Once gatekept by a punk, and sometimes criminal, reputation, skating used to be reserved for the troublemaking kids who skipped class, robbed convenience stores, and learned to do graffiti. Proud hoodlums swarmed the skateparks, learning kickflips, practicing grinds, and praying one day they might actually land a 50/50. Looking up to the older kids at the park—namely the 20-something-year-olds who never finished high school—the skater kids of the ’90s earned a reputation that kept most pearl-clutching parents at bay.

However, skateboarding isn’t the same sport as it was 30 years ago. With its introduction into the extreme sport world through pop culture, the X-games, and its recent indictment into the Olympics, skateboarding is more than just an alternative, miscreant subculture. It’s a calculated, formulaic, and well-respected extreme sport that’s quickly become more mainstream than underground. Through popularized exposure, the sport has been taken to new heights (literally) as new, more daring tricks are being performed and practiced right in local skateparks. 

However, with the fame, edgy history, and newfound accessibility, skating has a new problem that’s far more dangerous than penny-theft, bad influences, and a broken wrist: Little kids. 

Via u/skateb_d