Commercialized motorized skateboards have been around since as early as 1965, and every decade or so someone brings another one to market. In 1993 Tom Shanahan Inc expanded their small engine powered equipment for farms and yards to introduce the Powerboard motorized skateboard. The image and text on the right (above) come from Volume 17 #3 of Farm Show magazine in their section “New Products Especially For Women And The Farm, Ranch Home.” Farm Show is still around, but it appears the Tom Shanahan company has ceased to exist. It isn’t really mentioned anywhere on the internet except for some outlets where you can still find parts for some of their engines. These boards do turn up for sale, and some people have refurbished them.
In 1993 the Powerboard would have set you back $499, which is more less the equivalent of $1,084 in 2024, when you can get an electric skateboard for as cheap as $160, although the sweet spot is closer to $400.
This one showed up on Facebook in a collectable skateboards group. The drive mechanism makes no attempt to provide power to the skateboard wheels, instead providing a bracket and fifth wheel to push the board.
Photos: Chase McCain
Here’s an image of a refurbished Powerboard from Imgur user thingsbuilt, posted back in 2015.
Here’s a video from Burriss Fabrication that looks like the same user who posted the refurbished photos. It looks a little slow, but they may be because they replaced the OEM drive wheel with a smaller diameter version.
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