Skateboarding

The President of Boarderland is you

From Yo-Yos To Finger Skateboards: Rubbish Fads Of The 90s

Some things never stop being cool. The king of cool would have to be Surfer, without a doubt. I mean, most sports wouldn’t survive songs like ‘Surfin’ USA’ and ‘Wipe Out’ fully intact. Fads in kids toys are a good counterpoint to cool: the Yo-Yo made its inexplicable comeback near the end of the 20th Century, only to be swiftly shot with both barrels by ‘Walk (the Dog) Like An Egyptian’, a cover of a Bangles song. What do you mean, you never heard it? Well, that’s just testament to how utterly caustic this song was (it reached the heady heights of no. 48 in the UK charts). In short, Surf Clothing is still cool. Yo-Yos are thankfully back to being an accessory for the socially disadvantaged.

My childhood was full of similar would be trends trying to make themselves known. BMX Bikes aren’t all that bad, for instance. People in the Twenties riding them on pavements and doing wheelies to impress teenage girls aside, they’re fun and useful. But if you want to make a piece of sports equipment uncool, the best way to do so is to miniaturise it. I mean, what? Some of my friends at school had these things. They’re so stupid that I’ve begun to doubt my own memories: only a quick Google search verifies that these things actually did exist. Well, kids will official buy anything, I guess? Why was a teenager playing with a toy that could well have come as an accessory with his sister’s Ken doll?

Finger BMXs were actually the second wave: the finger skateboards came first, unhinging a miniature and very square portal to hell. But ultimately, it’s all ammunition for the day when my friends turn to their kids and claim that modern toys lack the creativity of toys ‘in their day’. Remember the finger skateboards, the Furbies and the Tamagotchis, or I will remember for you. At least stuff like Skate Shoes and proper skateboards actually have some kind real world application. They’re also only a little less popular than they were when everyone rushed out to buy them for whatever Christmas in whatever fad year they fell in. But, oh god, Scooters came back didn’t they? Generation Y: hide your heads in shame.

Switch Skate Park BMX