When the skate company owners met up after the Action Sports Show in January 1994 to discuss the future, they were most likely unaware of what sports cable network ESPN was dreaming up. Had they known, the meeting minutes would have been decidedly different. Why do I say this? The truth is that the skate industry was struggling financially in 1994. Within 18 months, things would vastly improve - but not how the owners envisioned.
Growing up in the 1980s, I can attest that seeing "alternative" music become popular in the early 1990s was a remarkable experience. Bands like Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers and REM led the charge and found their way into the mainstream. When alternative music became popular, it made sense that alternative sports would follow suit. There was also a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding the demographic of "Generation X." I’m looking at you, Douglas Coupland.
So, with all these spotlights on something other than the baby boomers, it makes sense that someone would connect the dots. In the early 1990s, an ESPN programming executive named Ron Semiao began to realize that the network was missing a key part of its target market. Semiao picked up on the fact that Generation X and Y were getting bored with traditional sports like football and baseball and spending more time on skateboards and snowboards. Semiao began developing an idea that would feature alternative sports.
As a result of this explosion of interest in "alternative" culture, Semiao convinced ESPN management to invest a reported $10 million in creating and producing the Extreme Games. The games were to be an international gathering of action sport athletes. On April 12, 1994, ESPN announced the first Extreme Games would be held in Rhode Island in June 1995.
The games included bungee jumping, sky surfing, street luge, barefoot waterskiing, rock climbing, in-line skating and street skateboarding. Approximately 200,000 spectators watched the games, and ESPN was delighted with the results. Seven major sponsors funded the first games: Advil, Mountain Dew, Taco Bell, Chevy Trucks, AT&T, Nike and Miller Lite Ice.
What I find most interesting is that the skateboard media didn't pay much attention to the Extreme Games. This excerpt from the Sports Business Journal describes the situation succinctly: "Before the X Games' 1995 launch in Newport, R.I., Semiao was giving a tour of the venue to Kevin Thatcher, one of the guys who launched Thrasher magazine. Semiao was trying to get some press outlets covering extreme sports to buy into the X Games concept. "While our backs were turned, all of a sudden, he just left," Semiao said with a laugh."
Thrasher Magazine dedicated four pages to the Extreme Games in their October 1995 edition. Their headline reads: "For Love or Money? Extreme Showcase Predictably Network." The piece discusses the poorly designed course and a fight between skater Tas Pappas and a Rollerblader.
In 1996, ESPN changed the name from The Extreme Games to the X Games. It's astounding to see the impact of Ron Semiao’s idea. However, viewed through the lens of where skateboarding was in 1994 (according to the Gentlemen's Agreement), the move of ESPN to bring in corporate sponsors contradicts the industry's desire to control growth internally.
There is no doubt that the media exposure dramatically expanded skateboarding's visibility to mainstream audiences but on ESPN's terms rather than the industry's. In the minutes of Gentleman’s Agreement, the skate industry discusses ways to make skateboarding more fun and less competitive/hardcore. I figured this would be an idea they would push since it would benefit them financially and philosophically. But the reality is that the X Games' focus on high-stakes competition and extreme stunts sent skateboarding in an entirely different direction.
The Gentlemen's Agreement aimed to make pro status more meaningful and challenging, but the X Games created an alternate path to fame and sponsorship outside traditional industry channels. While the skate industry was concerned about brand dilution, the X Games elevated individual athletes above companies, making rider endorsements more valuable than company identity.
Perhaps the most ironic thing is that the meeting participants wanted to shape skateboarding's image positively, but the X Games presented it as an "extreme" activity, emphasizing risk and spectacle. While the X Games brought vast amounts of mainstream attention and corporate money, it focused on competition, not accessibility.
By the late 90, the success of the X Games had contributed to a skateboarding boom. Added to this was the phenomenon of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game series. Hundreds of skateparks were constructed, and booming began in the late 90s and early 2000s.
And despite this incredible success, a skate bust hit the industry hard again! What caused it this time? The dot.com crash and post 9/11 economy reduced discretionary spending. When 75% of your market relies on an allowance rather than a paycheck, this can be a problem. Adding to the economic duress was that the skateboard industry again expanded during the boom time without considering the future. This unsustainable growth seems to plague the industry continuously.
Over time, the saturation of skate coverage led to a decline in viewership. However, one of the most significant problems was the decline of independent skate shops. I've been hanging out in skate shops for about the same time I've ridden a skateboard. For many young kids in the 70s, 80s and 90s, a local skateboard shop was perfect for hanging out. I've often said that independent skate shops are the lifeblood of skateboarding. They are that all-important “third place” - not home or school.
During skateboardings late 90s boom, corporate retailers expanded aggressively. Their presence diluted skateboardings counter-cultural identity. Hundreds of independent skateboard shops closed during this period, and the focus became all on market share, not truly engaging with customers. There are numerous differences between the atmosphere in a local skate shop vs what you tend to experience in a corporate skate shop in a mall. The problem is that the skateboard industry makes it very difficult for local mom-and-pop shops to compete. This leads to more stores closing and chips away at the fiercely independent spirit embedded in skateboardings DNA.
I also recognize there are only so many hours in the day. Time can be a huge constraint. Between things like sleeping, video games, and social media, it's astonishing that young people have time to go to school, let alone skate.
Just in case you wondered, Ron Semaio left ESPN to join the NFL as a vice president in 2013. Nine years later, in October 2022, ESPN sold its majority share in the X Games to MSP Sports Capital. While the exact purchase price has never been revealed, it has been estimated to be at $50 million. MSP owns a number of enormous sports enterprises, including McLaren Racing and several football teams.
Looking back, it’s somewhat amusing to speculate on what might have happened. What if Ron Semiao worked in a different career? What if ESPN decided not to invest in his idea? What if ESPN invested in the concept of the Extreme Games, but skateboarding wasn't included?
There are a million different outcomes but the fact is you can’t undo the past. However, by keeping an open mind, you can find opportunities. Which is exactly what happened to me in 1995. At the same time the Extreme Games were bubbling up, I was returning to skateboarding via the power of the internet. My first stop was Dansworld; but it wouldn't be my last.