From the Streets to the Parks

Through growing up skating Gwinnett County, there has been a huge change in the skateboarding dynamics of the area. Since building five skateparks I can name off the top of my head, driving just as far to a street spot really isn't much of an option anymore. In high school before building the bowl up at Mountain Park Park, our go to spot was Trickum Middle School, now part of Parkview High School. "The pit."

A street skater's dream, all within walking distance of home. We would be up there every weekend, some weekdays too. I remember the first time we all went up there to skate together. It was December 11, 2004. We would practice ollieing sets, grinding and sliding on the curbs and ledges, etc. That kept us content for a couple years.

Occasionally we would make the venture up to Mountain Park to skate the manual pad and seven stair in the parking lot. If we wanted to continue walking we would make it up to "The Good and the Bad Churches." This is the intersection of Five Forks and Rockbridge. There are two churches up there, one on either side of the road. We deemed one church "good" and one church "bad" because one had more things to skate than the other. Both, neither much of anything, but hey, it was a change up from the same old spots.

On days when the stars aligned, we would get a ride over to Sergio's house and go skate "his" spots. The intersection of Killian Hill and Highway 29 (Lawrenceville Highway) we deemed "Sergio's spots." Everything from the Eckerd Ledge to banks, gaps, and manual pads are over there.
Feeling like walking, we would walk south on 29 over near Shane's house to the Goodwill and Publix. Another option from Sergio's house was to walk down the train tracks to go skate Berkmar High School, the Jade Dragon manual pad, and a few other spots down along 29 and Arcado. Lilburn Industrial was also somewhere we would occasionally go in addition to the abandoned concrete factory. We would just wander.

Rarely when I would skate with The Joe, we would get rides over to near Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth. "Santa Fe." The Santa Fe Mall is over there too where we all went to go see Snakes on a Plane one time. These trips to Santa Fe are defining moments in my life and I feel as if I touched on them before, but yeah, Santa Fe, Pleasant Hill, near 85 is the best. Full days of skating/wandering, we experienced so much. The nine set, the ledges and two stairs on opposite ends of Santa Fe Mall, and the Poolhall Banks or whatever they're called are all over there. Get this, we skated that area a number of times and had never come across the Poolhall bank spot until much later. This spot is featured in numerous big name videos like the Nike video with professionals such as Justin Brock and Grant Taylor skating it. This spot is defintely THE street spot to go to; one of the worthy spots still good enough to skate. The business at that location is always changing. The last time I was over there I think it was a sushi bar.

Some time in senior year of high school, Mountain Park Park Skatepark was built. None of us knew how to skate it. We had never skated tranny before, except maybe a little at The Avenue, Crudds old skatepark on McGee and 78, which is now shut down. Ah, I just remembered Cheese Banks in Tucker is a fun one too, but for some reason we would flock to "the park." Freedom Fridge or The Fridge or Freedom Fish (all the same thing) was a fun diy spot made from the wreckage of an abandoned go-kart facility. We would skate here when we had the chance to too. Another favorite of mine. While skating here, it was like we were in our own little world surrounded by trees and a lake. The putt putt facility was fun to explore too. Of course there was Foundation downtown, I would skate there on opportunities between college and working for UPS during my second year at GSU.

We had also heard from a friend that a street plaza was being built on the other side of 78. Deshong Street Plaza is what it is called. That was built shortly after Mountain Park. There is also Duncan Creek, Bay Creek, Settles Bridge, Pinkneyville, and dare I say Ronald Reagan. Pinkeyville's been around for a while but the rest are new. Brook run and Old Fourthward are also new skateparks, but are out of county in Atlanta. Buford Highway in Doraville has some super fun spots too, mostly banks but there are some five stairs at this one shopping center.

These days it's not what spot you want to skate, it's what park you want to skate. What is unique about parks compared to skating street is that you are bound to meet up with other skaters (bmx, scooters unfortunately) you might not know. Then again, you might not want that so skating street with a close group of friends could prove to be more fun. Going on street adventures and being more nomadic than opposed to staying in one location is a lot more fun in my opinion. You get your camera and your friends, hop in the car and have a sort of party going on. A party on the road.

Street skating can get tiresome though. For instance you might get kicked out of a spot you drove 30 minutes to. You usually spend more time in the car than actually skating, dependent on where and what you skate of course. You might just want to get a trick on film at one of these locations and be happy with it.

I sometimes feel caged in at a skatepark, especially if it has a fence on the way around it. I feel as if society has me right where it wants me: in a confined area where I can't hurt anyone. Skateboarding at a skatepark is a less rebellious act than trespassing and destroying private property, but hey, street skateboarding, park skateboarding it's all skateboarding, right? Skateparks make it easier to hone your skills in preparation for taking them to the streets. Without security to kick you out, there is more room for improvement. Then again skating away as fast as you can and yelling "F*** you, ***hole!" might just be a bit more satisfying in the end.

Either way, it's your call!

Motivation

Injuries! So as I sit here trying to brainstorm about skateboarding, I wonder: what is some epic story I can write about? ...Nothing came to mind. I keep thinking; What about what happened to me lately?... still nothing. Ok. What about what happened to me today! Bingo. Injuries.

