Skateboarding is not a crime is a slogan advocating for the right of anyone to enjoy skateboarding. [1]
In 1987 skateboard company Powell Peralta initiated an advertising campaign using "skateboarding is not a crime" as their slogan. [2] Their 1988 advertising video, Public Domain, showed skateboarders in various locations which displayed stickers showing the slogan. [1]
In 1997 skateboard company NHS, Inc. began formal use of the slogan for their brand. [1]
Various commentators in the skateboarding community have discussed what the phrase means to them. [3] [4] [5]
Skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics raised the profile of the sport, leading commentators to reflect on how skateboarding has been called a crime but now people take it more seriously. [6]
The phrase has been used to advertise skateparks in locations where skateboarding is encouraged. [7] It has also been used for the opposite to explain where skateboarding is discouraged. [8]
Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue, with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding would be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, for both male and female teams.
Anthony Frank Hawk, nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documented "900" skateboarding trick in 1999. He also licensed a skateboarding video game series named after him published by Activision that same year. He retired from competing professionally in 2003 and is regarded as one of the most influential skateboarders of all time.
John Rodney Mullen is an American professional skateboarder who practices freestyle skateboarding and street skateboarding. He is considered one of the most influential skaters in the history of the sport, being credited for inventing numerous tricks, including the flatground ollie, kickflip, heelflip, impossible, and 360-flip. As a result, he has been called the "Godfather of modern freestyle skating."
Mike Vallely, also known as Mike V, is an American professional skateboarder and musician. Since November 2013, he has been the lead vocalist of the hardcore punk band Black Flag. Vallely is the second-longest-serving member of the band, although he has not appeared on any albums.
Powell Peralta is an American skateboard company founded by George Powell and Stacy Peralta in 1978. The company rose to prominence in the 1980s as skateboarding began maturing as a sport. The company featured the Bones Brigade, a team featuring the era's top competitors. Peralta left the company in 1991 and Powell continued to produce skateboard equipment as Powell, Bones Bearings and RollerBones. The two company founders reunited to produce the company's now classic inventory under the name Powell Classic.
Stacy Douglas Peralta is an American film director and entrepreneur. He was previously a professional skateboarder and surfer with the Zephyr Competition Team, also known as the Z-Boys, from Venice, California.
Tommy Guerrero is a Native American musician, composer, and professional skateboarder.
Lords of Dogtown is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first production made by both Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $13 million at the box office.
Ray Barbee is an American skateboarder, photographer, and musician from San Jose, California.
Robert Lance Mountain is a professional skateboarder and artist who was one of the prominent skateboarders throughout the 1980s, primarily due to his involvement with the Bones Brigade. As of August 2017, Mountain continues to skate professionally and his sponsors include Flip, Nike SB, Independent Trucks, Spitfire Wheels, and Bones Bearings.
Mike McGill is an American skateboarder who is best known for inventing the trick entitled the "McTwist", an inverted 540 degree mute grab aerial.
Jim Thiebaud is an American skateboarder.
Birdhouse Skateboards is a skateboard company formed by ex-Powell Peralta professional skateboarders Tony Hawk and Per Welinder in 1992.
Colin McKay is a Canadian professional skateboarder who is widely recognized for his involvement with the original Plan B Skateboards "superteam" as well as the subsequent relaunch of the brand in 2005.
A skate video is a movie of or about skateboarding typically showing new tricks and a series of skateboarders in a montage set to music.
Dwindle Distribution, based in El Segundo, California, is an American skateboard distributor. It is a component of Transom Capital Group Limited. The company was founded by Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen. Its formation is recognized as a key event in the creation of a skateboard company owned by people actively involved in the skateboarding lifestyle.
Robert Doucet Boyce, known as Sluggo, is a professional skateboarder, snowboarder, break-dancer, gymnast, stuntman, and businessman from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Salman Agah is an American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur.
Andy Anderson is a Canadian professional skateboarder. Anderson is best known for his unique style, which blends classic tricks of the early decades of skateboarding with more modern techniques. Anderson is known for always wearing a protective helmet while skateboarding, which is extremely uncommon among professional street skateboarders. Anderson represented Canada in the men's park skateboarding event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The Portsmouth Square pedestrian bridge is a prominent architectural landmark in Chinatown, San Francisco that spans over Kearny Street from Portsmouth Square to the second floor and third floor of the Hilton San Francisco Financial District hotel, which houses the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco.