogtown and Z-Boys“. Just as in the movie that documents the careers of some of the greatest California skateboarders of all time, the scene in Cape Town that caught on in the middle of the 1960′s went from a rebel sport to being one that has caught on in popularity and has had those rough edges smoothed out a bit.
The advent of corporate sponsorship, the popular contests and events, and professionally run skate parks served to bring the sport into the mass market. There are many of those skate parks located in Cape Town. Luxury hotel concierges can assist in finding those located nearby should one be traveling with a youngster looking to take out is board, either at the park or on one many of the hills throughout the town. The skaters of the United States had their influence on the youngsters of South Africa who began to see documentaries made on the boys. They had no place to buy the skateboards in their towns, so they made their own by removing the wheels from their roller skates and fastening them to old wooden boards.
And again, just as was so for many years in America, the young teenagers began to rule the sidewalks, pushing the adults out of the way and causing them to become angry. The negative thoughts about the skateboarders eased up a bit when they were able to find the commercially made skateboards, as steering and control was much better than on the home-made. Once the sport began to be celebrated in competitions and exhibits, the skaters began to wear protective gear such as gloves, knee and elbow pads and helmets, and soon just as in the US the sport was on its way to becoming the multi-million dollar industry it is today. There are skate parks throughout the entire country of South Africa, and draw many skaters each year to their competitions.
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Tags: Cape Town luxury hotel, Dogtown and Z-Boys, greatest California skateboarders of all time