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The Birth of Skateboard Culture

Dec 4, 2010 08:00 PM

Beautiful images from photographer Hugh Holland's recent show at M+B Gallery in L.A., "Locals Only", a portrait of 70s skateboard culture.

Children skateboarding outdoors on a sunny day.

"In the mid-Seventies, two events coincided in Southern California that gave rise to skateboarding as we now know it. The invention of the urethane wheel and the drought that emptied the pools across the city allowed the kids to ride their new boards in an entirely new way. Skateboarders, stoners, thrashers and bad-ass kids from different neighborhoods and backgrounds in Los Angeles began hitting the pavement after school and during the summer, creating a counter-culture that has inspired numerous books, songs, documentaries and films.

Skateboarder performing a trick on a road with directional markings.

From the flatland kids skating 'freestyle' to the canyon kids going vertical and carving up drained out pools—including soon-to-be legends Stacy Peralta and Jay Adams—Hugh Holland perfectly captured their youthful innocence and the energy of the movement."

A young boy performing a skateboarding trick on a sidewalk.

Skateboarder performing a trick on a street.

Skaters wearing colorful knee pads and socks lined up on a skate ramp.

Skateboarder performing a trick in a half-pipe.

More images here.

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