Dayton Flavor

I got a chance this weekend to roll around with the guys behind the “Savor the Flavor” video that took the Dayton scene to another level. Ryan Benner, Aaron Pyle, and Andrew Thompson are all really nice guys and great skaters. Their style is original (flavorful?), and their humor unique. So get out your salt and pepper shakers, here’s what they had to say:

How long have you guys been skating together?

Ryan: Aaron Pyle and I have been skating together since we were about 15. We’ve been skating with Andrew for five or six years. He’s a little younger than us; I’m 24 and Aaron is 23.

What makes the Dayton scene special?

Ryan: Well I think it’s because we’re ridiculously dedicated here, ha. I mean, in rollerblading years we’re pretty old but we still manage to skate 3 to 4 times a week. I would not say our scene is strong as far as numbers, but we are not small at the same time. “Savor the Flavor” seemed to help a terrific amount in getting younger kids into the sport, which was one of the main focuses of the dvd. We have a nice little group of kids that come and go, and then there’s us older guys that are very close knit as many scenes are.

I realize Dayton’s not in Columbus…or is it?

Ryan: Ha, I kind of see Columbus and Cincinnati and us all as one scene I guess. We are keeping closer with Columbus now more than ever since Sam Baker opened his shop. Also Sam Baker has the best top soul I have ever freaking seen. And I have seen some dang good ones to. His is just a work of art.

Aaron Pyle / Andrew Thompson - 09 Section from 2 Much Flavor on Vimeo.

On to your new video, the sequel to “Savor the Flavor” entitled “2 Much Flavor” what have you guys learned from the first one and what are you doing different?

Ryan: I think our whole outlook has changed really. I know mine has. Mainly the way we actually skate and what tricks we are doing.

How so?

Ryan: Were really looking at how rollerblading appears in the public eye as it currently stands. Also, what strides people have made to present it in the “right” light and their attempts to make a true difference (We’re obviously very interested in this as our first video focused on it heavily). Looking at this we have made a huge change in how we skate (this is the biggest change by far). I feel the biggest untapped “WOW” factor to people outside of rollerblading is to incorporate more of our whole body into tricks. I don’t want to say combining parkour and rollerblading but that’s the only way I can describe it. We need to make rollerblading look so drastically different from other action sports that its instantly recognized as such because as of now, well…it’s not. We need to make some really big changes in the way we are skating and what we are skating and calling “spots.” I think in a way we have really underestimated the ignorance of people because for whatever reason doing 540 into grinds just isn’t doing it for people. We have a track record to show this as well because we have been skating very safe and conventional for years and it has not appealed to people enough to make a significant difference. We’re doing the same things over and expecting different results.

How will the format be in this video will it still have a story running through it? What do you think of current rollerblading media that tries to branch out and reach people?

Well, now were in 2009 and we have some pretty dang good rollerblading documentaries over the years that try to connect people to rollerblading. In fact, we probably have too many. To make an overly serious and dramatic rollerblading documentary has kind of become the new T-shirt company thing in rollerblading; everyone wants to do it. The bottom line is yah… there are some awesome ones but like the way we’re actually skating…its just not clicking with people for whatever reason. In my experience I have found comedy attracts and relates people to a subject matter rather than being serious, that’s just my take. So we are going to continue taking that path.

Who has sections?

Three very full fleshed out sections. We really want to focus on these riders. Chynna Weierstall, Aaron Pyle and Andrew Thompson.

Anything else?

Thanks for talking with me and taking your time to take pictures. I really appreciate it. I really enjoy your site and it looks great. Aaron would like to thank every rollerblader in the world and Bakerized Skate Shop as well as his mom. Andrew would like to thank Mix Theorem. I would like to thank my girlfriend Tessa for putting up with me blading all the time.

Shannon Turner interview

Shannon Turner is the co-owner, along with Craig Billingsly, of The Flow skatepark in Columbus OH. I had the chance to talk to Shannon during their camp this summer, and he was kind enough to share his insights into skatepark ownership, the state of the inline skating industry, and lots more.

Skate Columbus: So how did you guys start?