So I didn't get injured today, but I wasn't far from it. Being injured sucks yet, makes me want to skateboard more. Right now I am recovering from three injuries total: two overextended feet, and a dislocated pinky. The dislocated pinky is the fun one. I'll save it for last.

So anyway, sometime mid January I decide to skate Mountain Park. I had a good sesh, met up with an old friend, and got close to nearly all the tricks I wanted to get for the day. The day goes on, the sesh ends, and I take a nap. Feeling rejuvenated, I am up for almost anything. Some of my other friends want to get together for a sesh. I am hesitant at first, but I'm like: Gotta go for it! So I'm like, "Sure, I was already up there once today, but I'll go again. Just gotta remember to take it easy." Big mistake.

So this time it's about 5 pm instead of noon, I'm back up at the park. Worn out from the previous sesh, I keep it pretty cool. I landed my tricks once that day, didn't need to do them again. I take to the banks. Sesh goes on, it's pretty fun despite being the second sesh at the same place in one day. I take this trash can and lay it on its side. TJ says to me, "You're going to get in trouble for skating that." I completely ignore him. I go back far enough to get plenty of speed to crack an ollie over this old thing. I go for it, and get over it, but something just doesn't add up. Bam! I land on the ball of my right foot, and hyperextend my big toe.

Ow! I went to the ground. I didn't think it'd be that serious of an injury, but here I am, over a month later still complaining. Now, it's nowhere near as bad as it was, but still, I am not at 100%...


I take it easy for about a week, skating the driveway here and there, busting out a few no comply 180's, nothing intense. Joe has the weekend off of work and wants to build a box, so I'm like, I'll help. The box takes about a day and a half to build so the night of the second day we decide to take it out.

The sesh gets heated at the old underground ledges, a covered parking garage that we head to for rainy weather sessions. My foot is good enough to skate, I'd say about 83%, so I pay it no mind. End of the sesh I go for a little wallie off one end of the box (The box has slanted ends by the way.) and I land on my left foot almost identical to how I landed on my right foot about two weeks earlier. This one isn't as bad as the first one, but I occasionally have to pop the top of my foot in the morning.

Now after that incident, I would still skate lightly. I hit Bay a few times and would mainly do moves that don't require much. So this past Monday, after working on the basement most of the afternoon, I want to go out for a skate.

I borrow the van and head up to Mountain Park. I warm up and get all my basic moves first try. I should have gone home after that, but that euphoria I get had me high. I decide to try something new. I intended to go for a lip to tail on the 6 foot, but I leaned over too far. I put my hand out to the box and POP! goes my pinky finger. I had popped my pinky finger out at the second knuckle, just as Justin Eldridge did his ring finger in Yeah Right. Oh my God I thought. I look at it for a few seconds and immediately pop it back into place. It looked a lot worse than it actually felt, so I come home, ice it, etc. Whatever, done.

So now I sit here, a few days later, after coming home from skateboarding again, up at Mountain Park, where this time I had fell on the hand that I had my pinky dislocated, in a way that didn't hurt anything and have come to the conclusion, as I have many times before, that I am unable to stop skateboarding.

There is something about skateboarding that I can just not let go.
These injuries don't deter me from skateboarding, they actually increase my desire to go out and do it! It is a change in the game. A new set of parameters to follow, sort of like a new board or something, but only with your body, and not as fun as they inhibit your abilities.

At the end of the day it's all about how you look at it. Some may look at it as a way of giving up. I look at it as a way to continue and grow. Life is not about how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up! So remember that.

Seekers of the Truth by Cro-Mags

Found these lyrics to hit so very close to home when I was first introduced. I hope they ring somebody else's bells too. 

Cro-Mags - Seekers of the Truth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQn9ebWabec

Wastin my time servin my mind
For sense pleasures i can find
Gotta get back, back to the truth
You know it was left behind

It's so easy to see, if you wanna be free
Don't wanna be just a slave
Cause no matter how you choose
You know you'll lose
If you ain't looking for the truth

Searchin and searchin for something real
You gotta know how i feel
Cause we been looking after the truth
Rejected those lies of our youth

You've seen the proof
This ain't no spoof
They tried to bend the truth
And we won't regret the things we met
If we're on the path of righteousness

Now we gotta, we gotta go back
Something ain't right so we gotta, we gotta go back
Trace our steps and see what we've done
It's time for us to go back to square one

You just can't seem to see what i mean
You know what i'm talkin about
Cause we been in bondage much too long
Don't you think it's time to get out

See time has taken it's toll and they're in control
We can't let this madness last
Gotta make our move
Get in the groove
We gotta do something fast.

Music and Skateboarding

Music is a huge influence in my life. I have always been a fan of music since I was a kid. I remember going on family vacations, and even just going to the grocery store, we would always have music playing. I even listen to music as I type this.

I can't say that music is what got me into skateboarding directly, but I have been a music lover much longer than being a skateboarder. Growing up I would always have music playing, whether it be on a portable CD player, iPod, and now computer and phone. Music is the spice of life and can be very manipulative and enjoyable on many different levels.

