Skateboarding made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Yeah, remember those years? It was quite a long, windy, downright bumpy road to get there and came with more than a few opposing opinions, but it’s hard to argue what it’s done for this little subculture of ours ever since.
Plus, in my humble opinion, it has undeniably become one of the most entertaining sports to watch at the Games. It’s no secret the IOC (International Olympic Committee) wanted the Olympics to appeal to a younger audience. So, adding skateboarding (and surfing) to the Tokyo 2020 lineup was certainly a safe bet.
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At any rate, the impact of skateboarding joining the Olympics stretches way beyond simple entertainment. The extra visibility alone has been insane, if you really think about it, and all those new eyeballs staring down at our favorite skaters on the World Stage has helped skateboarding in a ton of different ways.
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Think about it? More skateboarders mean more sales at local skate shops, for instance. More sales at local skate shops means more community building. More skateboarders and community building means more brands, fans and soon-to-be lifers all the same. It’s a beautiful spiderweb that continues to be spun.
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It’s still interesting, though. Attracting all these new fans (while inspiring a new generation of rippers) is a pretty big responsibility. Skateboarding is a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but respecting the past while appreciating the future is absolutely necessary.
Many of us have seen the money roll in as fast as we’ve seen it fade away. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again, and again, and again… but hey, we’re here to focus on the now.
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The spotlight is great, but again, skateboarding itself is far bigger than the Olympics. In fact, if I’m being honest, I often wonder, „Who needs who more?“ And while I’m not here to debate (nor do I have the energy—been there, done that), I’ll still happily admit skateboarding’s inclusion in the Olympic Games has been really cool to witness. I’m a supporter.
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What a wild three to four years it’s been, though, right? I will say, one of the highlights for me has been witnessing the camaraderie among all the participating skaters.
When we think of Olympic athletes, we think of these hyper-competitive machines who will do almost anything to beat their opponent and snatch that gold medal. (At least I certainly do.)
Skateboarders are different.
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They’re all friends, they’re all supporting each other and they all want to see each other killing it. It’s just another reason skateboarding absolutely rules. The sense of community and mutual support between our competitors is all too familiar, and was a major standout for me in Tokyo. I’m humbled the same can be said right now during the 2024 Paris Olympics, and I’m confident the same will be said every four years moving forward.
Okay, enough from me, though. Time to shut up and skate.
Thumbnail Photo: World Skate / Atiba Jefferson
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