How long have you been Skateboarding?I got my first board for Xmas, 1994. I was 13 years old. I turn 30 this June 20th, the day before Go Skateboarding Day, so about 16 and half years ago.
Why do you love Skateboarding?
I had turned into a couch potato before I started skateboarding. I didn’t have any real hobbies or interests. To this day, I’ve never been big on team sports, although skateboarding has improved my athleticism enormously (without the us of steroids). I remember I would go home and sit there bored out of my mind; I needed skateboarding in my life so badly.
I’m sure a lot of people don’t understand. They might think it’s obsessive or just immature, but skateboarding has given me almost everything a person could ask for in life, either directly or indirectly. It brings me friends, health, and joy. Anything that it can’t deliver directly, it’s helped instill the strength in me to provide myself.
It’s taught me confidence through perseverance and to never give up. I’ve set realistic goals on my skateboard and I’ve accomplished them. That can be applied to all facets of life. It’s shown me how to succeed. I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d be doing, without skateboarding because it’s made me who I am.
I feel like skateboarding is one of the only things that motivate me to keep moving forward. It’s an expression of true freedom and a celebration of life. It’s an anti-drug. There are an infinite amount of variables, movements and possibilities. It’s incredibly difficult, but can be learned to do easily. I love the sounds of skateboarding; urethane wheels on different surfaces, the crisp, snapping sound when the board is popped, and the sounds of grinding are all music to my ears. It looks awesome, but it feels even better. You create an idea with your mind and manifest it physically. There are no rules, except the law of gravity.
What is your favorite trick?
I don’t even know anymore. I’ve been skating for so long and I’ve done so many things I used to think I’d never be capable of, those all become favorites, for a while. Some people stick to certain tricks, but I want to learn as much as I can, so I try not to get too caught up on any one trick. Sometimes I want to do the tricks I can do within a couple tries and just cruise around, but when I have enough time, focus energy, I like to dig deeper and try to do something new. In general I focus on the posture, footwork and style, within a skateboarder’s individual technique, more than what the trick is. There are very subtle differences between a well-executed trick and a poor one. Learning to skate is not that hard, but learning to skate properly, that’s where things really get tricky.
What are some misconceptions about Skateboarders?
Just about any preconceived notion about a person, simply because they choose to ride a skateboard would most likely prove untrue. Some people might be surprised to know that this skateboarder is a homeowner and entrepreneur, with an excellent credit score. A lot of times people see some teenaged kid with a skateboard acting like an idiot and they falsely attribute it to the fact that they’re a skateboarder, rather than the fact that teenagers can be hyperactive and then somehow we all seem to take the blame.
It seems like some people think that the goal is to be a nuisance. Maybe that’s why we sometimes get kicked out of places for no good reasons and the police often power-trip on us and treat us like second-class citizens, but that’s not what we’re about at all. We’re not looking for trouble, just a place to skateboard. It’s our pursuit of happiness, which is supposed to be one of the sovereign rights of man. In reality, most skateboarders in this area are intelligent, creative, passionate and humble individuals, despite constant discrimination.
How many spots are available to skate in the Rehoboth/Lewes area?
Sometimes I try to think of where I want to go skate and can’t think of any places where I won’t be bothered or kicked out and that are enjoyable, functional and challenging to skate. If you have to, you can pretty much skate any random place and that’s what we’re forced to do here, but it’s a lot easier to progress, have fun and be safe when you have a smooth riding surface and some interesting and functional obstacles to create with.
There are no spots here that have any real longevity in their appeal to skateboarders because most of them have sub-par conditions, and even then we’re likely to be given the boot. There are very few spots that have smooth ground and or more than one or two less than ideal obstacles. The infrastructure in this area does not provide a lot of interesting architecture for skateboarding.
There are third-world countries with more modern skateboarding facilities than anything in the State of Delaware, but the Rehoboth/ Lewes area in particular is way behind the times; especially considering its affluence and tourist draw. Plenty of small towns with much less revenue have managed to create skateboarding facilities because of their dedication to the younger generations and promoting healthy activities, that kids truly respond to.
Has Epworth brought the skate community together? Does the skateboarding community need more support in this area? How would you like to see things change for skateboarding in this area over the next few years?
Epworth has brought us together during the events it holds a few times a year and those days are always awesome for the skateboarders. Guaranteed there will be a lot of nice obstacles, product for the kids, contests and good skateboarding for everyone’s viewing pleasure. It’s always a blast.
