Silver Spring's Daniel Kim

Silver Spring's Nnamdi Ihekwoaba

Silver Spring skater Nnamdi Ihekwoaba ollies 4 set.

Silver Spring's Darron Barker

Kickflip from Darron Barker of Silver Spring. Photo by Jono Aguilar.

Skateistan Movie Trailer

Children make up 70% of the population in Afghanistan. Girls there cannot ride bikes, or participate in any sport in public...other than skateboarding. And that's only because of the phenomenal program called Skateistan.



Skateistan.org

MTV Star Rob Dyrdek's Amazing Safe Spot, Skate Spot Program

Dyrdek and the city of LA work together to keep kids safe:

Rob Dyrdek and the city of Los Angeles are 2-for-2 in giving skateboarders a place where they can ride challenging obstacles without getting chased away by the police.

Dyrdek, the pro skateboarder and MTV star, unveiled a $350,000 skate park Thursday that is the latest in his Safe Spot, Skate Spot program.

Dyrdek contributed $75,000 from his foundation and Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar came up with the rest of the funding for the 14,000-square-foot, tri-level skate plaza at Hollenbeck Park just east of downtown.

Tired of seeing street skateboarders treated as nuisances, the Midwestern-born Dyrdek started the Safe Spot, Skate Spot program to give them a legal place to ride handrails, ledges and stairs.

His first skate park, in Lafayette Park, was dedicated in February, when he and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rode the world's largest skateboard, measuring 38 feet, 6 inches.

"They've bought into what I'm trying to do," Dyrdek said by phone. "I think conceptually, when you say, 'Hey, it's not that expensive. If you give me a little piece of it, I'll make a really cool, unique, skateable surface that enhances the park and looks gorgeous.' And even for all that, if skateboarding dies tomorrow, they still have this great plaza, and they can turn it into something else.

THIS is the future of skatepark design:

It's the idea of not putting just a fence around a bunch of bowls. It's designing and developing a really beautiful plaza that happens to be perfectly built for skateboarding. It's a necessity to the future of the sport that kids have a place to do it."

AP: Dyrdek unveils latest skate park

New Jersey: After Teens Testify, Linden City Council Votes to Open 2 Parks to Skateboarders

14 and 16 year-old teens testify at council meeting

LINDEN -- After years of debate over where to put a skate park in Linden, the city council voted to open two sites for boarders at a meeting this week.

First, the council decided to open James Dobson Park in the 3rd Ward to skateboarding on weekends. The park has a paved area and is located at East Blancke Street and Maple Avenue.

"It'll at least satisfy some of these kids and parents for a while," said council president Robert Bunk. “Let’s take care of these kids a little bit."

Councilman Robert Sadowski said the park would be opened "as a little early Christmas program."

But that didn't end the long-standing debate over the best location in town for kickflips, ollies and grinding.

"I don't think (a skate park) should be open in the 3rd Ward," said Councilman Derek Armstead. He said Wheeler Park, by West Stimpson Avenue and Route 1, would be a better choice.

Three teenage skateboarders who attended the meeting agreed with Armstead that Wheeler Park was the best spot. That site, which needs paving work, had county funding and approval a year ago, according to Armstead, but the park was never approved because of residents who didn’t want it in their neighborhood.

NJ.com: After long debate, Linden could have two parks for skating

Tony Hawk Foundation Helps Poor Kids in Watts Get Skatepark