When the weather isn’t bone-chillingly cold, walk down almost any street in Chicago and you can see someone skateboarding. Whether it’s for transportation, fun or an attempt to land a new trick, skateboarding is a popular sport for people of all ages.

The sport, which has been around since the 1940s, began to gain its own culture centering around skate parks in the ’70s, with groups such as the Z-Boys in Southern California inventing different moves and methods of skateboarding.

Skateboarding culture has grown and evolved past the sport in the past 40 years since the Z-Boys dominated the scene, and now there are films, television shows and music that are centric to the sport.

DePaul freshman Jack Costanza cites the 2012 documentary “Bones Brigade” and the 2005 film “Lords of Dogtown” as two of his favorite pieces of skateboarding media. There was also a wave of MTV television shows centering around skateboarding including “Jackass,” “Viva La Bam,” “Rob & Big” and “Life of Ryan.” Musically, there is the skate punk genre of music, which is mostly based out of Southern California and consists of bands like FIDLAR, NOFX and Black Flag. Numerous video games in which the players can be skateboarders, such as the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” series, are also part of the vast media that was created due to the popularity of the sport. Costanza said one of the reasons he started the sport was due to his interest in the Tony Hawk video games when he was younger.

Another part of skateboarding culture is creating your own media.

“There is more to skating than actually skating. There is filming, photography and editing,” DePaul sophomore Dennis Spanos said. “The media portion of the sport is absolutely important and many people forget about that.”

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Beyond any form of media, though, the most important part of skateboarding culture to skaters is the camaraderie they have with one another.

“I love the respect that skaters have for each other regardless of skill,” Spanos said. “Everyone is stoked on the progression.”

Although skateboarding creates such a close camaraderie, many people fear skateboarding and choose not to partake in the sport due to the threat of injury. But to skateboarders, it’s just a part of the sport.

“I am constantly injured and taking slams,” Spanos said. “You gotta pay to play.”

“I’ve had lots of shinners and ankle bangers,” Costanza said. “Maybe a bit of road rash, but never anything serious.”

Some skateboarders even take pride in their injuries they have received, as it exemplifies their dedication to the sport.

“It’s always so awesome to have some gnarly slams,” Spanos said, “Nothing is better than that raw carnage behind every landed trick.”

“What we do is fall, all the time. And we get back up,” Rodney Mullen, a professional skateboarder, said during a Ted Talk in Orange County, California. “The act of getting up again is what shapes and forms (the skateboarder).”

Along with the popularity of skateboarding culture came commercialized skateboarding shops. These shops, which include Zumiez, Vans, Journeys and to a lesser extent, Pac Sun, began popping up throughout the country and eventually, the world.

Although to skaters such as Spanos, it is unthinkable to shop at commercialized skateboarding stores.

“I don’t shop at Zumiez,” Spanos said. “It’s a sin. I have purchased products at my local Vans store, though. A few of my friends work there, so I can’t beat those discounts.”

Instead, many skaters tend to frequent independent skateboarding shops.

“It’s absolutely so important to support your local skate shop,” Spanos said, “Because skating is looked at by the outside world as just a fad and business can come in waves. The best skate shops contribute so much to their local community and take care of a lot of locals. Why wouldn’t anyone love that?” Spanos added that Uprise Skate Shop in Wicker Park is one of his favorites to frequent.

Some don’t have an opportunity to frequent these stores though, and are forced to shop at more commercialized stores such as Zumiez.

“I don’t like Zumiez very much, but in my suburb there really wasn’t any skate shop close, so I would go there,” Costanza said. “I would go to Zumiez for things like hardware, or a skate tool, but I usually order stuff online.”

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Zumiez, which was founded in 1978, has seen its profits go increasingly down within the past five years. While this could be interpreted as a sign that interest in the sport is waning, that is unlikely when one looks at how many skateboarders are visible in the streets and throughout skate parks in the city. It is possible that skateboarders are showing their local shops support, and are depending less on skateboarding apparel and merchandise.

Although skateboarding profitability is going down, it’s almost impossible that the sport will go away. Skateboarding is not only a form of transportation and entertainment, it has ingrained itself into modern American culture in numerous ways, which gives it a lasting impact. For all the dedicated and loyal skaters out there, a few brusies and broken bones aren’t enough to keep them away from the sport they love.