Fearless at the (Indy) 500 Record Jump

plan B skateboard

The Plan B Skateboarding team was founded in 1991 by Mike Ternasky, Jackson Kontzer, and Gabriel Torres.

In 1994, Mike Ternasky was killed in a car accident, leaving the ownership of the company in the hands of Danny Way and Colin McKay, and Michael Ternasky's wife who temporarily shelved the company and the team in 1998.

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Tony Hawk's son Riley has some skills

alva skateboards

Alva skateboards is a company started by Tony Alva, one of the Lords of Dogtown and pioneers of skateboarding. Alva's skateboard decks are made by a company that has been a pillar in the skateboarding industry since the 70s.

Tony Alva is one of the original Z-Boys and is considered to be one of the most influential skateboarders of all time.

He was born in Santa Monica, California and comes from a Mexican American family. The level of aggression with which Alva skated was in stark contrast to the traditional style of the era which was still based around tricks formulated in the 1960s. Alva and the other Z-Boys were among the first to bring skating empty pools into the mainstream. In these early days, it was noted that Alva was hitting the lip so hard that he was actually taking off, hence Alva is often credited for the first recorded aerials, a frontside air, although Alva himself claimed that George Orton was the first to perform aerials (Skateboarder magazine, July, 1978).

In 1977, at age nineteen, Alva shunned the major skate companies to form his own skateboard company, Alva Skates. Alva's company was the first company ever run and owned by a skateboarder as well as being one of the first to use layered maple plywood for the skate decks.

                                

Element Skateboards

  Element Skateboards (originally called Elephantworld Element Skateboards) is a skateboard manufacturer and surfwear retailer based in Irvine,California. It is a subsidiary of Australian clothing giants Billabong International.

The company was founded in 1992 by Johnny Schillereff as a collaboration called Underworld Element Skateboards. The struggling company was later absorbed by Schilleriff and the "Underworld" portion of the name dropped.

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birdhouse skateboards

Birdhouse Skateboards (originally Birdhouse Projects) is a skateboard company formed by ex-Powell Peralta pros Tony Hawk and Per Welinder in 1992.

Birdhouse is part of the Blitz Distribution family who also distribute Baker Skateboards, Flip Skateboards, Fury Trucks, Hook-Ups Skateboards and SK8MAFIA Skateboards.

Birdhouse makes decks and wheels, as well as clothing and accessories.

 After the skateboard boom of the late 1980s had died former Powell Peralta Pro Freestyle skateboarder Per Welinder wanted to stay involved with skateboarding by starting a company. Welinder had originally asked Powell Peralta pro skateboarder Lance Mountain to be his equal partner in the venture. Mountain declined as he only wanted to start a skateboard company if he had 100% ownership. Mountain later founded The Firm Skateboards (now defunct). Welinder later asked another Powell Peralta pro skateboarder Tony Hawk to be 50-50 partners in this new skateboard company. Hawk gladly accepted as he felt his time in skateboarding was nearly over due to the lack of interest in vert skating caused by the popularity of street skating. Welinder and Hawk decided to name their new skateboard company Birdhouse Projects, Birdhouse being a reference to Hawk's last name.

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Bearings

Each skateboard wheel is mounted on its axle via two bearings. With few exceptions, the bearings are the industrial standard "608" size, with a bore of 8 mm, an outer diameter of 22 mm, and a width of 7 mm. These are usually made of steel, though silicon nitride, a high-tech ceramic, is sometimes used. Many skateboard bearings are graded according to the ABEC scale. The scale starts with ABEC1 as the lowest, 3, 5, 7, 9. It is a common misconception that the higher ABECs are better for skateboarding, as the ABEC rating only measures tolerances, which do not necessarily apply to skateboards.



The ABEC rating does not determine how fast or how durable a bearing used for skateboarding will be. In particular, the ABEC rating says nothing about how well a bearing handles axial (side-to-side) loads, which are severe in most skateboard applications. Many companies do not show the ABEC rating, such as Bones Bearings, which makes bearings specifically for skateboarding, often marketed as "Skate Rated". Each bearing usually contains 7 steel or ceramic ball bearings, although other configurations are used as well.

grip tape

Grip tape is a sheet paper or fabric with adhesive on one side and a surface similar to fine sand paper on the other. Grip tape is applied to the top surface of a board to allow the rider's feet to grip the surface and help the skater stay on the board while doing tricks. Grip tape is usually black, but is also available in various colors, camo, and even clear. Often times they have designs die-cut to show the color of the board, or to show off the board's company logo.

wheels

The wheels of a skateboard, usually made of polyurethane, come in many different sizes and shapes to suit different types of skating. Larger sizes like 54–85 mm roll faster, and also move more easily over cracks in pavement. Smaller sizes like 48–54 mm keep the board closer to the ground, require less force to accelerate and produce a lower center of gravity, but also make for a slower top speed. Wheels also are available in a variety of hardnesses usually measured on the Shore durometer "A" scale. Wheels range from the very soft (about Shore A 75) to the very hard (about Shore A 101). As the A scale stops at 100, any wheels labeled 101A or higher are harder, but do not use the appropriate durometer scale. Some wheel manufacturers now use the "B" or "D" scales, which have a larger and more accurate range of hardness. Modern street skaters prefer smaller wheels (usually 51–54 mm), as small wheels with lighter trucks can make tricks like kickflips and other flip tricks easier by keeping the center of gravity of the skateboard closer to the deck, thus making the deck easier to spin.