Shannon Turner: We (Shannon and Craig Billingsly) used to work together, ride together, snowboard together, and he was like “I want to do a park” cause he used to ride up at Chenga all the time, and I was like “well, I got some dough, let’s do a park”, and of course, the expense superceded the thought of having a park so, you just start slamming stuff together and got with a couple other friends and found a building that would allow us to have it in it. They gave us a six month lease with options for renewals because they didn’t think we’d make it. So instead of measuring out the square footage, they were like “you know what, you can have from these poles over”, but it wasn’t bad. Then we just started building and decided what we wanted and how everything worked out and we went through a bunch of different names for stuff, like for the park, one of the names was Rampa Room, just like the old Romper Room, stuff like that. It was just one of those things where now its…everything has a flow to it, so that’s how we came up with the name The Flow. We had about a quarter of the park built when we first opened it, and the first day we had about 135 people, and 15,000 square feet to skater or ride, and big open spaces, and you’re still trying to build just to keep it rolling. But we had to open to keep the money rolling to keep building more.

SC: So you guys did all the building yourselves?

ST: Yeah

SC: And you still do?

ST: Yeah, and that’s why we’re able to change stuff and keep it fresh. Our park’s still never done. We’ve been here (current location) almost five years, and there’s still ledges missing, there’s hits here, hits there, we’re still out there masoniting, getting metal on the bottom, our expense here is probably almost twice the amount of the old place. With that it takes twice the amount of kids. You want to keep the price low enough to keep kids in, but your costs are always going up, so you want to try to alleviate the stress of what’s on you. Craig and I just do it out of the love for doing it, so you have to try to come up with other incomes.

SC: You guys have been recognized nationally for your ramp designs haven’t you?

ST: We were like, the number one park in the country for probably 7 or 8 years for bmx, and I think we’re ranked number 4 now. A lot of that ranking is done by the pros, and it’s how much stuff changes, and if your park constantly moves and stuff like that. It’s all done by the industry, and that’s how you get rated. You get pros in a lot and nobody knows. We had one filming in here last night and nobody knew.

SC: Any big future plans?

ST: We hope to get a contract renewal (laughs)…there’s some pyramids and stuff we want to put in and some things we want to pull out. We’re going to pull that 5 foot quarter out that’s in there and break that spine apart, and change that whole area up a little bit and make it more skate friendly in general, with a hip in there, with a rail going up each side, it’ll flow a little better. Like I said, you’re constantly making changes, like the old place, you had poles that were 60 feet apart and you only had so many rows and you could build stuff in between them, and here they’re a little bit tighter poles in between, so you don’t get as good of transfer lines as you used to be able to at the old place where you could go in and out. That’s one of the things with this place where we came in, where we had the rhythm section at the old place, and you have parents who want to walk across the floor and get nailed, but that’s when they had the old video cameras without the side cams, so they’d be zoned out and get run into. A lot of thought went into putting the foam pit in the back to keep it out of the park because we had it in the park before, and you had a lot of issues with that. And having the skate area up front, because it’s mostly younger kids that come in that do the skateboarding, so the parents are closer to them and can see them all the time, for the parents that stick around, cause you don’t have a lot of that either. But the ones that do, they want to be able to check it out, and you want to try to keep them off the floor because they’re hard for everybody. I always try to tell them, “if you’re going to be on the floor, stay close to the poles” because everybody stays away from the poles. You don’t want to walk out on the field in the middle of a football game; the same goes for here. They’re moving much faster here. It’s hard because you don’t want to out-build your clientele. Right now we’re in a new group, I think we’re on our third group of 9 to 13 year olds, they’re coming into the sport, and the older ones start to move out, get responsibilities, jobs, college, and street is what they can afford instead of coming to parks, and you see them on rainy days. You come up with all the creative things to make money during the summer, contests, giveaways, lock ins, cookouts, rhythm contests, stuff like that.

SC: You guys have lasted a lot longer than most places.

ST: We want to make it to the ten year. We’re on our ninth now. It’ll be nine next July (2010), so hopefully we can make it to 2011. July 6, 2011 will be the ten-year. We would like to see a twenty year for sure, you just don’t know if things will last that long. Outdoor parks get beat up and we take care of ours, we can rebuild, where theirs is made of concrete.

