Professional freestyle competitions often involved music and choreography and focused on fluidity and technical skill.
[1][2] It involves skateboard riders moving from the horizontal (on the ground) to the vertical (on a ramp or other incline) to perform tricks - thus "vert".
Skateboarders usually set-up their boards with 55mm (or larger) wheels and wider decks for more stability.
Some of the most prolific pro skateboard shoe designers include Eric Koston,[11][12] Daewon Song,[13] Kareem Campbell,[14][15] Chad Muska,[16] Andrew Reynolds,[17] Marc Johnson,[18] Geoff Rowley,[19] and Anthony Van Engelen.
[20] Each of them has several iconic "pro model" designs mass-produced and sold as part of endorsement contracts with various professional skate shoe manufacturers.
Most skate parks combine halfpipes and quarterpipes with various other "vert" skateboarding features as well as "street" obstacles such as stairs, ledges, and rails.
To increase grip at higher speeds, softer urethane wheels are typically used for downhill skateboarding.
There have been multiple worldwide governing bodies that have offered competitive downhill racing circuits.