Introduce yourself!

[Chris Gilligan]

You've probably already read Inside SPS, but we'd like to get to know you, and so would your fellow skatepark advocates.

If you don't have an answer to an item, just ignore it or make up your own

Name Chris Gilligan
Age 42
Years skating 1974-1980... 2002-present
Location Chattanooga, Tennessee
How did you find SPS? It found me
Profession Info Systems.
Main Board (s),
Favorite skatepark North Little Rock, AR
Married/Kids/Pets No/2/dog next door
What did you want to be when you grew up? Jet fighter pilot
Arrested for skateboarding? nope
Heroes the Iconoclasts
10 years from now I'll be: still sticking to the sheets...
If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be Some backyard ramp with a hill out front
Final thoughts/jokes It's a lot of work keeping this beast online.

[Mark Takahashi]

I forgot to log in on the last post.

Name - Mark Takahashi

Age - I will celebrate my 40th birthday this summer touring the skateparks of WA and OR.

Years skating - about 17 years total.

Location - San Diego.
How did you find SPS? - Kent Dahlgren told me about it.

Profession - Patent Attorney.

Main Board - Black Label deck; Destructo trucks; Bones SPF 58mm wheels; Rockets Bearings; Khiro Bushings. This is my only board.

Favorite skatepark - my favorite local skatepark is WSVT in San Diego; my favorite skatepark overall is the Lincoln City complex.

Married/Kids/Pets - Yes/Two/No.

What did you want to be when you grew up? - a magician and/or a chef.

Arrested for skateboarding? - never.

Heros - generally none, but since this is a skateboarding crowd, my heros are the people who built the Burnside, FDR, WSVT, and San Pedro skateparks. You know who you are - thank you!

10 years from now I'll be - 50 years old and hopefully still able to roll.

If we had a SPS yearly summit where would it be - Orcas Island.

Final thoughts - I'm trying to gain momentum for a skatepark in my neighborhood (92130 zip code) and I'll probably need SPS member support if it progresses. In the meantime, I encourage people to make donations to the SPS organization, to the Washington Street Skatepark Association, and to the San Pedro Skatepark Association, each of which is a non-profit organization, meaning that your donations are tax deductible!

I hope these links work:

www.washingtonstreetskatepark.org
www.sanpedroskateparkassociation.org

[Kent Dahlgren]

In the meantime, I encourage people to make donations to the SPS organization, to the Washington Street Skatepark Association, and to the San Pedro Skatepark Association, each of which is a non-profit organization, meaning that your donations are tax deductible!

Do you have links to these entities, Mark?

Thanks for showing up. Good having you here.

[Anthony Di Paolo]

Name : Anthony Di Paolo
Age : 32
Years skating : 1986-1991... 2002-present
Location : Quebec, Canada
How did you find SPS? Surfing the web looking for info on how to advocate for good parks in my town.
Profession : Flight Director (I'm the flight attendants boss).
Main Board : Blank, Krux, Board shop wheels (Hey it's free!)
Favorite skatepark : D.rooch Skatepark. It's an indoor park. All our exterior parks suck!
Married/Kids/Pets : 12 years/2/dog, cat and fish.
What did you want to be when you grew up? Lawyer, Architech and then a psychologist...sheesh
Arrested for skateboarding? Yea once, i fought it and won.
Heros : Anybody who has had the balls to stand up to what's unjust throughout history.
10 years from now I'll be: 42
If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be : If i could get there that would be enough for me!
Final thoughts/jokes : If a hammer falls in the forest and no fat filmer is there to film it, do your friends still talk smack about it?

[Kent Dahlgren]

I had to edit this a bit. Didn't like the formatting and the plural of "hero" was misspelled. Arg.

Name
Kent Dahlgren

Age
37

Years skating
1975-present

Location
Portland, Oregon

How did you find SPS?
10+ skaters and I created it

Profession
Product design / program management/ product lifecycle financial stewardship for a large consumer printer/copier company. Oh, and Executive Director for SPS.

Main Board
Paige Hearn blank, Indys, Spit Classics.

Favorite skatepark
Kanis, Arkansas

Married/Kids/Pets
No/2/dog

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I lacked that sort of insight

Arrested for skateboarding?
No. I've never been arrested.

Heroes
Mohammed Yunas, founder of the Grameen Bank

10 years from now I'll be:
With SPS successfully running under its own steam, I plan on addressing one of other identified inequities

If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be
Hailey, Idaho

Final thoughts/jokes
The SPS Board has 5 members have been involved in successful do-it-yourself skateboard parks:
- Burnside
- Austin, TX
- Washington St. (CA)
- San Pedro (CA)
- Stockwell (UK)


One "Core Contributor" is in the midst of creating a sixth.
- Kanis (Arkansas)

What's stopping you from creating your own? Few athletic communities possess our work ethic, and we are here to assist. What's stopping you?

