Extreme Turns 4! + Birth of The Concretins

Friday, April 5th 2002 - Louisville Extreme Park Opened to the public! On the anniversary of this great event I ask for A Moment of Silence in Thanks to the Sentient Being (Dave Armstrong) for giving us such a gift. I don't know why we got it - and I don't care, but I'm gonna ride as often as I can. AND, I will be thankful everytime I do.



A Not So brief History of The Concretins (Skid-centric version)

The first time I saw the completed park was on Sunday, April 7, 2002. Brutha Steve and I went down to check it out. I immediately went and bought a set of pads, dug out some shitty X-Games Skateboard I bought from Target, sanded the logo off, and wrote EAT ME on the bottom in giant letters with a sharpie.

Steve and I returned to the park the very next day; the first time we skated the park was April 8, 2002. The Skidmore Curse (a combination of great looks, magnetic personality, unbridled natural ability, and huge amount of humility that keeps it all in check) caused just about everybody in the park to talk to us that day. Perhaps it was the fact that Steve showed up with a 1978 Logan Earth Ski with an enormous set of Kryptonics which blew everybody's mind, but mostly it was the Skidmore Curse.

We kept seeing a lot of the same people no matter what time we went. I remember thinking what a dumb-ass Kyle was when I saw him at the park at 6:00am one day. But, I rethought that one, as I, too, was at the park, and, as everyone knows, I'm a smart-ass - not a dumb-ass. Kyle and I spoke more often after we realized we shared such sickness for the concrete that we would go at six in the morning. So, then there were three.

Originally, Steve and I were vying for a position on The Husky Skate Team. Old guy skaters gravitate to each other at a park. Old, round guys seem to have a greater pull - it's some law of astrophysics. I was bigger then. Kyle was bigger then. Even Steve was bigger back then. There were several others who fit the mold of old, round and skating, but they went by the wayside. Just a passing phase for them, I suppose.

But, eventually, pounds were shed and we started seeing a lot more of Nick. The first time Steve saw him he said, "Hey that guy has the same tattoo on his leg as I have on my ass!" I dared Steve to go tell him. This dare was funnier then than it is now, because we assumed if you skated you were all punk and belligerent. Little did we know Nick was; a) skinny as a rail (it's so hard to tell under all those pads!), b) well on his way to being a Bon Jovi lovin puss, and c) still playing with dolls. I think Nick and Paul were already tight so, we got the bonus pack when we hit it off with Nick. Five down one to go.

At some point we started seeing Jon fairly often on the Sunday Sessions. He's a Buckeye crazy enough to drive untold sums of miles in the middle of nite to hit the park by 7 or 8 in the morning. Perhaps he felt obligated to talk to us because we Bogart the snake run, or like so many others before him he was allured by the Skidmore Curse that was now rubbing off on, and being conveyed by, the entire group. Either way, it's a blast get to see him when we do and I'm glad to call him part of the crew. With Jon The six-pack of Concretins was complete.

I would have to say the solidifying point of The Concretins, maybe more so than my own personal talents and magnetism, was the Ollie's trip. When we all hit that park together and skated for hours on end with the same fervor as a short Sunday session - that was our Full Metal Jacket. That was when Nick said, "We need a name for team" and not a single person said "What team?" The Concrete had set up for the Concretins.

Skidzilla gets sentimental in 3, 2, 1:

I look forward to getting together at the park all week, every week. During the winter I pray for decent weather so we can skate. I love the park, but much more so when any combo of the group makes it out. (I watch other people skating and being pissed and I wonder if they are even having fun. Never a question with our group - it's always fun.) I wouldn't skate as much as I do without having met you guys, and I wouldn't be as good at it either. So, a big, fat cheers to all you schmucks. And, Happy Anniversary in a way.

Skidzilla
shop as usual and avoid panic buying