But people skate everyday. I go out and skate the few obstacles they have in the back of the parking lot when there isn’t an event and most of the time I’m alone or there are just a couple kids who walk there or get dropped off. Rehoboth Beach Surf Shop just donated a nice box and a flatbar, so it is getting a little better out there, but I’m not sure that people would come too far out of the way, at this point. Outside of the events they hold, there isn’t a lot out there and the asphalt is pretty rough in a good amount of the parking lot.
Us skaters appreciate what Epworth is trying to do and we all look forward to the skate events, but we’re hoping this isn’t the extent of it. I don’t want to sound ungrateful because I know that they want to work with us and they’ve shown that they want to help, but we’re still not sure that they fully understand our needs, how often and how actively they’re working towards the cause and what their level of commitment is. They had mentioned donating a piece of land and I’m not sure what’s going on with that because there isn’t much communication between Epworth and the skaters, but I think that would be a big next step. There’s nowhere to expand in the parking lot for any permanent structures and they’ve said they need the whole lot for their services; I’m not sure where that leaves the skateboarders.
We definitely need lots more support, but in my opinion, just as importantly, we need to get things more organized, so everyone is in the know, on the same page and can plan and implement on a regular basis. I’ve been talking with some of my fellow skaters about the idea of forming a non-profit or working more closely together with Epworth to empower ourselves because it doesn’t seem like anyone else is going to take the initiative to move things forward.
I don’t think we’ve even come close to tapping all the resources available and without becoming more organized we’re bound to continue moving at this snail’s pace. Of course, as much help as possible is greatly appreciated, considering that the majority of these skateboarders still live at home with their parents, go to school and have virtually no income.
If we just had a nice smooth concrete foundation, we could build on that, according to budget and expand over time. There are plenty of high quality pre-fab concrete obstacles available from well-established skatepark designers that can be dropped right off at a spot, ready to be skated. I’m not saying that’s the only option, but its one very realistic and cost-effective way of going about things.
I’d like to see the community acknowledge that skateboarding has a history in this area and it’s a part of our local culture. Take pride in the local skaters, just like any other local artists or athletes and encourage more participation in alternative activities like skateboarding, that promote a healthy lifestyle. There’re a lot of people in this area with no physically or mentally stimulating hobbies or activities and the sad truth is a lot of times these are the same party-poopers who give us a hard time because they’re miserable and have no outlet for themselves. They should really take up skateboarding it’s a great stress-reliever.
What are some other reasons why you think this area needs a quality place to skateboard?
Skateboarding is a multi-billion dollar industry, our area alone has more than half a dozen shops stocking skateboards and when someone purchases one they’re barely allowed to ride it anywhere, but obviously there is much more demand for places to skate than there is supply.
Not all kids want to play team sports or compete, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they want to sit inside all day or go to the arcade. Very little attention has been spent promoting healthy activities outside of traditional, organized sports, but the fact is, skateboarding has been the fastest growing ‘sport’ for more than a decade now and is the most participated in ‘sport’, aside from Basketball and Football. However, statistics often lie; basketball and football are both seasonal sports, whereas skateboarders will skate all day and night, year round, so in terms of actual hours spent practicing, a quality skatepark will become a much more frequently used facility. Skateboarding is America’s new favorite pastime.
It would help fight childhood obesity and drug abuse, which is definitely a real problem. It would keep kids from vandalizing and causing mischief due to boredom, which costs our economy money. Instead it would stimulate our economy and improve quality of life and sense of community. Hundreds of cities and towns across the United States are seeing real benefits from properly implemented skate programs.
Rehoboth loves to call itself “The Nation’s Summer Capital,” but there are thousands of skateboarders in the D.C. Metro, not to mention the many other nearby cities and suburbs. They’re likely to choose to spend their dollars elsewhere. A handful of local skateboarders from this area and myself spent most of our winter in Los Angeles this year to find better skateboarding. We constantly take trips out of state in search of better terrain. It’s a shame because we all love it here, this is home, but we’re forced to take thousands of dollars out of the local economy.
What are you going to be up to this summer?
My wife and I have a wholesale business, Island Time International. I’ll be building a website for that, working at my mom’s store, The Mizzen Mast and teaching skateboarding lessons out of Rehoboth Beach Surf Shop and of course honing my skateboarding skills.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Everyone, from fellow skateboarders and members of the community, to city officials and the faculty at Epworth are more than welcome to contact me to further discuss the growth of skateboarding in this area.
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