                      
Street wheels are often quite hard as this allows the wheels to slide easier on waxed surfaces for bluntslides and nose/tailslides. Vertical ramp or "vert" skating requires larger wheels (usually 55–65 mm), as it involves higher speeds. Vert wheels are also usually softer, allowing them to maintain high speed on ramps without sliding. Slalom skating requires even larger wheels (60–75 mm) to sustain the highest speeds possible. They also need to be soft and have better grip to make the tight and frequent turns in slalom racing. Even larger wheels are used in longboarding and downhill skateboarding. Sizes range from 65 mm to 100 mm. These extreme sizes of wheels almost always have cores of hard plastic that can be made thinner and lighter than a solid polyurethane wheel. They are often used by skateboard videographers as well, as the large soft wheels allow for smooth and easy movement over any terrain.

truks

Attached to the deck are two metal (usually aluminum alloy) trucks, which connect to the wheels and deck. The trucks are further composed of two parts. The top part of the truck is screwed to the deck and is called the baseplate, and beneath it is the hanger. The axle runs through the hanger. Between the baseplate and the hanger are bushings, also rubbers or grommets, that provide the cushion mechanism for turning the skateboard. The bushings cushion the truck when it turns. The stiffer the bushings, the more resistant the skateboard is to turning. The softer the bushings, the easier it is to turn. A bolt called akingpin holds these parts together and fits inside the bushings. Thus by tightening or loosening the kingpin nut, the trucks can be adjusted loosely for better turning and tighter for more stability. Standard Kingpin nut size is 3/8" - 24tpi.


                            

Skateboard trucks are manufactured in a number of different axle widths. In general an axle width should be chosen that is close to the width of the deck it will be used with. For example, a 7.75" wide deck will usually be fitted with trucks that have axles between 7.5" wide and 8.0" wide. (Standard truck axel nut size is 5/16"-24tpi UNF, and the thinner "jam" style with an optional nylon lock.) Trucks that are too wide can make doing tricks difficult and can cause the wheels to get in the way when the skateboard is being ridden. Trucks that are too small can be hard to maintain stability and can cause wheel bite to occur when turning.

Longboard specific trucks are a more recent development. A longboard truck has the king pin laid at a more obtuse angle (usually between 38 and 50 degrees) to the deck, this gives a lesser degree of turning for the same tilt of the deck. This allows riders to go much faster while still maintaining stability and control.

Giant strides have been made in the truck industry over the years. In late 2007, Gullwing Truck Company manufactured a truck named "Sidewinder" that can pivot on two different angles, thus greatly decreasing the turning radius of the board, resulting in a greater feel between the rider and the sidewalk.

deck

Most decks are constructed with a six to seven-ply cross-laminated maple wood. Some of them have special materials that help to keep the deck from breaking: such as fiberglass, bamboo, resin, Kevlar, carbon fiber, aluminum, and plastic. Some decks made from maple ply are dyed to create various different coloured ply. Modern decks vary in size, but most are 7 to 10.5 inches (17.78 to 26.67 centimeters) wide. Wider decks can be used for greater stability when transition or ramp skating. Skateboard decks are usually between 28 and 33 inches (71.12 and 83.82 centimetres) long. The underside of the deck can be printed with a design by the manufacturer, blank, or decorated by any other means. On early year 2010 a European Company Gravitis introduced the proprietary asymmetric shape, with decentered twin tips to enhance the rider's stance.

The longboard, a common variant of the skateboard, has a longer deck. This is mostly ridden down hills or by the beach to represent the riding of a wave in the ocean on a surfboard. This was created by two surfers; Ben Whatson and Jonny Drapper. One of the first deck companies was called "Drapped" taken from Jonny's second name. "Old school" boards (those made in the 1970s–80s or modern boards that mimic their shape) are generally wider and often have only one kicktail. Variants of the 1970s often have little or no concavity, whereas 1980s models have deeper concavities and steeper kicktails.

Grip tape, when applied to the top surface of a skateboard, gives a skater's feet grip on the deck. It is most often black but can come in a variety of colors including clear, allowing the top of the deck to be decorated. It has an adhesive back and a sandpaper-like top.

Bam margera

Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera (pronounced  born September 28, 1979) is an American professional skateboarder, television and radio personality, actor and daredevil. He released a series of videos under the CKY banner and came to prominence after being drafted into MTV's Jackass crew. He has since appeared in MTV's Viva La Bam and Bam's Unholy Union, all three Jackass movies, and Haggard and Minghags, both of which he co-wrote and directed.

Skateboarding career

Since 2003, Margera has been a member of Team Element, the demonstration team for Element Skateboards. He is also sponsored by Speed Metal Bearings, Adio Footwear, and Fairman's Skateshop.