I met Dan Barnett over the internet sometime last year through the non-profit skatepark advocacy group, Skaters For Public Skateparks. He has been an instrumental proponent of the permission DIY concrete project going on beneath a Seattle overpass– Marginal Way. It started with a meager concrete quarterpipe, then became an opposing wallride, and now it’s a full-fledged non-profit entity with jersey barriers and a buncha other stuff. Dan’s Austin visit earlier this spring afforded me the opportunity to skate with him around town and also watch his girlfriend skate in a rollerderby match. His project in Seattle is starting to catch the attention of philanthropists and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is helping raise its profile with this cool slideshow of photos and audio.
July 2006
Sat 29 Jul 2006
Marginal Way DIY skatepark in seattle slideshow
Posted by seth johnson under DIY Concrete , skatepark[2] Comments
Thu 27 Jul 2006
I received a note today from one of the Lakeway parks and recreation officials detailing a problem the city is having with stickers at their new public skatepark. As one who has caused plenty of problems and headaches for other people through my lifelong disregard for rules and authority, I can appreciate that many skateboarders could give a crap less about litter or stickers at a skatepark. For better or worse, though, years of meetings and conversations with adults in the community has convinced me of the need to keep a clean scene at our skate spots.
Thu 27 Jul 2006
Cary Jackson and I were out and about on Tuesday visiting the Williamson County public input meeting for their upcoming bond. While we were tooling through the boonies, Cary suggested we check out the dam at Grainger lake to see if there was water in the fullpipe. Unfortunately, it had a river running out of it. But it sure gave us reason to dream. A 16′ fullpipe within arm’s reach of my house fueled our hopes that there might be more out there elsewhere. We want to believe….
The input meeting went really well in terms of jazzing up the committee about getting another skatepark financed in the bond package. Afterwards, we cruised down to Mabel Davis for a dusk session. While at the skatepark, I found a folded-up piece of paper on the ground and crammed it in my pocket. When we got home, I unfolded it to my great delight.
Tue 25 Jul 2006
great time had by all at Mabel Davis Summer Skate Fest
Posted by seth johnson under Mabel Davis Street1 Comment
Saturday’s street contest at Mabel Davis was one of the best skate contests I’ve attended in several years. Excellent skating by the participants, superior organizing by Philly and Laurie, and comfy amenities provided by the City of Austin conspired to hold the spectator’s interest through several weather-related challenges. My attention was held by a clipboard and several dozen skateboarders whose skating I was tasked to assign numbers, which distracted me from my photo shooting. As it turned out, I only shot a few long lens photos of the event.
Tue 25 Jul 2006
I came across this blurb on the Transworld website about a fundraising effort to keep the Channel Street DIY concrete project going in San Pedro, CA. Sounds like it could really raise some cash for a deserving charity. Here are some photos Carter Dennis shot at Channel Street earlier this year.
The Channel Street Skatepark Project was begun back in the Fall of 2002. City Officials in San Pedro, part of LA’s harbor area, had been promising a quality, concrete skatepark for several years, but nothing ever seemed to happen. All suggestions by local skateboarders were disregarded and instead plans were made to build a modular, plastic skatepark sometime in the future. Frustrated and tired of waiting around for an unchallenging "plastic" skatepark, a group of San Pedro skateboarders began building their own skatepark on a neglected "eyesore" piece of land located under the 110 freeway at Channel St. What started out as a small concrete quarter-pipe slowly blossomed into a compact, yet functional skatepark within the span of a year. (more…)
Fri 21 Jul 2006
The weekend is fast upon us. Skating and summer fun. Maybe even some rain. If it does rain, and you find yourself basking in the phosphorescent glow of a tv set, I recommend feeling around the confines of your living room for a DVD. If there’s enough light in that room to read, you’re going to want to find the one labelled “Born Dead” and somewhere else on there it says, “Creature Skateboards.” If you can connect with this disc, you’re one lucky man. There’s a guy sitting in an Ohio prison right now who can’t. He used to ride shotgun with one of the rippers in this video (Al Partenen), but he won’t be able to skate or watch his bro destroy in Born Dead for the next 2.5 years. After that, it’s game over.
And that’s how Creature’s first skate video comes across– like a guy who just got out of prison and is thirsty for life.
