Eamon Leonard - Skateboarding and software: putting ideas into action (Turing Fest 2019)

As product builders, what can we learn from a product that reached a state of near-perfection 20 years ago?⁠ In this talk we'll explore the evolution of the skateboard as a product, and how, despite many attempts at innovation, it's still just a plank of plywood, two trucks and four wheels. Nonetheless, both the skateboard and the sport it enables continue to thrive

Transcript

1. The Skateboard Product Perfection
2. This is me 1991 Dublin
3. This is a modern skateboard Deck Tail Grip Tape Truck Inner Bearing Wheel Outer Bearing Nose Wheel Nut
4. This is an ollie
5. This is a 720 Flip
6. This is a 720 Flip
7. This Talk Part 1: 60+ Years of Evolution Part 2: Nice try Part 3: Observations ** D I S C L A I M E R ** Part 4: Legacy
8. Part 1: 60 Years of Evolution Cycles of adoption, innovation, boom & bust ↻
9. 1950’s Plank of wood Roller-skate wheels Made by kids
10. 1960’s Basic shape to deck Steel or clay wheels Rigid trucks Manufactured
11. 1960’s Gymnastic-style tricks Flat ground Attempts to institutionalise National competitions Manufacturer-led design Low tech = safety concerns Bust by 1966
13. 1970’s Deck is more streamlined Polyurethane wheels Precision engineered, sealed ball bearings Flexible, durable truck design Colour! “Kick Tail”
14. Zephyr Skateboard Team 1975
15. 1970’s Better wheels, bearings & kicktail mean new moves Tricks are seen as explosive and bold Driven by foundation in surfing & disregard for institution
16. 1970’s Physical boundaries constantly being pushed
17. 1970’s Cultural shift Skateboarders are the innovators Use of empty pools leads to aerial tricks Development of skateparks
18. 1970’s Mass adoption means more accidents and skateparks being sued Inevitable bust Resurgence ’72-‘78 More visibility in popular & mainstream culture
21. 1980’s Much wider, concave design Longer tail Tail guard Truck guards Graphics & Artwork Canadian maple plywood
22. 1980’s Bigger wheels Rails Nose guard
23. Bones Brigade 1986 Tony Hawk Rodney Mullen
24. 1980’s Freestyle Narrow deck Symmetrical tail/nose Complicated Vert Broad deck Short nose, big tail Complicated
25. 1980’s Street Freestyle inspired tricks, in a street environment More accessible than Vert Less time investment than Freestyle
26. Skateboarders are the creative force, in every way • inventing new tricks • designing equipment • starting skateboard co’s • designing apparel • creating a subculture across
 music, entertainment, art 1980’s
28. 1990’s Another bust, ’90—‘95 Vert & Freestyle hardest hit Street still accessible Smaller wheels “Popsicle” shaped deck Explosion in new tricks “Underground” - Innovation thrives in recession Manufacturers close 23 years old
29. Dublin, 1995
31. 2000’s Skateboarding goes mainstream…again? …again Influence is felt in music, entertainment, fashion and popular culture New generation of innovative skaters emerge, with bigger & bolder moves 17 ft
36. 2000’s After 40 years of refinement, core innovation is around the experience, not the tool. Skateboarders have: • an affordable, highly refined product • advanced ecosystem • role models
40. This is a modern skateboard Nose Tail Truck Wheel Inner Bearing Outer Bearing Deck Grip Tape
41. Innovations & Refinements 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Today Decks Tricks
42. 1978 1980 1988 1991 1989 1982 1985 1992 1994 1990 2001 2009 1998 2019
43. Part 2: Nice Try Skateboards that didn’t quite make it
45. The Motoboard Petrol Powered 2 Stroke Engine $650 1978
48. Part 3: Observations What can we learn & apply?
49. Is innovating on a niche use case worth it? What if you’re the only one scratching that itch?
50. Being too early… … is still early
51. Global movements can be started with very little effort… …but often require radicals to push things forward
52. When the world is constrained by absolutes, the tools will only get you so far… …it’s up to the individual to be innovative, 
 to push themselves
53. When the world is constrained by absolutes, the tools will only get you so far… …it’s up to the individual to be innovative, 
 to push themselves
55. Evolution thrives on fast feedback loops
56. Your product is still only a tool… Value is created when a balance is struck between a product being as good as it can be, at that time, and the impact it can enable in the right hands.
58. Is it actually perfection, or just a failure to innovate?
60. Does nostalgia mean that there’s demand for something new (perhaps by a younger generation), but there’s a lack of leadership in finding it?
61. Can the idea of something new and radical be so abstract or removed, that we’re closed minded about any attempt at innovation?
62. Will we ever see a hoverboard?
63. Part 4: Legacy
67. www.skateistan.org
68. Tricks Milestone Innovations 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Today Deck Legacy
69. It’s not about the skateboard. It's what it allows you to do. @EamonLeonard Boundless: employ anyone, anywhere www.BoundlessHQ.com Thank you! This is me 2004 Dublin My Startup!