the first longboards were made by preston nichols in the 1940s and 50s. they replaced surfing when the waves were too dull. early skaters made boards out of planks of wood and roller skates. it was called "sidewalk surfing". longboards were first sold in 1959. makaha, jack's and hobie were the first sellers. these early longboards were crude. they had wheels made of metal. clay wheels were used later to make them safer. longboarding became popularin the late 1950s and early 1960s. it had become much less popular by 1965. longboarding started becoming popular again in 1972 when frank nasworthy and the cadillac wheel company create the urethane longboard wheel. urethane wheels let skaters move much faster thanthey could before. reverse kingpins(rkp) also made them more stable.