By Jason Lewis
OW Contributor
Skateboarders in Los Angeles have it pretty good. While some areas of the country are snowed in, or dealing with harsh winter weather, local thrill seekers are enjoying 70-80 degree weather, which allows them to hit the streets and perfect their best tricks.
Another perk of living in this city is that they have access to the Venice Skatepark, which was built on the sand of Venice Beach. The 16,000 square feet of concrete attracts the best action sports athletes in the area.
“It’s designed by some of the original ‘OG’ skaters that have been around for a minute,” said William Lamar, who has been a part of the Los Angeles skate scene for decades. “They’ve designed some of the best skate parks in the world.”
The skate park caters to various styles.
“You have your street skaters, which is more stairs and rails, and you have other courses for skaters who are more into vert, dropping down onto ramps, dropping into pools.” Lamar said. “It’s a different style of riding. Venice Beach combines both of those.”
Seeing that the skateboard phenomenon was created by surfers at this very same beach, it makes sense that this is the location where the skateboarding culture thrives.
“They have always gone hand-and-hand.” Lamar said. “It’s always been the same. If you’re a skateboarder, you’re a surfer, and if you’re a surfer, you’re a skateboarder. It’s the same culture. It’s that beach lifestyle.”
One of the most intriguing aspects of this culture is that it attracts kids and young adults of all races. Black skaters, White skaters, Latino skaters, Asian skaters, and action sports athletes from a variety of nationalities and cultures all mix together without race being an issue.
Skate parks have popped up all around the world, and with the X Games becoming a global sporting event, skate competitions are becoming common place, giving these youth an opportunity at a career in the sport.
Skate parks are giving young people an outlet to participate in their favorite sport, which is much better than the skaters hitting the streets and trying their high-flying tricks around the general public. Law enforcement has had many issues with skaters in public areas, but skate parks give skaters a designated area to show off their skills and a safer environment than the streets.
For some, Venice Beach may be out of the way, but a number of skate parks have been built in South Los Angeles over the past few years.
“Twenty years ago there were hardly any at all,” Lamar said. “There was one out in Marina Del Rey, so if you didn’t live on the Westside, you weren’t skating. Now there are skate parks in the inner cities. From Hawthorne to Gardena, to Compton to the Valley, all the way to Palmdale. Now kids in the neighborhood can skate and you have more talent coming out of the inner city.”
Lamar is the owner of Planet Maple Skateshop, and he produced SK8 Wars Urban Battles AM Tour, which was a skateboard competition and Hip-Hop Rock concert in 2012, held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. He is currently producing a skateboarding film titled “Rise ’N Rule.” To keep up with the skate scene in Los Angeles, visit Lamar’s website at http://pmsk8nsurf.com/.