SC: And it’s indoor, so you can skate in the snow and the rain…

ST: Yeah, you keep the patchwork going and…summers are hard, but you just try to make as much money as you can during the winter and stash it and try to rebuild what you can in your off season to make it fresh for the next year. Try to keep people involved and people want to have contests here, it’s like the inline contest, as long as people are still wanting to have contests here…we built certain stuff for inliners because they are out there, round copings and stuff that they like to skate so this works out great for a contest. Plus they like to hit the big boxes and stuff like that.

SC: I saw the Bittercold Showdown in 08 was really big, was that one of your bigger events?

ST: Yeah, the Dirty East is really big, It’s like a two day thing. That (Bittercold) was really good, it’s just with them trying to run a tradeshow at the same time, it’s tough cause you need a park and space, and that’s why they went to Modern this year for that reason but it wasn’t as fun for the skaters as this place was.

SC: Cause there was a bigger tradeshow space?

ST: Well, they had a tradeshow space that was available, It was in his shop before he puts a shop in. But, his ramps aren’t as big as ours, skate oriented, they don’t have as many bmx kids, so there’s a lot more wedges and stuff versus transitions and boxes and stuff that people like to fly over and transfer lines and stuff like that. If you can stimulate life back into the inline industry…cause it got kind of smoked because the skating industry, the people that owned the shops and the companies that provide for the shops were just not following up on what they needed to do and now its online. When you’re not selling it and making a profit…it’s like those brothers that skated vert, you don’t even hear from them now. Then the x-games dropped it. For the Bittercold, it was all fifty states. It was huge, but it was everybody. If they can stimulate the growth and get more people into it, it would be awesome. It’s almost like the whole scooter scene right now. There’s a bunch of those out there that are not able to get into parks and they’re killing it. Now they have all the aftermarket bars and stuff. Our insurance wouldn’t allow us to have it. We’re going to do a trial basis on it with our insurance company on Thursdays I think, to start allowing them in. Bars used to break, and you’re bent over so it used to impale you. So for us, you don’t want to take that risk for twelve dollars. At the same time, I’m probably getting 5 to 10 emails a week about it for the past four months.

SC: Can you regulate it?

ST: Well, that’s the thing, we’re going to try to do Thursdays. The problem is, a kid that skateboards that’s not very good, he can’t go everywhere, so you don’t have to worry about him injuring a lot of other people. But a kid on a scooter can go everywhere. It’s like young kids on bikes that roll over everything and run circuit tracks where they go around and around and don’t touch anything but the floor…they’re ones that are likely to get hit. You can’t see them, they’re small, you’re in the air, you come over, there they are. Or your flying over a ramp as a skater, and right there is a kid sitting on the floor having a picnic. So we’re going to try to do it on a trial basis, I think I talked my insurance into it so if that happens, it would be wonderful. It won’t be that great during the winter, but it will be awesome during the summer. As a park owner, you don’t really want to do it, but for the financial part of your business, you want to do it because it will make your business grow, and be able to build more stuff and better stuff, and be able to tear stuff down and rebuild stuff. So, for us, being that it’s just Craig and I, your finances are so tight that you want to try to make everything happen as much as possible. You’re not building all this for yourself, you’re building it for yourself and everybody else and you have to accommodate. So you hear a lot of people like “dude, I hate the Flow for this reason”, well I hate the Flow for a reason too. It’s not everything that I want to skate. And for Craig, it’s not everything that he wants to ride out there. Everything would be built differently if we even owned it individually, if we built it for ourselves. I don’t skate everything that Craig builds, he wouldn’t want to ride everything that I’d build. So you try to do it for the group, but it’s hard cause there’s so many things that people want to skate and ride and on top of that there’s things within that riding that people want to do. You just try to accommodate as many people as you can, and hopefully everybody has a great time.

