{"id":1180,"date":"2025-07-22T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/?p=1180"},"modified":"2025-07-23T08:12:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T08:12:23","slug":"super-surfer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/super-surfer\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSuper Surfer\u201d: The Joyriding Device and Childish Menace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the dawn of the 1960s, skateboarding burst onto the scene so quickly that parents and community leaders were unsure how to deal with the \u201ccraze.\u201d While it began as a form of leisure for surfers when the waves were idle, it quickly became a habitual sidewalk activity for America\u2019s youth. Some of the earliest skateboards were constructed using wood planks and steel wheels from roller skates. In time, surfboard manufacturers began distributing the skateboard as one complete item. The increased production allowed a child living in the suburbs\u2014thousands of miles from ocean waves\u2014to “surf” the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Hobie’s “Super Surfer,” Half shot of board, Owner: James Howard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the most popular manufacturers was Hobie, a California surfboard company that began shaping surfboards in 1950. Hobie\u2019s most popular skateboard model was the Super Surfer. Fitted with clay wheels and a deck around 6 inches wide, the \u201csuper surfer\u201d was one of the first skateboards to be mass-produced. Between 1963 and 1965, manufacturers sold over 50 million skateboards across the US. But the increased presence of skateboarders had a social reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1965, Life<\/em> magazine warned parents that while it may be a \u201cjoyriding device\u201d for their children, it was also a \u201cmenace to limb and even to life.\u201d<\/a> Newspaper editorials ran stories on the injuries resulting from skateboarding. US cities moved quickly to ban the act of skateboarding in public spaces\u2014a common city practice even to this day. Director Claude Jutra’s 1969 mockumentary, The Devil\u2019s Toy<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> depicted scenes of police confiscating skateboards and children running away, much like burglars at a robbery scene. As a result of the adverse public reaction, sales declined in the late 1960s. By the early 1970s, \u201cNo Skateboarding\u201d signs were ubiquitously posted in town squares, public parks, and along sidewalks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historians of childhood and youth note that parental panics are intense episodes where adult fears of childish activities are dramatically exaggerated. Perhaps the rapid production and child consumerism generated a \u201ccraze\u201d that shocked parents into a fearful reaction. However, as manufacturers argued, the number of injuries incurred from skateboarding was on par with (or lower) than that of bicycles, scooters, and roller skates. The early days of the \u201csuper surfer\u201d and its quick decline thus demonstrate how alarmist responses created a stigma around a childish commodity. More than just a harmful activity, Life <\/em>opined that skateboarding ignited \u201ctoo much moxie\u201d among America\u2019s children, creating \u201cmayhem in the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

James Howard<\/strong> is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at Baylor University. His research focuses on religion and reform in antebellum America and teaches courses on American childhood and youth within a global context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the dawn of the 1960s, skateboarding burst onto the scene so quickly that parents and community leaders were unsure how to deal with the \u201ccraze.\u201d While it began as a form of leisure for surfers when the waves were idle, it quickly became a habitual sidewalk activity for America\u2019s youth. Some of the earliest skateboards were constructed using wood planks and steel wheels from roller skates. In time, surfboard manufacturers began distributing the skateboard as one complete item. The increased production allowed a child living in the suburbs\u2014thousands of miles from ocean waves\u2014to “surf” the streets. One of the most<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childish-things"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cSuper Surfer\u201d: The Joyriding Device and Childish Menace - Digital Childhoods<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/super-surfer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cSuper Surfer\u201d: The Joyriding Device and Childish Menace - Digital Childhoods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At the dawn of the 1960s, skateboarding burst onto the scene so quickly that parents and community leaders were unsure how to deal with the \u201ccraze.\u201d While it began as a form of leisure for surfers when the waves were idle, it quickly became a habitual sidewalk activity for America\u2019s youth. 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