The popularity of skateboarding has soared and plummeted since the sport's inception more than a half century ago, much like skateboarders themselves. But now it is more popular than ever. Urdu TV's Sarah Zaman has more on why skateboarding is attracting a growing number of people looking for the ultimate thrill. VOA's Carla Coolman narrates.

"It makes me feel good like when I land a cool trick that I've been practicing for a while. When I go down something and do a trick, and it look cool. It's really exciting," says skateboarder Anthony Manning.

Marissa O'guinn, also a skateboarder, adds, "It's really exhilarating, skateboarding. I think that's what attracts most people to it. I guess just knowing there's a possible risk within it, it's just what makes it exciting."

"It's just a really, really cool feeling because, I mean, you are just flying through the air, and you are just all weightless and stuff. Also, in the pool they have tiles so when you hit them they have a certain sound. And, it's just a really, really cool, " says Sean Gates, a fellow skateboarder.

Boogie is a 59-year-old skateboarder

 With advances in technology, today's skateboards are lighter and faster than boards from the past. This means that skaters can now do some wild tricks - things that the first skateboarders never dreamed of.

Skateboarding involves speed, balance and coordination, and can sometimes result in serious injuries. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 26,000 people need hospital emergency room treatment each year in the U.S. for injuries related to skateboarding.

Manning says, "I broke my finger. I cracked my ribs." O’Guinns recalls, "I fell and rolled down a street."

The skateboarding technique of holding on the edge

Once thought to be another passing fad, skateboarding is an extreme sport that appears to be here to stay.