[Dan Hughes]

Name Dan Hughes
Age 41
Years skating 1975
Location Renton, Washington
How did you find SPS? I'm still lost.
Profession Custodian
Main Board I cut my own. Indy trucks, wheels - Bowl bombers
Favorite skatepark Orcas Island, WA
Married/Kids/Pets Yes/1/Cat
What did you want to be when you grew up? I still don't know
Arrested for skateboarding? Nope.
Heros The old skate legends in the old skateboarder magazine
10 years from now I'll be: 51 and rolling on 4 wheels
If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be Where ever the best parks are.
Final thoughts/jokes This is one of the best times to be a skater. Public skateparks have almost caught up to the quality of the old private parks of the late '70s . I hope we can assist in that process.

[Matt Wagner]

Name: Matt Wagner
Age: 29
Years skating: 20+
Location: Oak Lawn, IL (south suburb of Chicago)
How did you find SPS? Thru Sleestak.com
Profession: Running Great Central Steel Company (family business)
Main Board: Cold War Godoy, Indy Trucks, Live Wires (I've got 26 sets of them, if someone wants to try them)
Favorite skatepark: Whiting, IN / Trinidad, CO
Married/Kids/Pets: Engaged/NO/1 Dog, 1 Cat
What did you want to be when you grew up? A ninja
Arrested for skateboarding? Yes, first time when I was 15. My mom came down, chewed out the officers and took me and my friends home to skate the ramp in the backyard.
Heros: Anyone out there gettin rad
10 years from now I'll be: probably doing the same thing as now, only on a much grander scale.
If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be: Wheresoever the latest greatest skatepark be, arrrghhh!!
Final thoughts/jokes It's great to be involved with this group, I'm looking forward to many more great skateparks to come!

[Peter Whitley]

Name: Peter Whitley
Age: 39 (I think)
Years skating: Off and on 30 years (and still suck)
Location: Tacoma, Washington
How did you find SPS? It started with a kiss...
Profession: Art Director for game company Wizards of the Coast
Main Board: Union Station, 10" Indies, Swiss, Pool Bombers...a classic NW setup
Favorite skatepark: Milton if I feel like really skating, any old place if I just want to screw around
Married/Kids/Pets: J, wife. Jacob (10) & Levi (8). Elsa the English Mastiff. Atticus Finch (cat), Hobbes (cat), Ozma (cat). Tardo (fish, gold), Clementine (fish, gray), Sticknugget (fish, black).
What did you want to be when you grew up? A skateboarder and/or an artist and/or the shortest man in the world
Arrested for skateboarding? Ticketed repeatedly
Heros: The SPS dudes
10 years from now I'll be: Learning to ollie
If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be: Barcelona, Spain
Final thoughts/jokes: True story:

A man walks into a bar near my house and orders three whiskeys, drinks them, and leaves. The next day he walks in and does the same thing. And again on the day after that. We start speculating why he orders three whiskeys at once and finally I decided to ask him.

"Well, son, I have two brothers. One is back home in Ireland, one is in New York, and I moved out here to Seattle. Because we're so spread out we decided to have perform this ritual to recognize the bond between us."

"Wow, old timer, that's really touching." I returned to my barstool and shared the story with the bartender and my pals.

That went on for a few months. Then one day he comes in looking kind of washed out and only orders TWO whiskies. Fearing the worst, I walked over and had a word with him.

"Hey old-timer, me and my buddies saw that you only ordered two whiskies. It's gotta be real tough to lose a close brother and we all feel terrible for your loss. The drinks are on us today."

The old-timer looked kind of confused at first but then responded, "Well, thank you son for the drinks. Nobody died though...it's just that I've quit drinking."

[Nathaniel Adie]

Name: Nathaniel Adie
Age: 26
Years skating: 10ish
Location: Vancouver BC
How did you find SPS? Kent Dahlgren
Profession: Draftsman, training in Appraisal
Favorite skatepark: undetermined/haven't built it yet....
Married/Kids/Pets: nope.
What did you want to be when you grew up? architect, Hydroman-the guy in the bucket that works on hydro wires
Arrested for skateboarding? Ticketed at sixteen, then i decided to build a skatepark.
Heros: um, never thought about it
10 years from now I'll be: family, and kids. oh and skating still....
If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be: Hailey ID sounds good, maybe someplace closer with more street stuff to skate.
Final thoughts/jokes: Just glad to be a part of the proper development of terrain. We have all seen it go so bad too many times.

