Pre-fab metal skateparks are a dying breed. These first-generation skateparks are slowly being replaced by slick concrete courses and Olympic-style training facilities that may be “superior” but lack character. Growing up, these sorts of tinny parks were not just a place to skate, but they fostered entire ecosystems of people who made them their home away from home. They were a place of refuge — a space to explore challenges, insecurities, boundaries, and navigate those things with others who might be in a similar situation.
Our friend Nic Mosher was motivated to capture these parks through his new video series he’s dubbed “Metal Ramp Kids.” If there isn’t a state-of-the-art skatepark in your town yet, it’s likely that one of these metal parks is still hanging on. Nic believes that at every pre-fab park, there are unique crews of lurkers keeping them alive, and he’s setting out on the road to find out if he’s right.
His first stop was Fishkill, NY, a village 90 minutes north of New York City. Maybe it was beginner’s luck, but despite the 100-degree heat, he stumbled upon a motley crew of lurkers hiding out behind the ramps, some local biker kids, and a skater trying to make the best of his environment.
Since these are not central scenes like New York City or Los Angeles, they are often neglected and looked down upon, but we want to do the opposite and showcase—and dare we say celebrate—them before these relics of the past are gone for good.
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August 23, 2023 7:40 am
yeah, celebrate. What he say.
August 28, 2023 11:30 am
“Pre-fab metal skateparks are a dying breed.”
LOL. Tell that to Newfoundland.
August 29, 2023 5:25 am
Nice one! We actually focus on the same topic in our video Mean Skateparks – obsolete/shitty skateparks around Czechia.
Check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpKzyne2WWA&t=346s