Original Skateboard Maneuver Chart

Description (Brief):

This large, fold out, “Original Skateboard Maneuver” chart is printed on brown paper with handwritten notes. It includes different skateboarding tricks and instructions on how to execute them. Michael Hays created this chart and it represents, what he believes, is the first diagram of connectivity between skateboard maneuvers. This is what the "Street Survival" video's instructional format is based upon. The “Street Survival” video is an instructional video that teaches viewers rudimentary information about the sport & lifestyle of skateboarding and skateboarding tricks. This video was written, produced and directed by the donors George Leichtweis President and Producer of Reel Thing Productions, Inc. and Owner of Modern Skate and Surf Company and Michael Hays Vice President and Director of Reel Thing Productions. Inc. and Manager of Modern Skate and Surf Company.

Description (Brief)

Before video was common, skateboarders had to rely on skate magazines to learn tricks through photographs. Videos, such as “Street Survival,” revolutionized the way skaters learned tricks and increased the sport’s popularity worldwide. The star of the video is Bill Danforth also known as "The American Nomad" for his compulsion to travel anywhere to skate. A Detroit native, Bill Danforth began skating in the 1970s with his first skate deck issued in 1986. He became a member of Tony Alva's skate team in the late 1980s and skated in Thrasher’s King of the Road in 2005. Danforth still skates and teaches today, and is widely respected among old and new skaters for his resilience and natural ability.

Date Made: 19881980s

Maker: Hays, Michael Alan

Location: Currently not on view

Subject: skateboarding, Sports, Professional

See more items in: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure, Skateboarding, Sports & Leisure

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 2013.3045.06Nonaccession Number: 2013.3045Catalog Number: 2013.3045.06

Object Name: chart, skateboardingskateboarding maneuver chart

Physical Description: paper (overall material)Measurements: overall: 21 1/2 in x 25 in; 54.61 cm x 63.5 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-ded1-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1448384

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.