---

For kids, teens and some adults, a skateboard is much more than an opportunity to partake in an action sport filled with ollies, kickflips, and pivots.

It can signify a culture or art form, and while for some it has grown into a profession, for many it’s simply a mode of transportation.

Looking to share the benefits of their years of experience with Asbury Park youth, is the Asbury Park Skate Foundation [APSF], a grassroots nonprofit

Headed by Brian Watkins and Derek Rinaldi, APSF has proposed the building of a city skate board park in order to conduct clinics, special events, and give riders a safe venue to practice.

The backbone of their goals was realized this month through a partnership with Florida based Boards for Bros.

“My whole existence has been for this program,” said Watkins. “I’m so excited for this one. We’ve wanted kids involved from the very beginning but this is the first real opportunity we’ve had to get that done.”

The southern nonprofit has worked for over 10 years to collect used skateboards in order to refurbish them for distribution to kids who wouldn’t normally have access to them. They run clinics, fundraise, and conduct holiday distributions.

From their website: “Why skateboards? The magic of a skateboard is that it a mode of transportation in addition to being a tool for play, a tool for discovery, a tool to develop physical skill, a tool to interact with others who share an interest in skateboarding, a tool to teach problem solving and a tool to teach perseverance . It is good for the mind and the body. It is fun. It can change someone’s life.”

Boards for Bros takes its name from the historic Tampa landmark – The Bro Bowl, the state’s first public skateboard park, which opened in the 1970s, Executive Director Michelle Box said.

“Our end goal is to produce high quality boards that we can get into the hands of kids,” she said. “It’s important to ensure what we are producing can be passed from kid to kid or onto siblings.”

To do so, Box says her organization has established relationships with truck producers since that’s the mechanism that is often most beaten up from skateboard tricks.

“We always have to buy new because skaters tend to use them until they are garbage,” she said.

Boards for Bros will work with APSF to establish its own template for fundraising, equipment gathering and growing volunteer engagement, Box said.

“Volunteer engagement is a huge part of our mission,” she said. “We try to engage skateboarders because they normally feel disenfranchised from other members of society. We get them to come in to help with the refurbishment and they in turn feel like a part of our distribution. From that, we can identify the kids who are really engaged in helping the community as potential peer mentors.”

Boards for Bros has been the official charity for Skate Park Tampa for the past 10 years, Box said. And while they like to partner with other nonprofit, they are selective about whom they choose.

“We feel that is where we can make the most impact, youth wise,” Box said. “[APSF] has put together a gold star plan. I really think we will have a long term collaboration and make a difference in the community.”

According to a 2010 New York Times ariticle, the skateboarding industry is worth $5 billion a year, with almost half [43 percent] of the 11 million U.S. skateboarders falling between the ages of 6 and 11.

Don’t let the Boards for Bros name fool you, according to Box 50 percent of their youth are girls.

“It really is not gender specific,” she said. “The one thing we have learned is the empowerment aspect. It’s been a great equalizer, allowing kids that access to transportation. It’s recreation, social interaction, a sense of independence, and it’s also an identity. You can say, I’m a skateboarder.”

Locally, APSF will distribute collection boxes and donation cans to skate shops throughout the state, Watkins said.

“We will accept new and used boards, decks, trucks, wheels, helmets and pads,” he said.

The distribution will help kick off ASPF’s first distribution at summer’s end to the Boys and Girls Club of Asbury Park on Monroe Avenue.

“We will be working with the Boys & Girls Club of Asbury Park to organize events that will not only distribute skateboards but help to build a skateboard community,” Rinaldi said.

For more information about APSF, visit their website and Facebook page. For more information about Boards for Bros, visit their website and Facebook page.

[Photos courtesy of Boards for Bros.]

————————————————————————-

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

---