Skate for life

Idaho skateboarders glide, grind and gravitate to good times

(The Times-News, Twin Falls, ID) -- 09/29/2002

HAILEY -- TC would have loved it. With its slippery slopes, breakneck bends and gravity-grabbing grooves, there will be no finer place to grind than the as-yet unopened Hailey Skate Park. Idaho's newest and soon-to-be coolest place to skateboard was imagined out of the love for a son and built by the hands of the best. And it's the hope that even if TC, short for Tyler Craig Andrews, can't ever enjoy "surfing the concrete," thousands, young and old, will catch a thrill. That's how Andy Andrews wants it. See, TC was Andy and Katharine's son. The youngest of six, he was a nationally recognized snowboarder who thrived on the mountains surrounding Sun Valley. What TC did, other kids wanted to do; how he looked or dressed -- others would emulate. And his snowboarding -- watch out! Nobody was better. But TC soon felt overwhelmed, depressed by school back East. He struggled through a learning disability and had a rough time coping with always having to catch up while not being able to pursue his passion on the snow. Burdened by his troubles, TC shot himself four years ago. The skatepark is his parents' way to give back now. To know TC's death wasn't for nothing. TC's spirit lives on at the park. A metal pipe with the welded words "TCA Lives 3-27-81 - 9-21-98" is set in the ground nearby. "TC is probably smiling," Andrews said. "It's pretty ironic that four years to the day of his death we poured the last of the cement in the park." That was Sept. 21.

Plans for the park's "unofficial" opening are slated for "about two weeks." Andrews, a dozen high school students and Wood River Valley residents, his wife, Katharine Sheldon, Jim Kuehn and Dave Ferguson wanted to build a healthy, safe place for children and young adults to be able to gather and recreate. They formed a committee and raised $285,000 thanks in large part to an anonymous donor who matched $50,000 three-to-one. They got the city to donate the land. They tore up the former flat, asphalt skatepark. They hired skatepark gurus Dreamland Skateparks of Portland, Ore., to design and build it. Now, their four-year efforts to build the nearly 12,500-square-foot park are close to complete. Once the shrubbery and other landscaping is in place the sounds of children and skateboards should fill the quirky space. "We got together and formed a group and there was about a dozen kids friends of TC's," Andrews said. "We met every Wednesday that whole school year in 1998-99 and started working on getting a skatepark for the kids." One of only 16 such "world-class" skateparks built by Dreamland Skateparks, the Hailey Skate Park has skateboarders from across the globe frothing to speed down its 14-foot "vert" or vertical ramp, only to jet up and over the 16-foot full-radius pipe -- and into the 13-foot deep bowl at the other end. The park itself resembles a freakish swimming pool with its below-earthen bowl at one end steadily curving around to a shallower end where the ramp and pipe await. Rails are there for boarders to "grind" or "slide" on and a set of steps can be used for "ollies" or "tail grabs." One such skateboarder anxious to try out his tricks on the extreme park is Twin Falls' Shawn Black. "It's going to be incredible," Black said. "The whole park he laughs at the thought of skating it, 12-foot deep bowls, the ramp, the pipe. ... The park is going to blow people away."

Black himself is considered "old school" by today's standards. At 31, the goateed, tattooed, bespectled husband and father of one doesn't mind the label. He insists upon it. Getting his first skateboard at 5, Black is a longtime fixture on the Magic Valley skateboarding scene -- even before there was a so-called "scene" in the late '80s. "We used to have a big vert ramp over at CSI, where those two big flags are now," he said, choking up with the memory. "It was so good. It took us like three months to build. That was our first, park-type place for Twin." The ramp lasted all of two years when vandals, stunt bicyclists and the city decided to tear it down. So Black and his friends skated where they could, often being chased away by angry shopkeepers and property owners who thought the skateboarders were trouble makers. Finally, after years of trying, the Magic Valley Skateboard Association formed out of group of parents and skateboarders to rally for a local skatepark. On June 25, 2001, the 10,000-square-foot Twin Falls skatepark opened. Fifteen months later, the park remains abuzz with visible, happy children, observant parents and responsible skateboarders sharing good times on and around the cement. "We have the park and it's great," Black said. "But some of us older guys are stepping in and working on the next phase. We want a big deep bowl for the big boys. The park now, is more of a beginner to intermediate park. You master everything here and then you need something new." Black sees himself as a regular visitor once the park in Hailey opens. Regular, in weekly or weekend treks, right? "Daily," he said, with a grin. "The best pros in the world are going to be going to Hailey." Some already have tried it out such as Mark Gonzales, Julian Stranger and Thrasher Magazine editor Jake Phelps. Tony Hawk can't be far behind. "The guys at Dreamland come up with the craziest concepts and they make world-class parks like Hailey because of it." Black said.

Black dreams of skateboarding professionally himself. He's won over 40 trophies in regional, state and local contests, including winning a Vans Amateur Regional competition this past summer in Boise during the annual Warped Tour. That win gives him a shot at realizing his dream. In February, he'll skate at the Vans World Amateur contest in Orlando, Fla. The champion will earn a professional contract with a skateboarding company. Black, along with another Twin Falls skateboarder, Andy Sheppard, is sponsored by Board Bin in Ketchum. The deal provides the two with T-shirts, some skateboard parts and stickers. But mostly, a feeling that their love of skateboarding is making a difference beyond that of a hobby. Black is known as a vertical and ramp rider who mixes spinning, high-flying tricks with street moves like handstands and wheelies. "The guy is a showman. He's just a naturally great skater," said Don Martin, who runs the Meridian-based Northwest Amateur Skateboarding League NASL. Martin should know. Black has won three straight contests on the NASL regional circuit on his way to possibly taking the inaugural state championship Oct. 19 at the new McDevott Skatepark in Boise. Martin, who is a transportation broker by day and a skateboarding promoter by night, founded the NASL after moving from California and realizing how big the sport was growing in Idaho. So in April, he and skateboard sponsors Monster Skate.com, MasterCore, Circa Shoe Co. and King of Kings started a statewide tour of skate parks to give local riders some exposure and to build up the sport. The tour stopped in Rexburg on Saturday and has already hit skate parks in Nampa, Eagle, McCall, Blackfoot, Pocatello, Twin Falls and Boise. Next year, Martin said he hopes to include possibly the new park in Burley and the one in Hailey, though he admits the latter may be too much for younger riders. "It's been awesome. I've been overwhelmed by the kids and the parents," Martin said. "The involvement, the excitement and the dedication has been unbelievable. Most of the kids are just ready to skate and have been ready to skate. We just stepped up to the plate at the right time."

Martin said skateboarding is a phenomenon that sees no end in sight. And judging by the numbers -- 10 million skateboarders in the United States, according to TransWorld magazine -- he could be right. "It is the fastest growing sport in the country," Martin said. "There are more skateparks per capita than I've seen here. They're building new ones in Mountain Home, Kuna, McCall ... they're building them all over." Martin said as more parents understand the importance for their children to be able to express themselves on a skateboard and the fun that it creates, the more they get involved, and the better it is for the sport. "We used to see the parents just drop their kids off and leave," he said. "A year later, here those same parents are watching and saying, 'How come you can't land it here? You land it during practice.' Now that it is becoming more of a sport, they are involved. We used to see Moms and Dads dropping off their kids. Now we see them coaching their kids. "These parks aren't just here to be here. They're here to use. We're giving kids the chance to show off their talents." Andrews understands. "If one other kid has a bad day like TC was having and this park was here, TC would've been jamming," Andrews said.