Community Involvement

I will never forget the 2002 Mid Atlantic Bowlriders skateboard competition, not because I placed 5th, but because two volunteer groups (the East Coast Round Wall Foundation and the Surfrider Foundation) met for the first time. The result of this meeting was a plan to create a new skatepark in DC. The goal of this project, called The Green Skate Laboratory (GSL for short), is to create a multipurpose space for skateboarding, arts, and science using recycled materials (tires, dirt, concrete, etc.). The facility will be 100% volunteer built using tires rammed full of dirt.

The idea was there, but where were the tires going to come from? This is where the Surfrider Foundation came in. At the Anicostia River in Southeast DC tires were collected but not enough for the project. So, an appeal was made to different construction companies to donate their used tractor trailer tires. While all of this was going on, the East Coast Round Wall Foundation (ECRW), which I was (and still am) an active member of, was working on getting the funds for materials and finding the land for the park. The ECRW settled on a school in Tacoma Park and got grants for nearly $25,000. Then, the DC Public Schools changed their minds, told ECRW to leave, and took the grant money while they were at it. There is currently a pending lawsuit against the school system.

ECRW appealed to the DC Parks and Recreation for a location and they gave the land behind the Langdon Recreation Center in Northeast DC for the project. I was in charge of many fundraisers and EBAY auctions which nearly made up for the embezzled money. Every Saturday, for more than two years, a group of ten skateboarders, including myself, would meet at the Langdon Recreation Center and work from 8 am until dark. We did everything from rent dump trucks to getting fill dirt to packing the dirt to pouring the concrete. I took this opportunity to learn how to use many different tools, how to drive and use a Bobcat and even how to pour and finish concrete. Although it is not finished, it has come a long way since day one. In addition, I have provided newspaper, magazine articles, a link to a FOX news broadcast regarding the project, and I give free lessons at the park to neighborhood children.

I got involved with this project because I felt that I was obligated to give something back to skateboarding as it has provided me with so much. Skateboarding has given me many friends, has been a creative