Street Survival Script: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Photocopy of the original working script for the “Street Survival” skateboard video with editing notations. This script was written, produced and directed by the donors George Leichtweis President and Producer of Reel Thing Productions, Inc. and Owner of Modern Skate and Surf Company and Michael Hays Vice President and Director of Reel Thing Productions. Inc. and Manager of Modern Skate and Surf Company. Street Survival is an instructional video that teaches viewers rudimentary information about the sport & lifestyle of skateboarding and skateboarding tricks. Leichtweis had dreamed up the idea of making Street Survival, while working endless hours at Modern. As time progressed the two hammered out details of all elements they planned to include. Leichtweis also made the production happen, as it many times came to a near ending. Meanwhile Hays, whose knowledge of skateboarding created a highly unique system of steps to proactively coordinate the layout of the instructional content. Together Leichtweis and Hays assembled a great crew for this unique and first of its type production.

Before video was common, skateboarders had to rely on skate magazines to learn tricks through photographs. Videos, such as this one, revolutionized the way skaters learned tricks and increased the sport’s popularity worldwide. The star of the video is Bill Danforth also known as "The American Nomad" for his compulsion to travel anywhere to skate. A Detroit native, Bill Danforth began skating in the 1970s with his first skate deck issued in 1986. He became a member of Tony Alva's skate team in the late 1980s and skated in Thrasher’s King of the Road in 2005. Danforth still skates and teaches today, and is widely respected among old and new skaters for his resilience and natural ability.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1988
• date made: 1980s
• maker: Hays, Michael Alan
• maker: Leichtweis, George
• Object Name: script, skateboarding
• Object Name: skateboarding script
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 11 in x 8 1/2 in; 27.94 cm x 21.59 cm
• name of sport: skateboarding
• web subject: Sports
• web subject: Movie
• level of sport: Professional
• ID Number: 2013.3045.07
• nonaccession number: 2013.3045
• catalog number: 2013.3045.07
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.