A wallride or wall ride is a maneuver in

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

in which a rider positions their skateboard parallel to a wall, putting the wheels on the side of the wall as they ride along it. The trick is noted for its particular grace.

History

1970s (early innovators)

The exact originator of the wallride is unknown but it's believed to have been invented in the mid-1970s. The invention of the backside wallride is credited to

Rodney Mullen John Rodney Mullen (born August 17, 1966) is an American professional skateboarder who practices freestyle skateboarding and street skateboarding. He is considered the most influential skateboarder of all time. Mullen is credited for inventing ...

in 1979.

Tom "Wally" Inouye

Tom Inouye, best known for his signature moves, "wall rides" and "backside airs," started IPS (Inouye's Pool Service) back in the '70s, and was one of the first pool skaters. "In 1976 we were riding empty pools," said Inouye. "No one knew what all there was to do, so we were having a good time and seeing how far we could push it." "We were all trying to go up onto the wall. I guess I was the only one who did it," Inouye said. "It became a trick called a 'wall ride' and the name 'Wally' has stuck with me ever since."

1980s (popularization)

By the mid-80s, skaters such as

Natas Kaupas Natas Kaupas (born March 23, 1969) is an American former professional skateboarder. He grew up in South Santa Monica, California, in the area known as Dogtown, and is of Lithuanian descent. Often referred to as one of the first true professio ...

and the Gonz exposed the rest of the skate community to wallrides. Kaupas had learned to ride walls where he would throw his skateboard up against a wall and ride off it. He then perfected this trick by riding up the side of walls without using his hands. In 1984 ''

Thrasher Magazine Thrasher is an American skateboarding media brand founded in January 1981 by Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello, who also founded Independent Truck Company, and officially launched as a skateboard magazine. Since the 1990s, Thrasher has expanded i ...

'' photographer and skating commentator

Craig Stecyk Craig R. Stecyk III (born 1950) is an American artist, writer, photojournalist, and filmmaker who has documented and influenced the surf, skate, and snowboarding cultures. Biography A Southern California native, Stecyk is known for his phot ...

took a photo of Kaupas riding off a wall which featured on the cover of ''Thrasher Magazine's'' September 1984 issue. In the 1989 Santa Cruz ''Streets on Fire'' video, Natas Kaupas lands a frontside wallride at the beginning of his part.

1990s (second wave)

In the 1990 Speed Wheels video, ''"Risk it!"'', Tim Jackson skates Venice beach with unique wallride manoeuvres. After a lull in popularity, Rick Howard revived the wallride in 1993 at the end of his part in the

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''Goldfish'' video. The popularity of wallrides grew in the mid-to-late 90s, with a group of Philadelphia-based skaters bringing the trick to the unique architecture of their city. From Rick Oyola, to Matt Reason, to Serge Trudnowski, to Fred Gall, this group of skaters influenced Donny Barley who was in turn influencing Jamie Thomas. The popularity of wallrides died down again in the late 90s.

2000s-2010s

On August 25, 2004, Brad Edwards and Aaron Murray set the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for highest wallride on a skateboard. Skating at the

Juice Magazine ''Juice'' is a German online hip hop magazine and the biggest of its kind in Europe. It was a print publication between 1997 and November 2019. Then it began to be an online magazine. In every issue, readers find interviews with rapping, rappers ...

- USSA WSA - The Board Gallery - Hollywood Skate Jam taking place in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, Edwards and Murray both reached a height of 7 feet 6inches on the wall. Starting in the mid 00s through today, wallrides and wallies have experienced a renaissance. Notable wallrides from 2000s-2010s:

Beyond skateboarding

The term wallride is now used in situations beyond skateboarding, coming to mean the act of traveling across any vertical surface. Wallrides exist in mountain biking, BMXing, skiing, rollerblading, and stock car racing, as well as in video games.

References

External links

Ryan Reyes - How To's Day: The Wallride
{{Skateboarding Skateboarding tricks