SC: You have a lot of variety…

ST: There’s a lot of stuff that we could do differently, but the most fun stuff is wedges, boxes, pyramids, your basic stuff is where everybody has the most fun. You build some stuff out there that you have to be creative on or have to be really good to hit, it’ll sit there. We had that at the old park, we had that six foot mini with the spine, and its 15,000 dollars sitting over there that was getting ridden maybe twice a month, and taking up that amount of space and nobody really riding it, cause people were terrified at that time because it was beyond the level of the people that were attending. We’re going through that phase of the kids that are younger are better than the kids that were the same age five years ago because they’re growing up in these parks so they’re able to handle a little bit different stuff and a little bit more. And with they young age group, they’re like “I can’t drop into that”, but, yes you can, and in three months you’ll be killing it. I know a bunch of bmx riders when we first opened up that are from this Columbus area that are in videos and stuff…I remember those guys when they couldn’t even get up quarters, they would crash just turning around, and now they just kill it.

SC: So do you do a lot to get new kids coming in?

ST: Not really, it’s mostly word of mouth. Our park is so recognized, and being the only indoor…and even if there was another indoor in town, it would probably be tough for both of us, but we’d probably still win out just because of all the connections and the tours and accommodations. I rep for a few snow lines, and you know more reps and you know more people, because its all in the same end of it so, once you make those friendships and just trying to help our tours that come through…you just want people to keep coming.

SC: Well, thanks for letting me come up and hang out.

ST: Yeah, no problem.

Kyle Wood Interview

Skate Columbus: How old are you?

Kyle Wood: 20

SC: How long have you been skating?

KW: Probably about 7 years or so.

SC: How did you start skating?

KW: My mom took me to a skatepark one day, and I had a cheap Walmart skateboard and some fitness skates. After seeing some guy do a misty flip and grind a handrail, I thought it looked cooler, so I stuck with the fitness skates. The rest was history.

SC: Did you grow up in central Ohio?

KW: No, I grew up all over the place switching from school to school because my dad was in the military. Originally, I was born in North Carolina baby!

SC: What do you like about skating here?

KW: I like skating in Columbus mainly because of my friends, not because of the weather. Global warming, if it is even real, is definitely affecting Columbus, Ohio the most! We get negative 15 during the winter, and 100 in the summer, but i guess the huge fluctuation in weather has given all of us tough skin. We also have some great skateparks in the Ohio area, but a lot of our street spots have been ruined over the past few years. It’s my personal goal to fix old and new street spots before this summer is over.

SC: What’s your favorite place to skate?

KW: This is a tough question… but I’d have to say either Modern Skatepark in Michigan, or Woodward skate camp in Pennsylvania. Other than those, my favorite place I have ever skated street is Philly. That city is literally like a Tony Hawk level, where everything you think can be skated, has already been grinded or gapped at some point in time. Not to mention the downtown area is amazing, with a lot of architecture and history.

SC: What type of music do you listen to?

KW: I listen to all sorts of music, depending on what type of rollerblading I am doing will depend on what I listen to. Usually the harder the trick, the more intense the music hahah

SC: What’s your advice for anyone just starting out?

KW: Just do not give up! If you actually give rollerblading a chance, there is no way you can turn your back on it. Rollerblading is without doubt one of the coolest things you can do. There are going to be some low points where you may get hurt or discouraged, but there is nothing in this world that can compare to the highs and success of landing a new trick.

SC: Where does rollerblading stand right now?

KW: Well after getting kicked out of the X games, we’ve really lost all major corporate sponsorship. Which is great in a way that our sport is run by the people who rollerblade and NO one else, however, when the best pros are risking life and limb without health care to try and win a contest that will barely pay for their rent, there is definitely a problem. Its only a matter of time until rollerblading is rediscovered and better than ever before! And I plan to be there when this happens.

SC: What are your other plans?

KW: Well I already put in 2 years at Community College, so now I am headed to The Ohio State University to study Financing through their business program. Not exactly sure what to do with that, but I think I’m going to become an entrepreneur of sorts. It isn’t until this year I realized that I wanted to go somewhere with skating, because I always used to skate for fun, due to a lack of money in rollerblading. However, this fall, Nick Uhas, Nate Szana and myself have been offered to do a show on the CW about rollerblading. So I guess we’ll see where that takes us.

