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!
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