I think I first took notice to music within skateboarding through watching skateboarding videos. The first video that really sucked me in was Vicious Cycle. Playing predominately hip hop, there was no escape. It was perfect for the NYC East Coast style of street skateboarding. I watched and re-watched that video time and time again. It shaped my early image of skateboarding. These days I lean more towards the rock and roll genres and find solace in these lyrics, but to each their own.

I would have to say the main genres that go along with skateboarding are punk rock, metal, and hip hop, although it is always a treat to hear a fun 80's song nestled somewhere in a video. Basically it's whatever you like. Listen to the music that you like and make it your own. Skateboarding is yours and you should be the one to define your own style. Be an original, make your own music. Make your own video. Or don't. Do it yourself. Do it with friends. Do it with anybody you like.

Today there is basically an infinite amount of music available to anyone with an internet connection thanks to Youtube. I have been introduced to more styles of music that I may have never known with out it. That's technology for you, but your skateboarding can go with any type of music. The faster the better.

That moment when you decide not to ollie anymore

I don't know if this happens to everybody but it happened to me ...and I'm not exactly sure when.


If there's something that changed with my style of skateboarding it has to do with popping the board (flipping also). Growing up in high school, it was all about street skating and flip tricks and all that. (We didn't have a park back then.) We grew up skating "the pit." The pit is the courtyard at the now Parkview High School, back then "Trickum" (Middle School) as we still call it. Four stairs, curbs, ledges, and eight stairs (and the three stair) is what we skated. It shaped who we are/were as skateboarders for the longest time. It was our skatepark before Mountain Park Park Skatepark. It was the spot.

Maybe we all got lazy, maybe the million dollar bowl 5 minutes up the street changed everything, or it could be that our bodies just don't feel like handling that kind of pain anymore. Whatever it was, I skate completely different now. Instead of manuals, ollies, and ...well I still do kickflips, I base my present day skateboarding around footplants and what I can do easily, on tranny or street. I think it is progression. I would rather go easy on my body riding bowls and ramps as opposed to hucking my body down stair sets or try for hours on a tech line or some manual combination. I am more in the state of being as opposed to doing. I have a set number of tricks I do and my goal is to do them on every new obstacle I come across (that I deem worthy.)

I'm not as agile a street skater as I used to be, but I'm sure I could still pull some manny pad tricks out on a good day. Purely riding has seemed to take over, I assume for the better. However, I think purely riding in a bowl is useless. Sure it is the essence, but I'm not going to do it. It uses up energy I could use on something else.

I have found interest in using my arms in skateboarding too; bonelesses, beanplants, simply grabbing the board. It's an option not necessarily used in street skating. I have somehow found a mix between transition and street that I enjoy and deem it as my own personal style.

Driving

Learning to drive is a major change in the skate game. Without a car you are forced to stay local and skate shitty street spots if there is no skatepark nearby. If there is a skatepark near by, you might just get sucked into hanging out there all the time, leading to stagnation. Driving costs an incredible amount of more money than riding your skateboard everywhere, yet it greatly expands your possibilities and is most definitely worth it. Driving, not skating, also leads you to explore new things not considered skating. You get caught up in driving, going out and etc. With driving a car everywhere, you slack on your discipline of skateboarding, partially. You do have more energy to practice your craft when you are at a specific spot to go harder for your tricks, but is skateboarding really all about that? To me a good portion of the fun is the journey. How you get to your spot is almost as important as what you do there.

Driving is definitely a game changer especially for skaters. You dive into a whole new world. Then your friends all get cars and its not like it was back in the day, traveling together; being able to communicate person to person, granted your ipod headphones aren't in. Growing up and getting a car is I suppose a fact of life, at least where I live. All the spots and parks that are worth it need driving to get there (except Mountain). Driving alters the community you have around you and has introduced me to some of the funnest bank/ditch spots I have ever skated. I suppose banks and ditches are my thing; not enough courage to do most of my tricks on sizable tranny yet, I still have the motions down.

Certain places, mostly parks, get greater emphasis because it is a congregation area and you are judged, at least the way I see it, by what tricks you got there. The people you skate with at a certain park know you only for the tricks that you do there, yet you may have a completely different arsenal at a different park and/or spot. I always thought parks are places to practice you tricks for the real thing, street. That is an anomoly. Practice your tricks at a place made for skateboarding, then doing you tricks at places not made for skateboarding? Hmm, interesting.

Skateboarding involves not skateboarding. You just have to be killing it at life in all categories for your game to be strong, I believe. Gotta somehow be earning an income to put things in perspective. Doing things independently. Isn't that what skateboarding is about? Doing things your way? The idea behind skateboarding surpasses the mere act of skateboarding and translates into other successes in life because face it: the same skatepark with the same friends is boring/depressing.

Skateboarding is essentially a mode of transportation, if you don't practice free styling like Rodney Mullen, but the thing with skateboarding is you are constantly in motion. In skateboarding, you find the best way to get from A to B; sometimes getting creative, sometimes getting gnarly, but the best when you find a mix of both.