Skateboarding is unique in that, at once and at the same time, it's athletic and artistic. In order to be an excellent skateboarder, or even a professional rider, you have to have a certain degree of athletic talent which needs to be harnessed and honed. Balance, strength and speed are all part and parcel of learning how to master all the tricks and moves which skateboarders daringly perform and execute on a regular basis. On the other hand, skateboarding is just as much performance as it is technique. Moving and balancing your body gracefully as you navigate a board across sidewalks, pipes and other urban structures gives skateboarding its unique and wonderful beauty.

There are other opposite spectrum junctions in which skateboarding resides. For example, skateboarding began as an underground activity. Originally meant as an alternative to surfing when the ocean waves aren't being too cooperative, the first boarders were seen as members of the counterculture. And, depending on who you ask and where you park your vantage point, one may feel that skateboarding today is still a pursuit only followed by those of an anti-social ilk.

However, if that is indeed the case, then one must attempt to explain the absolutely massive explosion in popularity that skateboarding has enjoyed recently. It seems that more and more people of all ages and all life experiences are deciding to hop on a skateboard any try it for themselves. In addition, skateboarding is becoming more prevalent in terms of acceptance and exposure. More and more municipal governments are allocating funds to build skate parks. And television networks are dedicating more and more programming to extreme sports, which includes skateboarding.