Skateboarding is the act of riding on and performing tricks with a skateboard. A person who skateboards is referred to as a skateboarder or a skater.

Skateboarding is a recreational activity, a job, or a method of transportation.^[1] Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report by American Sports Data found that there were 18.5 million skateboarders in the world. Eighty-five percent of skateboarders polled who had used a board in the last year were under the age of 18, and 74 percent were male.^[2]

Skateboarding is relatively modern. A key skateboarding trick, the ollie, was developed in the late 1970s. In the early '80s freestyle skateboarder Rodney Mullen invented the ollie kickflip which originally was called a Magic Flip.^[3]