Why are today’s skaters so good, and how can you make progress in skateboarding easily?
The coach used his recent trip to the United States to find answers to these questions.
Start skateboarding, discover new spots, adapt or improve your skating, modern cities and their architecture play a major role in the development of our sport: skateboarding
What do San Francisco and Avignon have in common? At first glance, it doesn't seem directly related to progress and skill levels in skateboarding. That's what we're going to explore here.
By contrasting a small historic city in southern France (Avignon) with the epicentre of world skateboarding in the United States (San Francisco, California), we'll try to understand how skaters improve their level.
In this comprehensive article, we'll start with a little skateboarding history, then look at today's developments and how we can help you learn and improve your skating.
Videos will guide you throughout the article, and we will illustrate our explanations as much as possible.
Welcome if you're passionate about skateboarding and progress. The professional coach Max Cherarak Will answer any questions you may have.
A few lines on skateboard history
Skateboarding began in California in the 1950s, when surfers wanted to recreate the sensations of the sea on land. They attached roller-skate wheels to wooden boards, creating the first skateboards. In the 1960s, skateboarding grew in popularity, especially with the arrival of urethane wheels and the first competitions.
In the 1970s, equipment innovations such as board shapes and the first reinforced trucks (axles) made more aerial tricks possible. It was during this period that tricks such as the ollie were invented by Alan Gelfand, allowing skateboarding to evolve toward acrobatic tricks.
The 1980s saw the emergence of skateboard culture, with iconic brands and legendary skaters like Tony Hawk. Skateboarding became a global phenomenon, and street skateboarding became more popular than vert skateboarding.
In the 2000s and 2010s, skateboarding became an integral part of urban culture, with a strong influence on fashion and music. In 2020, skateboarding was introduced to the Olympic Games, formalising its status as a competitive sport.
Today, skateboarding continues to evolve, with a new generation of skaters exploring diverse terrains and creative practices. Skateboarding is more than ever a means of expression, while remaining a popular street sport around the world.
Visit to San Francisco
San Francisco is full of spots and part of the history of modern skateboarding.
In this video, Max takes you on a tour to discover SF’s iconic spots with him.
The history of skateboarding in San Francisco
San Francisco, known for its downhills, steep hills, unique climate and bohemian atmosphere, is also a key birthplace in skateboard history. Long before skateboarding became a globally recognised sport, the San Francisco Bay Area played a major role in its evolution, contributing to its culture and major innovations.
The origins of skateboarding in San Francisco
The region’s first skaters in the early 1960s were mainly Californian surfers trying to recreate the feeling of riding outside the water. After the Second World War, California, particularly San Francisco, became a playground for the first skateboard inventors. Skaters such as those from “Hang Ten” (a group of surfers) turned to skateboarding when there were no waves, and many pioneers explored the first forms of urban skateboarding in San Francisco.
The 1970s saw skateboarding’s popularity explode in San Francisco, with stronger boards and urethane wheels offering better grip and performance. But the rise of tricks really defined the era, as the city’s skaters redefined the limits of what could be done with a board. The birth of new techniques such as the “ollie” — a manoeuvre that lets you jump with the board without using your hands — was one of the major turning points in this evolution.
5 Iconic Skate Spots in San Francisco
- The Embarcadero
The Embarcadero is probably the most emblematic spot in San Francisco. This seafront, once an industrial area, became a favourite spot for skaters, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. The famous Embarcadero Fountain and its steps were the subject of videos and iconic photos. It is here that legends like Mike Carroll and Rob Dyrdek forged their reputation in the street skate world. - Pier 7
Pier 7, right next to the Embarcadero, is another must-see spot. Known for its long wooden benches and perfect curbs (at the time) for the grinds, this place is a real institution. In the 1990s, Pier 7 became one of the most filmed spots, especially in the legendary film "Mouse" of the brand Plan B, where skaters like Danny Way and Colin McKay revolutionised street tricks. - Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, although not directly associated with street skating, is a meeting place for skaters in San Francisco. It is home to several skateparks, including the famous "Golden Gate Park Skatepark", one of the first skateparks created in the 1970s. This park is a training ground for skaters and a must-see destination for those looking for a more community atmosphere. - SOMA (South of Market)
The SOMA neighbourhood was a centre of street skateboarding’s emergence in the early 1990s. It has many street spots, including ramps, rails and stair handrails. SOMA’s creative energy has made it a skateboarding hub in San Francisco, attracting skaters from all over the world. - China Banks
Located in China town, this legendary street skateboarding spot is famous for its concrete benches and unique layouts. Popular since the 1990s, it has welcomed legendary skaters like Danny Way, pat duffy and dennis Buzenitz. Despite the current restrictions, it remains a symbol of the city’s urban skate scene.
San Francisco: The cradle of modern skate culture
San Francisco is not only a physical playground for skaters, but also a cultural crucible where the values of the skate scene flourished. The mix of innovation, physical challenge, creativity and anti-conformist attitude that characterizes skate culture finds its roots in the city.
The skate scene in San Francisco saw the emergence of iconic brands like Plan B Skateboards and Santa Cruz, which had a worldwide influence. Through videos and competition performances, the city’s skaters popularized tricks that became iconic and inspired new styles of skating.