SC: Any last thoughts?

KW: Like shoutouts? Okay… I want to thank my mommy and poppy for their support. I also want to say thank you to all of my friends, without you I wouldn’t be where I am today! Thanks to Blue Wallace Skateshop for their support of rollerblading. I also want to thank Brad Anthony because he has had faith in me from day one, and is one of the nicest dudes I know. I also want to thank Hawke Trackler for going on adventures, and always being down to hold a camera with great filming. Everyone else, keep skating… if you’re not skating then you should! And represent Columbus, Ohio ya dig!!!!

Brandon Thomas and Danny Atkins interview

While spending some time skating up in Powell the other day, Johnathan Hoch and I ran into a couple of guys who share an interesting story. Brandon Thomas and Danny Atkins are both exceptional skaters and best friends. Despite having a disability where he is unable to use his legs, Brandon skates with Danny every day, and the two of them push and encourage each other. We sat down with the two of them to catch a little of their story.

Skate Columbus: So, talk a little bit about how long you’ve been skating and how you guys met.

Danny Atkins: We skate every day, at least.

Brandon Thomas: We probably put an hour in a day…

Danny: At least…we met at Worthington, I saw him (Brandon) and I was like that’s off the hook, you’re a total inspiration…we’ve been best friends since then.

SC: So you guys met skating?

Danny: Yeah, I just showed up at the Worthington skatepark and this kid was skating around on his knees…we’ve both been homeless together, we take care of each other…

Brandon: And whenever I have money and he doesn’t, I help him out, whenever he has money, he helps me out. We’ve actually been through a lot, like he said, we’ve actually really been homeless together and just done our thing and lived life, but we’ve always stuck with our skateboards, and we’ve always stuck as a team.

Danny: That’s what our end goal is, we want to get a team here in Columbus.

SC: Do you get to help a lot of the younger kids?

Danny: Yeah, that’s what I want to do, just to be able to go out and show them to stick with it, you can to it, anybody can.

Brandon: And eventually I want to get out there and show the other disabled people, look, don’t be stuck in your house all day…it took me till I was about 8 to start getting the handstands down. I had a sofa chair and I would just stand on my head on it and lay back. Then I wanted to do it on a skateboard. So I eventually got on it, started doin’ it, and fell for about 5 months. Then I got back on it one day and got it down and from there on I just started doing all the handstands and…

Danny: That’s kind of where I met him, me and him push each other so hard, his finger flips, his lip tricks and everything…it’s just on it every day trying to encourage each other…I’ve been skating for 14, almost 15 years, and I just learned to do flip tricks two summers ago…

Brandon: Last year I started getting my finger flips down, and this year we were at Westerville and I just started coming out of this little corner part and trying to flip it. I just started getting them real good, and I tried flat ground and I didn’t think I’d ever get them but I finally got the energy and mindset to do them.

SC: Do you see a lot of similar interest in skating from other people?

Danny: Yeah, there aren’t too many people around Columbus that are like me…I’m kind of out there a little bit, but everyone has their own style. That’s why it’s good to encourage each other, it doesn’t matter who you are.

SC: So, switching gears a little bit, what do you think about the crowded atmosphere at the skateparks?

Danny: It’s real nice when we catch a park empty. We’ll go up to Westerville and it’ll be empty and we’ll have 2 or 3 hours to ourselves.

Brandon: Yeah, like one night we came here (Powell) and there were 2 people here and it was getting dark and it was really fun because you don’t worry about everybody if you mess up. You just cruise and you’re not worried about anybody getting in your way. And you just do things you never thought you could do. I think if you’re starting to skate, try to go late at night, where it’s light enough to see, but you get the park to yourself.

Danny: And your not worried about embarrassment.

Brandon: And a lot of new skaters are afraid of falling. Once they fall, they wont’ get back on their board. I’ve taken some pretty nasty falls, I’ve had my arm from my shoulder to my elbow messed up cause I went to grind the bowl in Worthington and spun out and ripped the skin off my shoulder.

SC: Do you guys have any tips for young kids coming out to skate the parks?