[Chad Balcom]

Name: Chad Balcom
Age: 27
Years skating: Since 1988 or so. No time off, although I tried to quit a couple of times in the late 90's
Location: Portland, OR (Nebraska native)
Profession: CNC Machinist
Main Setup: 8.5 Concrete D deck, Indy 8.5's, Big Head Spits
Favorite Deck: There has been so many! I rode Straight 8 Matt Hensley's from about 99 to 03 or so.
Favorite skatepark: Trinidad or Carbondale.
Married/Kids/Pets: NEVER/I hope not/I like my friends pets.
What did you want to be when you grew up? Skateboarder, Machinist.
Arrested for skateboarding? Yep.
Hero's: Science Fair, Brewce Martin, Red, Monk, Tony T., Omar, Hensley, Cards, Adam Foote, Peter Forsberg, Jarome Iginla, The dudes in Slayer
10 years from now you'll be: Skating the next wave of free, public skateparks that we helped come into existance
If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be: The newist park.
Worst Injury: Broken finger as a kid. On crutches about every 4 years or so
Computer you use: Kent's laptop

[frank]

Name: Frank Henn
Age: 30
Years skating:somewhere around 20
Location: Jackson MS
Profession: I hit print
Main Setup: Red Kross grosso, destructo's shitfires
Favorite Deck: too many to chose from
Favorite skatepark: Magic skatepark R.I.P..
Married/Kids/Pets: Married/ no kids for another 10yrs/ we have a dog
What did you want to be when you grew up? a kid
Arrested for skateboarding? close but never charged
Hero's: um
10 years from now you'll be: rollin around in a ditch somewhere
If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be: hopefully at a cement park here
Worst Injury: Tore every ligament in my ankle
Computer you use: one of the 5 scattered throughout the house

[Mark Goddard]

Name
Mark

Age
31

Years skating
16

Location
Portland, Oregon

How did you find SPS?
Kent hooked me up waaay back in the day

Profession
Carpenter

Main Board
7 7/8 to 8 1/8 and I love everslicks, indys and 55 mm wheels

favorite board
Danny Way slickbottom with Hannible Lector for graphics.

Favorite skatepark
The originall EMB


Married/Kids/Pets
yes, no, 2 Puddy Tats

What did you want to be when you grew up?
Volcano God!

Arrested for skateboarding?
No

Heroes
Chad E., Natas, anyone else with a big ollie.

10 years from now I'll be:
Hahahaha

If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be?
The Hook

Final thoughts/jokes

How could they drop me on *my* head?

[Robert Wadley]

Name
Robert Wadley

Age
24

Years skating
My second tour of duty started in "97, so, 7+

Location
West Tennessee

How did you find SPS?
Chris Gilligan is my friend.

Profession
currently unemployed

Main Boards
street-8"board, 8" trucks hi (currently Krux hybrids), 55-56 mm wheels, and 1/8" risers
mini ramps-8.5-8.75 board, 156 Indy stage 7, Spitfire Classics 60mm, 1/4 risers (i think)
vert, pool and concrete park- 9"+board, 166 Indy stage 7, 63mm+ wheels, 1/2" risers. on skatelite vert, I prefer a little taller and softer wheel.

Favorite Deck
Stink Nomad (Bill Danforth) 8.75 wide, good shape, stiff as can be. My current mini ramp board. skated it fairly regularly for 2 years so far and I am pretty big, so that is saying something.

Favorite skatepark
I like Louisville a lot but mostly, I like to putt around on a mini ramp, so Ollies in Florence, KY is up there too.

Married/Kids/Pets
no, no, yes

What did you want to be when you grew up?
a scientist that works with wood=a carpenter?

Arrested for skateboarding?
Not for the act, but possibly because of skateboarding

Influences
Jesus, my family, my friends (skating wise-Duane Peters

Heroes
Brewce Martin, Mike Vallely, renegade skatespot builders, and anyone who is REAL.

10 years from now I'll be:
almost 35

Worst injury (from skating)
spiral fracture of right fibula and tore medial ligament in ankle (possibly more) on a "kneeslide_gone_wrong" in June of '99. Still got two screws. The first place I skated after rehab was Skatopia.

If we had a SPS yearly summit where'd it be?
Burnside

Final thoughts
I am the Tennessee Beast.

[Kent Dahlgren]

I am the Tennessee Beast

I told you guys about him. He's the guy with the flag/cape. Robert represents.

[Chad Balcom]

I think I would feel alot better about the whole situation if Robert changed his handle to 'The Beast' or the 'Tenn Beast' or something.