During the 1970s, the Dogtown and Z-Boys skaters of Southern California created an inspired rebellion through their appropriation of Southern California suburbia. Youth unemployment was rife during this period due to the oil crisis (Chlorine, 2003) and there were many youths with spare time on their hands. The drought of the 1970s had caused many of the pools to be emptied and this offered bored youths some fun as well as a way to pass time through the activity of pool skatin

The subculture of skate punk as discussed in this thesis will be analysed within the theoretical understandings and frameworks of Gelder and Hebidge and the focus of essential musicologists, such as Frith and Grossberg to ascertain how the band Suicidal Tendencies promulgated the skate punk subculture. This occurred through the maintenance of authenticity, which continued throughout the creation of their music and their sustained representation of their beliefs and ideologies