Danny: Just wait your turn and…

Brandon: They get impatient because the younger you are, the more energy you have, and you just want to get out there and have fun like everybody else. Another thing is just keep your eyes open. If you’re not too experienced at a park and you’re younger, just find a spot to do some tricks and learn your balance. The smaller parks are better for the younger kids too, like Worthington.

Danny: Worthington’s a great beginner park to teach you transitions and work up speed.

Brandon: It’s really relaxing to go down there and practice your moves and move on to another park.

SC: Thanks for the interview guys.

Nick Uhas Interview

Skate Columbus: What is your name?

Nick Uhas: My full name is Nicholas Alexander Uhas. I was named after the last Czar and Czarina of Russia, which would actually be Anastasia’s parents! And, my last name means Sheppard in Hungarian. The original spelling was Yuhasz.

SC: How old are you?

NU: I am 24 years old…sounds like a big number when I say it, but I have done a lot in 8,760 days!

SC: How long have you been skating?

NU: I started skating when I was in the 5th grade, and I was 10 years old then…so 14 years. Although there have been times where sports, school, etc. have become the focus of my life.

SC: Where did you grow up, and what’s the skating like there?

NU: I grew up in Hilliard, OH. Skating there was fun and only got better as I got older. Columbus and the surrounding suburbs have spent a lot of money making some really good parks and places to skate around town. It was not always like this… also, Columbus has some really good street too!

SC: Talk about the journey that skating has taken you on so far.

NU: There is not enough memory on my computer to fill this question! I have literally traveled all over the United States from NYC to LA for skating, and even across the Atlantic to Aarhus, Denmark! Skating has also brought me just about everything good in life, for real! I could tie rollerblading into almost every step and experience in my life.

SC: What are some things you have going on right now?

NU: At this very moment I am working on co-producing, hosting and skating for a rollerblading show the CW station here in town, WWHOTV, will be broadcasting. I have put a lot into the project so far and I am super excited to start filming for the show! I am also gathering footage for some RedBull edits as well as working on some BlueWallace skate shop edits with Kyle Wood.

SC: What do you like about central Ohio?

NU: I LOVE the people and the chill atmosphere. I have seriously travelled the entire world and the people in Central Ohio are legit…super good people live here.

SC: What are your future plans?

NU: I am planning on going to a TV and Film acting school in NYC, after that I will be pursuing a career in professional acting of which rollerblading fits into extremely well.

SC:Any final thoughts?

NU:Work hard and do what you love…if people do that, I think they will be very very happy in the end.

Johnathan Hoch interview

Photo by Brittany Dennison

Skate Columbus: What’s your name?

Johnathan Hoch: Johnathan Hoch

SC: How old are you?

JH: 25 years young

SC: How many years have you been skating?

JH: Uhh…let me think about this…16

SC: What setup are you on now?

JH: Xsjado (pronounced shadow) boots and frames, some Bones Swiss bearings, and some huge 60mm Senate wheels.

SC: What’s your favorite place to skate?

JH: I love skating Ohio State’s main campus for some good ole’ street skating. The university really frowns upon it, but there is no better time to skate street than during football season in the fall, sorry. All the college kids are back and out having a good time playing corn hole and beer-pong – the atmosphere is already awesome. Then when you show up at some rail or ledge and start to skate they all stop what they are doing and start cheering you and your friends on. I love it. You just feed off the energy from everyone and the atmosphere around you there. For park skating I would have to say Powell is my favorite place to be for the moment. Since Columbus has a good amount of suburban skate parks, I tend to find myself wasting gas traveling the 270 outer belt from skate park to skate park. But the skate parks work well for all the youths in the suburbs.

SC: Why do you like that park so much?

JH: Team Pain, the group that designed the layout of Powell’s skate park did a great job of creating various paths to flow around and variations in elevation. It is a pretty beginner to intermediate level park obstacle wise, so when you are just in the need to get a quick session in or just want to go out and roll it has a lot of different features that make the visit enjoyable.

SC: What do you like about rollerblading?

