It all started in 1999, when Dave Armstrong searched the internet for other like-minded individuals who saw a pogo stick as more than just a toy…
Fred Grzybowski, Nick McClintock, Matt Malcolm,
Rick Gorge, Dan Brown, and Dave Armstrong
Dave quickly realized that there were no websites out there for pogo sticking, so he set out to create a home for this new sport that he believed he invented. The website he created was Xpogo.com, and this website became responsible for the birth and growth of the sport to which we know today. Soon after the creation of this website, a bunch of pogoers who we now consider to be the founders of the sport started sprouting up around the world. They all had the same thought Dave originally had; There has to be others out there that do tricks on pogo sticks.
It was on the forums on Xpogo.com in the early 2000’s that the first generation of pogoers thought up new tricks and discussed the future of the sport. In 2004 the first big air pogo stick was released, the Flybar 1200. Before this, the stick of choice was limited to the Gravity Games classic spring powered pogo stick. The Flybar 1200, although bulky and very heavy, opened up everyone’s eyes to what the future may hold for this sport. In 2006, the Vurtego V1 made its debut. The release of the Vurtego is the single most important milestone in this sports history, and is responsible for the rapid growth of pogo sticking ever since.
In 2005, Pogopalooza 1 was hosted by original Team Xpogo member Dan Brown in a church parking lot in Nebraska, with only a handful of guys showing up. This simple and quickly put together meet up of online friends has grown to be a yearly world-wide championship, with athletes competing against each other to be crowned as the World Champion of pogo sticking. It has been held in major cities around the world, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Paris, France, but has recently found a permanent home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Xpogo.com has since shifted focus, and some of the resources that it provided the sport have been phased out. Xpogo still pumps out great video and content often, but we felt like the community was lacking something. We here at AllPogo decided to revive these resources and give them a new home, so that pogoers of future generations can learn everything they need to know to keep our sport thriving.
For more pogo history, make sure to check out our partners at Pogo History Channel!
