Introducing polyurethane wheels to skateboarding with his Cadillac Wheels in 1973, Frank Nasworthy paved the way for the second great boom of skateboarding in the 1970s. Skateboarding’s popularity had waned in the ’60s after reaching its peak with freestyle. Everything had seemingly already been done with the standard clay wheels of the time. Then Frank, a surfer, figured out that urethane wheels made for roller skates worked just as well on his Hobie skateboard. He wasted no time developing a skateboard-specific urethane wheel that revolutionized the ride. The new Cadillac Wheels made for more traction and opened the door to the low-slung surf style and further evolution into banks and soon thereafter vertical pool riding. In effect, Frank Nasworthy helped to evolve skateboarding by quite literally reinventing the wheel.
