Skateboarding has seen a meteoric rise to become what it is today. What began early on as a way for surfers to get stoked when the waves were down has evolved today into anactual Olympic sport. However, it took half a century of growing pains for that to happen.
When one looks back at skateboarding’s progression over the years, the ’80s laid an unshakable foundation. Skate shops all over the world began getting VHS copies of films showing what could actually be done on skateboards, superstar athletes were born,Hollywood movies were made, and there was no looking back. Here are several of the most important films of the eighties that really kick-started what skateboarding has evolved into.
10Streets on Fire (1989)
Streets on Firefrom Santa Cruz Skateboards most notably featured the further street skating exploits of Natas Kaupas. Kids were familiar with Natas already from Santa Cruz’s first film (Wheels of Fire) and from the magazines, but no one was ready for the surf style street skills the Santa Monica kid was throwing down in this one, even climaxing with a never-before-seen fire hydrant spin. The soundtrack was epic, there was some amazing vert skating and some not so great acting, but Natas was clearly what everyone remembers.
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9Ban This (1989)
Ban Thiswas the sixth film produced by Powell Peralta and featured the most up-to-date skateboarding skills of the legendary Bones Brigade. The title of the film refers to the stigma that surrounded street skating as some type of outlaw activity. Although Tony Hawk and the rest of the Powell crew had some incredible parts in the film, street pioneers Frankie Hill and Ray Barbee were the real stars of this one. Hill took street skating to new heights with big handrails and large gaps, while Barbee’s fluidity and smooth precision left a lasting impression.
8Hokus Pokus (1989)
Hokus PokuswasH-Street’s second film documenting the team led by the rising prodigy Danny Way. Way was building on the technical foundation Tony Hawk had laid in skateboarding and taking it to a whole new level, transferring his excellent street skills to the vert ramps. The film also featured “Donger”, John “The Man” Reeves, Brian Lotti, and of course Matt Hensley who had established himself as one of the best in the world with a style more emulated than almost anyone else at the time.
7Shackle Me Not (1988)
Shackle Me Notwas H-Street’s first full length film and introduced the world to Matt Hensley’s skateboarding for the first time. People fell in love with Hensley’s style and creativity in the streets and soon every skater was trying to copy what they saw him doing. The film also helped introduce the skating ofan extremely gifted Danny Wayto a larger audience. Way literally blew everyone’s mind with what he was able to do on transition and vert. Still a young teen, Way was becoming seen as Tony Hawk version 2.0.
6Public Domain (1988)
Public Domainwas the fourth film produced by Powell Peralta and the real star of this one was New Jersey’s Mike Vallely. Up until this point, most of the top street skaters were known to be from the West Coast. However, Vallely was an East Coast guy and instead of just seeing one or two tricks in a clip, Vallely was shot doing long continuous lines. Also, the seeds of Rodney Mullen’s evolution from freestyle prodigy to street skater extraordinaire started to emerge with a mind-blowing part and Powell’s emerging stars Ray Barbee, Chet Thomas and Steve Saiz were also featured.
5Wheels of Fire (1987)
Wheels of Firecaptured a certain feeling about skateboarding that viewers had not really seen previously. Thanks to an incredible soundtrack with the likes of Black Flag, Sonic Youth, Firehose and more, along with the pool skating of Steve and Micke Alba and the stylings of Jeff Kendall and Rob Roskopp, this first film from Santa Cruz Skateboards left viewers with a feeling of the freedom and exhilaration of being a California skateboarder. And to top it all off, for the first time, Natas Kaupas is featured in a full part that really helped push street skating to new levels.
4The Search for Animal Chin (1987)
The Search for Animal Chinwas Powell Peralta’s third and biggest film to date when it was released. The plot involved the Bones Brigade searching famous skate spots all over the world for the mythological original skateboarder Won Ton “Animal” Chin who had gone missing. Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain and Tommy Guerrero search and search until they end up at the biggest and gnarliest half pipe anyone had ever seen. The crew never found Chin, but they found what he represents, the soul of skateboarding.
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3Thrashin' (1986)
Thrashin’is a full length Hollywood film that revolves around Corey Webster (played by Josh Brolin) training for an upcoming downhill skate contest in L.A. but runs into trouble when he falls for the sister of a local gang leader. The members of the gang, The Daggers, included roles played by some of the biggest names in skateboarding at the time. Pros Tony Alva, Christian Hosoi, Jesse Martinez, Steve Stedham and others were all part of this film that mixed familiar skateboarding figures and Hollywood cinema.
2Future Primitive (1985)
Powell Peralta’s first film became such a success for the company that they soon after began filmingFuture Primitive. Young new upstart Tommy Guerrero was added to the team and for the first time the world was introduced to his unique San Francisco brand of streetstyle skating. Also, most notable in Future Primitive was the debut of Mike McGill’s legendary trick, the McTwist – a 540-degree upside down spin on a vert ramp, and skateboarding would never be the same again.
1Bones Brigade Video Show (1984)
TheBones Brigade Video Showreally started it all for skateboarding films and was made to show the world what the new era of this fledgling “sport” was all about.Powell Peraltahad put together the premiere team consisting of Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero and Rodney Mullen and each of these individuals went on to have a monumental impact on skateboarding as a whole. The vert skating of Steve Stedham and the freestyle prowess of Per Welinder are also featured, but Lance’s casual cruising around the streets and skating different city spots was what really tied all the parts together and made the film inspiring and enjoyable to watch.
