People like Cengiz Salman are breaking skateboarding stereotypes. Salman, an employee at
Premier Skateboarding in Lansing’s
Old Town neighborhood, has been skating since 2001 and is pursuing his PhD in cultural anthropology.
From baby boomers to Gen Ys, folks of all ages and ethnicities are plowing money into one of the nation’s most accessible extreme sports— a growing, $3 billion a year industry, according to the
Skate Park Association of the United States (SPAUS).
With Tony Hawk now a household name and the
XGames the most-viewed sporting event among 13 to 24 year olds, it's an industry that includes everything from fashion to boards
to events.
And for the last several years,
Lansing,
East Lansing and
Mason have been paying attention to the growing skate culture. They’ve attracted the biggest names in skate park design, invested more than $1 million in area skate parks and supported thriving skate shops.
Those investments have put the Lansing area in the center of the national skating scene—a smart move, considering it’s a sport that’s growing faster than golfing, mountain biking, and 50 other sports tracked by the
National Sporting Goods Association.
Bringing the PainWhen the director of
Lansing Parks and Recreation, Murdock Jemerson, joined the city in 2000, the wheels were already turning on the proposed
Ranney Skate Park near
Frandor shopping center.
“There was an expressed need from the skateboarding community that Lansing badly needed a place for skating,” says Jemerson. Many areas in Lansing were posting "No Skateboarding" signs, including the major shopping areas, downtown Lansing and various businesses and storefronts.
Lansing sought out the nation’s top-ranked skate park design experts,
Team Pain, to design the Ranney park. Team Pain, which designs wood, concrete and specialty skate parks all around the country, received the 2002 and 2003 “Recognition for Outstanding Work” by Concrete Disciples and Skate Park Association USA. Team Pain also created the 12,000 square foot skate park in Mason.
The owner of Old Town’s
Premier Skateboarding, Josh Higginson, says the Team Pain name alone attracts skaters from all over the country. A lot of Team Pain followers from out-of-state have found their way to his store after skating at Ranney.
“Lansing is the new spot,” he says.
Jemerson, says that Lansing was very fortunate to have an “in” with the skateboarding community. Rod McDonald, the father of the top skateboarder in the nation at the time, Andy McDonald, lives in Lansing and actively participated in securing Team Pain’s services for Ranney.
Jemerson knew the Ranney project would have a positive impact on the community. Not only would it bring in money to nearby Frandor but it would also give the skateboarders a sense of community. By now, Lansing’s mayor and several council members have put more than $908,000 behind the world class park.
“Ranney has been a great success and attracts people from all over,” says Jemerson.
More Than a BoardFinancially, the skating industry is deep and lucrative, supported by much more than just the sale of boards. Shoes, hats, belts, pants and other brand-heavy items attract those who care more about fashion than ollies.
“I see a lot of people who are into the fashion and commercialization and less who are just into the skating,” says Higginson, 30, who opened Premier Skateboarding in November 2007.
He estimates that 30 percent of his customers are die hard skaters, while the other 70 percent are in it for the fashion. But that’s okay with him, because his shop carries merchandise for everyone from fashionable moms to die hard skaters.
A local skating institution,
Modern Skate and Surf has been in the community for years, and has become one of the top skate dealers in the country. Modern Skate and Surf’s proximity to Ranney Park (it’s a five second ride from the park) and its in-house repair shop draws customers from other communities including Jackson, Midland, Battle Creek, Howell and Portage.
On any given day at Ranney or Mason Skate Park, you can find skateboarders ranging in age from elementary to graduate school, of any ethnicity or background, male or female, all drawn in to try the sport. Part of the popularity of the sport is kids—15 million of them in the country are skaters—and part of it is a demographic shift in skating fans, according to Higginson. He says he has plenty of skateboarder friends in his Old Town shop who are in their 30’s (like him).
“There is no age limit to skateboarding these days,” he says.
The older skaters are the generation who watched Tony Hawk, who is pushing 40-years-old, become a skateboarding superstar. They wore out their V.C.R.’s watching skate movies like
Thrashin’ (1986),
The Search for Animal Chin (1987) and maybe even the Christian Slater classic
Gleaming the Cube (1989)—which also showcased the skills of a young Tony Hawk.
Then they started skating themselves, building obstacles out of plywood in their backyards and on neighborhood streets. By the end of high school or college, some traded their boards for cars or bikes. But many older Gen X’ers have been drawn back in, and now they not only have time to skate—they also have the money.
A Changing PerceptionSkateboarding’s growing extreme sport profile and popular fashion labels have created quite a cultural shift in the skateboarding community, and are helping undercut the misconception that skating is just for punks.
When Ranney was built, some feared that destructive hooligans and graffiti artists would overtake the neighborhoods with their radical ways. The seniors in the nearby complex were afraid that skaters would bring in loud music and bad behavior. But Jemerson says none of that came true.
Now there are moms, professionals and even a 40-something postman who took a liking to skating after walking by the Ranney park.
From his shop in Old Town, Higginson anticipates that his business will continue to grow, especially with the commercialization of skating with shows like MTV’s “
Life With Ryan,” which shadows pro skater, Ryan Sheckler.
And as long as the Lansing area continues to embrace the skating culture, this piece of pop culture will drive money into the region.
Tara Adams is a newbie to Capital Gains and learned
a lot about skating during research for this article. She might even give it a try.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Skateboards at Premier Skateboarding in Old Town
Jalen Canty at Ranney Park
Tom Nelson at Mason Skate Park
Premier Skateboarding owner Josh Higginson
Devin DeArment at Ranney
Jodi Wiley gets a push down a ramp from her boys Luke and Sam Wiley
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie