Skateboarding

Greek Skateboard History

Skateboarding


Because history is not written with propaganda but with facts, we would like to share some of the most important events in the history of skateboarding in Greece (so the previous generation remember and the next can learn).

Skateboard in Greece began in the 70′s, at which point there were no skate shops in the country; getting a skateboard magazine or video in your hands was almost impossible. The sport itself was most likely introduced through tourism. The first organized skateboard team in Greece were the Thunder Boys which came together in Thessaloniki in 1978,
The first official skateboard contest in Greece was organized in 1979 and the 4th contest took place in Thessaloniki in the Y.M.C.A gym on the 31st of August 1981. A ramp was built, exclusively for the occasion. The contest was initiated by the Thunder boys’ team in collaboration with the Y.M.C.A, in an attempt to persuade the municipality of Thessaloniki to build a permanent park for the sport.

Until the end of the 80′s, kids were buying skateboard equipment from abroad, usually through relatives who traveled abroad or sometimes through unspecialized stores with sports equipment. In 1987 the first skate park was built in Thessaloniki from concrete through a donation made by the owner of a sports department store called Odysseas Fokas (the park was named after him” Fokas”). He envisioned the future of skateboarding and he materialized his dream for the youth of Thessaloniki. With the new park began a new era of skateboarding.

In 1988 the first Greek skateboard company was created by Karponis George, called 303 skateboards, the name symbolized the first three numbers of the National Greek phone code and Thessalonikis phone code 00(30 3) 1. In 1990 the first specialized Skate shop in Greece was opened by George Karponis and Avramidis Gerasimos with the name Microxtreme. It is considered the most hardcore skate shop in the country. In 1997 the first skateboard – snowboard magazine, called “Fuse” was published by the Microxtreme team. It was distributed hand-to-hand in the whole country and abroad.

In 2005 Alexis Florakis organized the first skateboard art Exhibition in Greece, titled: “Skateboard art Crimes” and it was exhibited 23 times in Greece, France and Germany. S.A.C is probably the only private exhibition that was part of school field trips and the purpose is to inspire and transmit the history of this unique sport.
303 skateboards

In 1988 the first Greek skateboard company was created by Karponis George, called 303 skateboards, the name symbolized the first three numbers of the National Greek phone code and Thessalonikis phone code 00(30 3) 1.
Big spin was the mother company for 303 with two more companies under her wings Madrid and Blue print skateboard company.
303 was active from 1989 until 1998 .Between this time 303 skateboards created the first pro models in Greece.The first pro model was the co-creator of the company Chatzis Dimitris a.k.a “sinister” .In 1997 were followed by two more pro models Apaman Vasilis ( R.I.P) a.k.a “flipper” and Dimitris Evangelopoulos a.k.a “podari”.

Besides Greece 303 skateboards sold boards in England and specifically in London and in the U.S.A in the city of San Diego. 303 became the first Greece company making it abroad. The company had a vision for the local athletes ,first to have free skateboards without thinking about money all the time and to create their own designs on their boards. In the decade of 80’s a t-shirt was printed with a strong slogan FUCK DRUGS LETS SKATE which was very successful but also prophetic and raised the issue that drugs make no discriminations. Also a t-shirt for the first Greek girls skateboarders was printed with the slogan BAD GIRLS

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