How Instagram Revolutionized And Popularized Skateboarding Into A Thriving Industry

Skateboarding Before Instagram

Before Instagram, skateboarding was a challenging sport to gain exposure in. You either had to acquire a recognized sponsorship to get a part in their video, create your own video part if you had a large enough fan base, or land a feature in a skateboarding magazine. The reach of skateboarding before Instagram was dismal compared to what it has now. To find skateboarding videos before, you would search for them via YouTube, magazine websites, or skate shops. So, if you weren't avidly searching for skateboarding content, you more than likely wouldn't see it. This created a tight niche community limiting exposure to new consumers, not because the community wanted to but because of the difficulty of posting skateboarding content freely with mass attention. 

Filming Skateboarding Content

When creating content for skateboarding, making a 10-minute video can take days, weeks, or months to get enough footage. Since performing a trick can take 5 seconds, it makes a 10-minute video a daunting task. One trick can take hours or days to get the perfect shot with the perfect landing. Combining this with the sparse availability of platforms for posting created a low frequency of content.

How Instagram Changed Everything

Instagram changed everything, giving skateboarders a platform to post free bite-sized content that could be shared and promoted to millions of users in seconds. Now skaters can create their 60-second videos to post on the platform with the chance of gaining mass attention, no more sponsor requirements, no more magazine publication approvals, and no more video length requirements. Within seconds, you can type skateboarding into Instagram's Discover tab and find thousands of new videos to binge on daily. Skateboarders can now control their destiny, using Instagram to gain exposure, land sponsorships, and promote their video parts. Instagram has provided exposure to the skateboarding industry that has also greatly popularized the sport. Skateboarding has become a trendy sport with mass attention due to this shift. Massively benefitting the industry by providing skateboard companies and magazines a platform to promote and sell their products to new potential customers. The abundance of user-generated content also provided these companies and magazines with a plethora of content created by their customers featuring their products. Today, Instagram is the go-to platform for skateboarding content and news.

How Instagram Has Aided Other Industries

Skateboarding hasn't been the only industry revolutionized by Instagram, either. All extreme sports, such as BMX, snowboarding, surfing, motocross, etc., have been able to capitalize on the new bite-sized content format and reach. The reason is that it's much easier for consumers to commit to a 60-second clip compared to a 10-minute video plus, with one tap of a button they can share the content with all of their friends. The shift in popularity is evident with extreme sports making their way into the Olympics as skateboarding has done. The exposure and content format Instagram has created can benefit any industry. Here at Tribu, we can help you tailor and build your brand on Instagram so you can benefit from the fruits of the platform as the skateboarding industry has.