The First X-Games

Skateboarding gained a huge popularity increase in the 1990’s with the debut of the Extreme Games. The Extreme Games which was broadcasted by ESPN was conceived in 1993 by the Programming Director for ESPN, Ron Semiao. The idea was to create large gathering of action sports enthusiasts from around the world who would compete against one another in different sports. ESPN commended Semiao and put forth significant resources into creating the event in hopes that it would boost the popularity of action sports. On April 12, 1994, at a press conference in New York City, an announcement was made stating that the first Extreme Games will take place in June of 1995 in Rhode Island and Vermont. (more…)