Today, San Francisco remains a place where younger generations can discover skateboarding in all its forms, from street to park. The city continues to be a centre of innovation in both board design and tricks. San Francisco also hosts high-level competitions, such as the Street League Skateboarding, and events like the SF Street Skateboarding Open attract skaters from around the world.
San Francisco’s aura in today’s skateboarding world
San Francisco retains a very special place in the world of skateboarding. It is seen as a city where the history of sport is intimately linked to that of Californian urban culture, street art and the evolution of the attitude of the "do-it-yourself" (DIY). The city continues to nurture an ecosystem of young talents and influential creators, with local shops and skate brands, while being an experimental ground for new styles and techniques.
San Francisco also symbolizes skateboarding’s inclusiveness: unlike other sports, skateboarding does not distinguish between ages, genders or skill levels. As a cradle of the skateboarding spirit, the city continues to attract a global community of amateur and professional skaters who come not only to skate, but also to soak up the creative energy flowing through its streets.
Conclusion
San Francisco, the true historical capital of skateboarding, remains a constant inspiration for skaters around the world. The city's legendary spots have become places of pilgrimage for all those who seek to understand and feel skate culture in its purest essence. San Francisco continues to play a central role in the evolution of skateboarding on a global scale with its legacy, emblematic places and strong aura.
But honestly… the spots aren’t that easy
Global progress
To put things into perspective for you, our head coach Max Cherarak has been skateboarding since 2000 (25 years of skateboarding) and teaching for over 17 years.
And since 2008 (17 years), we've been supporting skaters of all levels. So we joined the skateboarding journey when it was already well underway.
We’re from the generation in between.
Skaters used to be seen as outsiders who skated parking lots with rock music blasting. Today, we are entering an era of athletic development, and some skaters in the USA earn salaries for their competition results comparable to footballers at Europe’s biggest clubs.
Start skateboarding
Today, we have access to content from experienced people who have already made the mistakes and share results that would have taken us decades to reproduce.
That's what we call the “benchmark”. Things we once thought impossible are now possible, and so it continues. The benchmarks change. It's the same in every field.
Example
To illustrate the point, let's take artificial intelligence as an example. Chat GPT came out in 2024; its competitors will want to stand out, so they'll release an AI that performs better than the benchmark, and so on… The process is endless.
As skaters from the 2000s, we grew up inspired by the skaters of that era. We’ve updated our influences over the years. But newer skaters grow up with a different benchmark: today’s standards are higher than those of the 2000s.
This is how the process works and how progress happens. It applies to every sport, equipment, technology… That’s how the world works. Everything feeds back into itself.
Start skateboarding
So starting in skateboarding today is easier than starting in the 2000s and even easier than starting in the 1980s for a lot of reasons (technical, material, societal, educational...)
We've been here for over 17 years and have chosen to specialise in teaching and coaching skateboarding: for skaters, by skaters.
Our club welcomes you every day. We offer skateboard lessons with qualified professionals who will help you learn to skate safely and have fun, while saving time as you progress.
Progressing in skateboarding
Now that we have understood how the progression process works, let's see how we can use it in practice.
To progress in skateboarding, you need an interest in the sport. You’ll have to keep trying—probably a lot. Just like anything else: learning to read music, learning to ride a bike or learning to swim.
We're increasingly understanding that sporting progress and performance depend on the physical side, but also—and especially—on the mental side.
Perhaps even more so in skateboarding, where every fall and failed attempt can be frustrating or even dangerous. Could visualising your tricks help you succeed and progress?
Mental preparation: 5 tips from a coach to improve your skateboarding
In this video, the coach explains how to progress in skateboarding: first set clear goals in your mind, then put actions in place to move towards them.
- Find an ambitious but not discouraging goal
- Every try brings you closer to your goal
- Don’t count your attempts
- Enjoy making progress
- Ask for advice if necessary
Physical training: Core workout for skaters
Body and mind are connected.
Want to handle impacts better or simply feel good? This guided core workout (abs) is here to help, whatever your age or level.
Avignon and its surroundings
Avignon is far from ideal for skateboarding. Its historic architecture leaves skaters with few street spots to get stuck into.
But over the years, we've tried to address this problem by getting involved and contributing to the creation and development of new skateparks. Et par extension à l’émergence d’une nouvelle scène de skateboard.
For a region with few street spots, we're in one of France's best-equipped areas for skateparks.
Compared with San Francisco, Avignon has very few street spots and a modest local skate history. But for a small city, we’re surrounded by a lot of skateparks—proportionally more than San Francisco.
Our skateboard courses in the region
Find us at all these skateparks. We run skateboard lessons every day, in groups or private sessions, with group and individual lessons for children and adults.
From introductory sessions and discovery to training in High Level, Old Skullz Skateboard brings over 17 years of experience teaching skateboarding. Camps, trips and skate lessons.
“To learn skateboarding easily and quickly”
Old Skullz is a national skateboarding school whose mission is to inspire the next generation of riders. The club is the ideal place to spark passions, encourage personal development and build skateboarding skills while having fun, and much more.
We help you progress through immersive experiences of the next generation.