JH: I like inline skating (and I use that term “inline skating” to define my sport because Rollerblade is actually a company that produces inline skates) because it is a really fun activity. Even when I fall (and I do fall hard) it is still enjoyable. The feeling of coming back after the fall and going back to the same trick that you got hurt on – only this time around you pull your trick off and skate away clean. I like how I am able to conquer my fears. The fears that I get when trying a new trick help me develop the esteem I need to conquer the fears that come along in life with new experiences. Skating has helped me believe in myself and just trust my instincts not only in skating, but also in the path my life takes me.

SC: You used to skateboard too right?

JH: I guess you could say that. I just tried it for maybe a month back when I was 12…I just tried kickflips and ollies. I would get frustrated with spraining my ankles and hitting myself in the nether-regions as the board would make an attempt to flip off the ground. I also attempted biking around the same time too. I had fun with it one day at the dirt jumps and I tried a jump with a fire pit in a big hole that the bikers dug out, and landed on the short side of that, flipped over the handlebars….it was a real nasty fall…..and that was the end of that. I recently picked up bicycling again for my campus commute…cars don’t make it any more fun but at least I’m safe on the pavement. I also love to snowboard whenever I get a chance. Having attempted these different sports, even though they weren’t for me, I have much respect for those who are able to. It’s cool to watch people define their sports, even if it’s not the ones I participate in. That gives me motivation to keep going. Passion is passion regardless of what sport you are in.

SC: So when did you pick up a pair of skates?

JH: In the sixth grade my cousin handed me a Team Paradise catalogue. Took some money that I had saved up and bought a pair of Seneca skates from Meijer, went home and made a little PVC rail and some ramps. It was awesome then, my cousin and friends would all just meet up in the lobby when the bell rang, rush to put all our gear on, and head out the door to skate ledges right outside the school until we got kicked out. Then we would just skate all over town until dinner time. Then after dinner I would go back up to school and skate some more. You would look at pictures from magazines and just teach yourself how to get up on the ledge or rail. And your friends would critique you. Then play games of SKATE (like HORSE or PIG, but instead of shooting a basketball you would match the trick of the person in front of you).

SC: What do you think needs to change in the sport and/or industry of inline skating with where it’s at right now?

JH: You know, I honestly believe that the sport and industry are right where they need to be. You look at how young our sport is compared to skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding and its right there with BMX and freeskiing age wise. The only difference is that who ever was the acting voice of our sport at the time chose to handle things differently. But now, I think as a sport and industry we are seeing things in a different perspective than we once used to. We are growing up and growing wiser.

SC: In what way?

JH: Well a lot of people are labeled as professionals and being a professional means you have a certain duty to uphold at your profession. As a professional skater it is your duty to promote what you do, to EVERYONE. Not just one individual or group. If you want to have longevity with what you do you have to branch out, be willing to listen, and learn to negotiate to get what you want.

Photo by Eric Brown

SC: I know you’re pretty involved with the skating scene going on around here, what kind of things are you involved in to help the sport continue to grow?

JH: Currently I am working with The Ohio State University on research and development on skate parks, plazas and facilities that cater to action sports. The university sees a gap that needs to be filled in regards to helping bring these sports to the same level as swimming, soccer, and gymnastics. I am also heading a committee for the university and City of Columbus for the development of a regional size facility that will be open to the community but will also have programs available through students and staff at Ohio State. Lastly, I’m also working with the Recreation and Parks department of Columbus to form annual summer events and camps that utilize the surrounding skate parks in the suburbs.

SC: So you want to see it become more of a community effort?

JH: Yes! Just like how you see all those flyers for youth summer soccer, baseball, and swimming leagues. Kids who ride BMX, inline skate, and/or skateboard need the same support system – especially from the community. I grew up being labeled as a punk and deviant whenever I had my skates on. The community wanted nothing to do with me (and those like me) and I see something really wrong with that. Luckily some other community members saw us for what we really are and are capable of, which helped us to eventually raise enough funds for a public skate park in Lancaster, Ohio, my hometown. Skate parks are the only parks (compared to football, soccor, tennis, baseball, etc) that are utilized 365 days a year (minus those rainy and snowy days of course).

SC: So talk a little bit about what OSU is doing, and their plans.

