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To the Extreme Though extreme sports surfaced years ago with activities like skydiving and surfing, these nontraditional sports--typically involving high levels of speed, height and danger--have yet to reach NFL proportions.

By Lindsay Holloway

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

But the past decade has seen exponential growth in the number of extreme sports. In 1995, the first X Games were held, featuring various competitions in motocross, skateboarding and more. Two years later came the Winter X Games, which helped bring snowboarding to the Winter Olympics that year.

Today, extreme sports are garnering more popularity, as more companies are seeing opportunity in the market's hip, daring, 10- to 30-year-old demographic. "It's amazing to see where [extreme sports] are right now," says lifelong skateboarder Ryan Farrelly, 29. "It's because of what kids are doing: They're pushing the limits."