I consider myself a skateboarder.
At least I used to be.
I can still ollie enough for my kids to be very scared for our lives. One wrong move and a skateboard becomes a missile destined for viral fame. My friends and I used to rip around town back in the late '80s.
At the time Shredder Skate was the board shop to hang out in, Thrashin' was the movie and everyone was trying to find Animal Chin. If I had pictures they would be grainy. They would have captured two scrappy skaters who dreamed big and had bad haircuts.
Tuthill was the usual destination. The newer development was home to smooth black silk ribbon roads with almost zero traffic. Not a single pot hole. It was common to see a group of skaters circling around a ramp in the middle of the road. You could always find a launch ramp somewhere on Tamarac or maybe over on Birchwood.
Our ramp was on Arden Avenue. Well, it wasn't actually on Arden Avenue. It wasn't even ours. We got it from someone's older brother who graduated to a much bigger ramp. Our ramp was made out of leftover wood from pallets and one of Mr. Zoss's mandatory science fair projects.
The moms didn't think it was safe to ride in the street. We had to keep ours on the sidewalk and driveway. There are other reasons it needed to be on the sidewalk. It was small. Very small. Poorly made. It was best for us to skate under the cover of a tree on the boulevard anyway.
Our skateboards were rough. They didn't roll very far. The wheels were soft. Mine was an Action Sport board from the 1/2 Price Store. It did not have Swiss bearings or name brands. My friend's board was pieced together by a neighbor friend. We didn't care. I don't think anyone cared.
We were skaters. We had no idea what we were doing.
We'd skate up the block a bit, turn around and aim for the ramp. Ejecting off our boards right before the ramp is where we began. Our boards would launch into the yard. After time it was launching off the ramp with board and skater intact landing in the grass. The board would stop and THEN we would "eject."
Thanks Newton.
We encouraged each other, we gave feedback. It was summer. This routine was on repeat for at least 3 months at a time... every year.
I never went pro. None of us did. I'm sure you're reeling in your chair. I know. It was hard for me to accept too. I still love skateboarding. The creativity, the determination, the chaos.
This last weekend was Innoskate. If you haven't heard of it, you missed out. I hope it happens again next year.
I'll sum up. For me it started a week before with young and old local artists painting and crafting skateboard decks. These were on display at Rehfeld's Art and Framing. This town has some talent. I think some are still on display and for sale. Go there. I hope they are still there.
The main event was this last weekend at The Levitt. I gotta say, the collaboration between Downtown Sioux Falls, The Levitt and the Sioux Falls Skate Association was incredible. They brought skaters, speakers and artists together in such a unique way.
At any given time, there were artists painting and sculpting, skaters young and old perfecting their skills on rails and ramps, speakers sharing the history of skateboarding and mental health. Phillips Avenue was shut down to make a mobile skatepark.
My favorite was the little scrappers ripping through the park with confidence grinding rails, kick flipping boards and dodging other skaters.
Scratch that.
My actual favorite was the beginners area. Kids learning skills. Not just skate skills. Confidence... building self esteem... communication.
We need more of this for kids.
-- Chad Pickard
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