JH: Hopefully in the next 4-5 years, Columbus wants to have a regional size skate park in comparison with Louisville scale-wise, which is roughly 40,000 square feet in overall area. The city of Columbus wants to do something different in making it a part of the town, a part of the community. They’re also working with Ohio State. It will be open to the public; you’ll just have to pay for parking. Ohio State really likes the route Woodward has taken with these sports in regards to education, athletic training, and overall professionalism. Ohio State is willing to travel down that road to see just how far it goes.

SC: So they’re really starting to look at it from every aspect?

JH: Yes, they see what goes into making a skater a skater. The athletic ability along with the thought process one has. They also really like the thinking that goes into designing skate parks and plazas. They see it from three view points; academic, athletic, and artistic.

SC: And you’re working for OSU right now?

JH: You bet. I am very lucky to be working with the university.

SC: What is it that you’re doing for them?

JH: Right now, research on existing organizations and skate parks, plazas, facilities that encompass action sports. I am also trying to repair the ramps at our temporary skate park. A lot of the ramps were donated and/or built by locals so I just make sure the surface and structures are safe and in working order for the users. We are also working towards repairing the asphalt surface so the ride is a little smoother. But down the road, hopefully in about four to five years we will have a legitimate facility. Right now we are hoping to utilize the 40,000 square foot area adjacent to the Jesse Owens West Tennis Center with roughly 75-80% wooden / Woodward Prefab ramps and the remaining for concrete bowls and obstacles you would find while skating street. Ohio State really likes what Rob Drydek did down in Kettering, Ohio with the DC Shoe’s Skate Plaza. Hopefully the users will see some familiar obstacles from campus and around Columbus facing them at the skate park.

SC: Are there any plans to put in a vert ramp?

JH: No, none of the kids really wanted a vert ramp. We held some focus groups over the winter and we were able to determine what users in our area need from a skate park in their community. Maybe later on – I would personally love to have a vert ramp. Also, Ohio State and the City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department are holding more focus groups this spring and summer so we can get as much information out of the users/participants as possible. We all want this project to be something we are all proud of and we will not settle on anything below our standards.

SC: So it’s mostly just street stuff?

JH: It will be a mixture of both worlds. We want users to be able to be challenged all day long and not feel like riding the park becomes mundane at any one point. And to continue to come back day in and day out – this will be accomplished by the re-design of ramps and shuffling the layout of the park from time to time.

SC: And you said they want to do this within 4-5 years?

JH: That is our timeline as of right now but there is some flex time due to the economy. I guess I should say the goal is 4 to 5 years but ultimately it will be created once the full funding comes. We do have the benefit that a skate park on this scale will help by becoming a sort of tourist attraction to skaters. With road trips to the area comes spending money on food, a place to stay, gas, etc which will help to feed our economy and support our community.

SC: So, there’s really a lot of secondary advantages to having a larger park that benefit the economy?

JH: Oh yes. As a skater I like to travel, especially to communities that welcome what I do and right now that is few and far between especially here in the Midwest. So I think the City of Columbus, OSU, and the community members have a lot to benefit from this project. More importantly the kids will have a place to help push and support their dreams.

SC: Any last thoughts you have on stuff going on here in central Ohio?

JH: I know this summer there are a number of different events and contests going on in the action sport community. I know so far there’s a contest and cookout at DC Shoe’s Skate Plaza in Kettering, Ohio for the inline skating group. Then later on at Lancaster, Ohio’s Miller Skate Park there two events that are happening; May 23 and June 21 are both skateboarding events filled with contests and live music. I am planning on hosting a BMX and Inline event there as well. The date for the inline event is July 18. And I am leaning towards hosting the BMX event sometime in August. I know Woodward’s AIL (Amateur Inline League) is trying to set something up with Shannon at The Flow for sometime in September as well. I will make sure to put the information out as soon as it becomes available.

SC: Well thanks for the interview.

JH: No problem, thanks for helping the scene here in Columbus, Ohio. There are a lot of people out there that are passionate about these sports and lifestyles so this is a great way for all of us to stay connected and to work together.