Skateboarding Trick Chart

The ten page, handwritten document shown here has descriptions of many different skateboarding tricks and the directions on how to execute them. These definitions were written by Michael Hays in preparation for the shooting of the "Street Survival" video. As Michael Hays explains, "One of the most complex issues to confront when teaching skateboarding is the highly unusual names for maneuvers. They are glossy and represent interesting cultural suggestive ideas, as opposed to giving the maneuvers actual scientific names, based on chronological roots." For instance a McTwist, created by Mike McGill is actually an aerial 540 degree flip but is easier remembered by the McTwist nickname which also ties it to its creator.

Street Survival is an instructional video that teaches viewers rudimentary information about the sport & lifestyle of skateboarding and skateboarding tricks. This video was written, produced and directed by the Michigan donors George Leichtweis President and Producer of Reel Thing Productions, Inc. and Owner of Modern Skate and Surf Company and Michael Hays Vice President and Director of Reel Thing Productions. Inc. and Manager of Modern Skate and Surf Company. Before video, skateboarders had to rely on skate magazines to learn tricks through photographs. Videos, such as this one, revolutionized the way skaters learned tricks and increased the sport’s popularity worldwide. The star of the video is Bill Danforth also known as "The American Nomad" for his compulsion to travel anywhere to skate. A Detroit native, Bill Danforth began skating in the 1970s with his first skate deck issued in 1986. He became a member of Tony Alva's skate team in the late 1980s and skated in Thrasher’s King of the Road in 2005. Danforth still skates and teaches today, and is widely respected among old and new skaters for his resilience and natural ability.

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