10 Skateboarders Who Opened Parks in Their Hometown

In most cities, a skatepark is not a given like a basketball court or baseball diamond. Skateparks typically get built through the effort of local citizens working hard to raise money and awareness to convince the powers that be that there is a real need for a skatepark, and that such a park would not be an insurance liability or attract a bad element. Professional skateboarders have traveled the world and skated hundreds of parks, so they know the blueprint for success. This list of 10 Skateboarders Who Opened Parks in Their Hometown represents a group of people who recognized how important skateboarding is to their lives, and wanted to see others enjoy skateboarding just as much as they have. They saw a need in their community and put in the hard work to make their skatepark dream a reality.

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Park: St. Helena Skatepark

Location: St. Helena, Calif.

For ten years, Walker Ryan worked with city officials, parent groups, and skatepark committees to make the dream of a hometown skatepark a reality. Ryan and the others who helped to make the skatepark happen raised close to a million dollars from local sources. The result is a 15,000 square foot skatepark with a vert bowl and street course.

Park: Kettering Skate Plaza

Location: Kettering, Ohio

Rob Dyrdek has his name associated with several skateparks across the country. His mission with the Skate Plaza was to design skateparks with features commonly found in the streets and are enjoyed by the majority of modern street skaters. This was a very new idea in 2004, when Dyrdek approached his hometown of Kettering, Ohio, about being the first place in the world to have a plaza-style skatepark. The plaza opened in June 2005 to much fanfare, and has been a well-used skatepark ever since by local skaters and visiting pros alike.

Park: Big Sandy Skate Bowl

Location: Big Sandy, Mont.

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament has had his hands in several skatepark projects, but in 2010, he put up $40,000 of his own cash to build a skatepark in Big Sandy, Montana, where he grew up and now lives. It’s a small bowl, but in a town with few paved roads, it is a big deal. Ament called his high school friend and mayor of Big Sandy, Daren Schuster, and his friends at Grindline Skateparks to make the project happen with minimal red tape.

Park: Manhattan Bridge Skatepark

Location: New York City, N.Y.

When the famed Brooklyn Banks were undergoing a redesign that would restrict skateboarding, Steve Rodriguez of 5Boro stepped in and let the city know that they had an iconic landmark on their hands that could draw people to the city from all over the world. With his help, the Brooklyn Banks were preserved. Following his involvement with that project, Rodriguez has consulted on numerous new city skateparks across the five boroughs, ensuring that New York City skaters have quality, modern skateparks to ride. His most recent project is the Lower East Side Coleman Skatepark in Manhattan.

Park: Paul Rodriguez Skatepark

Location: Pacoima, Calif.

Opening on Go Skateboarding Day in 2009, the Paul Rodriguez Skatepark in Pacoima, Calif., was designed with input from P-Rod to mimic famous spots around Los Angeles that are no longer there or skateable. The 12,000 square-foot plaza features rails like Sylmar, ledges like DWP, and banks like Griffith Park. It even features a private parking spot for the man himself.

Park: etnies Skatepark

Location: Lake Forest, Calif.

Pierre André Senizergues was a pro freestyle skater back in the ’80s who went on to found etnies and Sole Technology. After hearing that the city wanted to build a small skatepark, etnies partnered with the city of Lake Forest, Calif., to build a massive destination park to the tune of nearly $2 million. The original park was completed in 2003, but then Pierre André and etnies expanded the park in 2011, making it the largest free public skatepark in the United States at 62,000 square feet.

Park: Micropolis

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Janne Saario went from Element Europe pro to skatepark designer. His first project was an innovative new skatepark in his hometown of Helsinki, Finland. The park is called Micropolis, and is nestled in an area of mature trees and grazing rabbits. It has been nominated for awards in environmental structure and urban public space.

Park: Fælledparken

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

When Copenhagen needed to update its skatepark, the city turned to its native son, Rune Glifberg, to help make the new park a world-class destination for skaters. The resulting park is now world famous for its over-vert bowl corner. The park hosts epic sessions every year when the Copenhagen Pro contest is happening, and visiting pros enjoy the park’s unique features.

Park: Train Bank Spot

Location: Malmö, Sweden

Pontus Alv is a leader in Europe’s DIY movement, creating numerous parks and spots around Malmö, Sweden, throughout the years. His most famous project is Train Bank Spot (TBS). This path along a disused factory stretches over 300 feet and is complete with ledges, wall rides, gaps, and bumps. Construction on TBS started in 2004 and continues to this day with new features being added regularly.

Park: Kapaa Skatepark

Location: Kauai, Hawaii

Danny Way has made a new home for himself in Kauai, Hawaii. The local skatepark at Kapaa was not up to the standards of today’s skateparks, so Danny Way has been working with the city council and a local skate advocacy group to build a new park in its place. In February of 2014, the city council approved Danny Way’s proposal and the planning has begun. The non-profit Danny Way Foundation will design and partially fund the project.