Dogtown South is an article about a young man named Lincoln Ueda. Mr. Ueda is a pro skateboarder who came off the streets of Brazil $180,000 a year. Now this isn’t much compared to the soccer players of his home town but it’s what he loves to do and has paid off his father’s auto shop and pays for his diabetic father’s medical bills. Mr. Ueda’s career started when he was 12 years old. His father had fought to purchase him and his brother skateboards for Christmas in 1988. He would skate and compete for 4 years before having to take a break due to injury and a recession. After getting back into the game in 1996 he reached the finals of the “Slam City Jam”. After this he moved to California in 1998. He now has sponsors from Nike, Hurley, Element, Etnies and Electric Sunglasses.
Skateboarding is so popular in Brazil because it is the sport for the underdog. At home basketball is one of the most popular sports in the U.S; all you need is a ball and net. In Brazil that sport is skateboarding, all you need is a set of wheels. As the article puts it “Brazilian skateboarders are like the American black man was in basketball.” It is important for business to recognize when products are popular in other countries because they can see what kinds of activities these people are taking part in. By doing so they know what they can sell to these people and what they can get back from them. Mr. Ueda’s first sponsor was a Guarulhos surfing and skateboarding shop. This was important because the shop allowed Ueda to practice for free at the skating facility. If they hadn’t Ueda might not be able to do as many of his tricks.
Skate boarding is popular because it is fun and full of suspense. People flying into the air, making 360’s, grinding on bars; it is probably one of the most exciting games out there. In my opinion skateboarding is awesome. I cannot ride myself but I love to watch and see the cool stuff people can do. It takes lots of hard work and practice so I give respect to these people.
Skateboarding was started in southern California in the 1950 when surfers got the idea to “surf” the streets. They took boards of wood and put wheels on them. Many different forms all came out at the same time so there has never been any proof of the first person to create one. Different people used different forms to come up with the best way to surf the streets. Frank Nasworthy created urethane wheels which are close to what most people use today. He flourished the skating industry when it took a drive into a recession in 1972. Slave Skateboards is the most profitable company in the skateboarding industry.
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