Research & study: Skateboarding teaches life skills & improves communities

“Skaters are excellent critical thinkers and problem-solvers who view success from a more communal perspective. They bring that insight into other areas of their lives which is valuable to any university or organization” are findings from a first-of-its-kind study about skateboarding culture, supported by the Tony Hawk Foundation and the legend himself, finally reveals and (statistically) proves, that skateboarding improves mental health, fosters community, and encourages diversity and resilience.

Probably most skateboarders are aware, which positive impact this activity, for some the first love, for most a lifestyle and for all a global community of people from several backgrounds with often a similar approach to life— but for most people outside of skateboarding, its still merely just another sport “on a useless wooden toy” practiced by some rebellious kids and teenagers on the streets”.

But the narrative around skateboarding is changing
“Educational and cultural institutions are beginning to engage with skateboarding in new ways. Skateboard-focused non-profits, after-school programs, and summer camps are rapidly developing. Skateboarding is at the forefront of style and taste-making in popular culture. With the 2020 Olympics on the horizon, we expect even greater attention directed toward skateboarding and skateboarders (skaters). At the same time, skaters still thrive — and sometimes prefer to function — on the margins of mainstream society. Despite growing visibility and popularity, negative misconceptions regarding skateboarding persist. Unfavorable stereotypes affect resource allocation for skaters and impact the treatment they receive from non-skaters. Skaters are often not considered by municipalities, and educational and cultural institutions in the same manner as their other constituents.”

“Beyond the Board” study included a survey that targeted 13-25 years-olds in the US and received over 5,000 responses including a significant number from skaters who identified as female and/or as a skater of color. Interviews were also conducted with 120 skaters and skate community stakeholders in seven cities across the US. The findings fly in the face of commonly-held misperceptions around skateboarding culture: “Our research shows that through skateboarding, skaters develop the ability to communicate and build relationships with people from diverse backgrounds” highlights Neftalie Williams of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, a scholar in race and skateboarding culture and also an expert in skate diplomacy who served as a researcher and co-author on this project. The study also explored how the skills that skaters have learned could be better understood by educators, community leaders, and organizations the same way that people understand the values of traditional sports while introducing them to the benefits of the lifestyle of most skateboarders.

Key findings from the study include:
“Skateboarding improves mental health: The vast majority of skaters surveyed indicated they skateboard for fun and/or to relieve stress. This finding takes on great significance in light of teen suicide rates and the prevalence of depression.”
“Skateboarding and skateparks facilitate a sense of community among skaters: Skateboarders reported the value of connecting with people who share similar passions in skateparks, skate shops, and at skating events. Those encounters often facilitate intercultural communication and offer skaters the opportunity to interact with, and gain an increased understanding of, skaters of diverse racial, age and gender backgrounds.”
“Skateboarding encourages resilience: The nature of skateboarding requires skaters to learn on their own and develop their own strategies to succeed. Skaters frequently perform a trick hundreds of times over long periods before developing proficiency or experiencing reward for the efforts. Skaters in the study reported that they apply these lessons of resilience to their lives outside of skateboarding.”
“Gender and race matter: The study also showed that skaters of color felt a greater degree of safety from judgment within the skateboarding community than in nonskate contexts. Female skaters indicated they believe they are judged by their gender both in and out of skateboarding contexts.”

Skateparks & Skatespots improve Communities
When asked “Why do you skateboard?”, the top two reasons cited indicate a strong connection between skateboarding and mental well-being: to have fun (76%) and get away from stress (62%). Why is having fun important? At first glance, the fact that skaters appreciate having fun might not seem like a significant finding. The finding takes on increased importance, however, when considered in conjunction with statistics about the challenges young people face in today’s society. In many instances, spaces dedicated to skateboarding — such as skateparks, skate shops or skateboard programs — facilitated community. Our data show that skate shops often served as an anchor for a region’s skateboarding community. Skateboard-related non-profits created an avenue for respondents to informally develop friendships with other skaters — and more formally with mentors. Skateparks served as places for people of different backgrounds to interact with each other. Interactions were not colorblind — racism was called out when it existed — but most often, the skatepark provided a unique space for people from different backgrounds to connect. Female-identified skaters, in several instances, expressed a desire for spaces dedicated to supporting female skaters. Multi-generational interactions were also common and put skaters in a position to communicate with people from different age brackets and cultural backgrounds. Informal mentorship often occurred in skate parks, frequently between older and younger skaters.

Support your local skateshop(s)
Skate shops served as key sites for mentoring, with skate shop owners playing a particularly salient role. In several regions, skate shop owners served as a catalyst for developing and sustaining the skate community. Skaters could easily identify why they respected another skater or mentor. The fact that skate shop owners cared for skaters and were dedicated to supporting young people beyond skateboarding was meaningful to skaters and lead to reciprocity with skaters willing to help out and give back to the community.

Skills for life through skateboarding
When asked to select from a list of ten 21st Century skills they believe they possess, a high percentage of respondents chose: sticking with a challenge, working well with friends, and thinking outside the box (see Figure 9). The least selected response for 21st Century skills was: “Taking on a leadership role” (56%). Given the historical representation of skateboarding as D-I-Y (do-it-yourself), anti-authoritarian, and collectivist, this is not a surprising finding. However, it does suggest an opportunity to explore how the skills skaters report they have relate to qualities associated with leadership. Since filming, editing and consuming skate-related media are important facets of skate culture — and also are connected to potential education and career opportunities — we asked respondents to weigh in on their digital skills as well. Skaters demonstrated the highest efficacy in using the web to figure out how to do new things (84%), followed by the endorsement of their skills in separating fact from fake information (68%), and getting help from people when they don’t understand something (68%).

Skaters shared numerous instances of skills they employed to maintain their well-being, often connecting those skills to lessons learned through skateboarding. They spoke in great detail about perseverance and how they actively stuck with challenges, resilience and how they quickly recovered from setbacks, fearlessness including confidence and ability to deal with pain, and patience and their ability to delay gratification.

About Tony Hawk Foundation
A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by the living legend, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. THF has realized amazing projects while providing advocacy training and funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States that promote healthy, active lifestyles, and to International programs that enrich the lives of youth through skateboarding. For more information, visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.tonyhawkfoundation.org.
About the study

Information about the study, including the latest report and a previously issued white paper highlighting early findings from the first wave of the study, can be found on the Pullias Center website. In addition to funding from the Tony Hawk Foundation, the study was also conducted in partnership with APA Consulting. Find the research and studies here: https://pullias.usc.edu/skate/research/