The center wheels can turn freely in all directions, allowing the board to "slide" laterally. This mimics the traditional "side-to-side" motion of snowboard riding. By putting pressure on the corner wheels, the rider is able to control the board. The first freeboard was created in 1996 by Steen Strand (Snap Inc, Icon Aircraft) in Palo Alto, CA while studying for his master’s in product design at Stanford University. Steen wanted to find a way to bring the snowboard ride to the street and began developing prototypes of a skateboard that could slide, drift and stop just like on snow.

He patented his design and began assembling and selling the first “Alpha” Freeboards in 1997 out of his garage in San Francisco, CA. Since then, Freeboards have evolved to become shorter and lighter, with bindings to hold the rider’s feet while carving and sliding.