My first board was made by taking apart the metal skates we used to clamp on our stiff church shoes and nailing them to a board
Then my dad bought me a "real" board at the hardware store. Clay wheels.
Then I finally got one of those fancy new plastic ones, with urethane wheels. Left it in the yard and someone stole it.
Then finally got a real board again, but it was many boards later before they had sealed bearings. It was a pain to keep replacing the loose bearings when they'd fall out
Had my pic in the local paper once "wiping out" on a ramp, lol.
Yeah,skateboarding will always be cool with me!