The Daily Grind Written and Designed by Alex Kim
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Dedication
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dedicate this book to all of the people who have encouraged and supported my skateboarding career. Those who were there from the very beginning, like my loving parents, my amazing sisters and my exskater step-dad who I am not afraid to consider a father of my own have been there since I was a child learning to ride a skateboard. Of course those who have been there along the way, my skate friends are all incredible and encourage me to prove to myself that I can improve; however, one person stood out above the rest and was there for me when times were trying, and when we were at 2
our happiest. Nate Nack will be my best friend through anything, and my appreciation of his friendship and loyalty can only be articulated in the message of this book. Thank you all.
Acknowledgments
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would like to acknowledge all of the people who were there for me through both the production of this book, and also the development of my own skateboarding career. There may not have been one without the other. I would like to thank all of my teachers at Freestyle Academy, Ms. P, Mr. Greco, Ms. K and Mr. Taylor have been outstanding teachers and not only gave us the tools to succeed, they were with us through every step. There has been a lot of work and a lot of deadlines but they have helped keep us on top of everything and allow us to be proud of the work we produced. I
don’t believe I am alone saying that their effort towards their students has not gone unrecognized. Others I would like to acknowledge are my Freestyle classmates, who have been making this journey as fun and light-hearted as possible. I would like to specifically acknowledge Anna Wang, Daniela Chavez-Preciado, Thomas Hoke, Maxwell Evans and Kevin VanDyke. Your guys’ good energy and sense of humor has made this one of the most amazing years in my high school career. Finally, to all skaters everywhere, and more specifically the Millbrae locals are inspirational
and talented individuals who represent skating in every way I think skating should be displayed. You’re contribution to the development of this book is greatly appreciated.
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Table of Contents 1. Foreword
Pg. 9
2. Introduction Pg. 11 3. Chapter 1
Pg. 15
4. Chapter 2
Pg. 18
5. Chapter 3
Pg. 22
6. Conclusion
Pg. 31
7. Work Cited
Pg. 39 5
“The guys at the Millbrae skate park are the friends I know I will keep throughout my life. Well, most of them at least.� -Nate Nack
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Foreword
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he Millbrae skate park has been close to my heart ever since the first time I stepped foot inside of it at the ripe age of thirteen. I always talked about it to my friends and family, and while they tried to match my enthusiasm, I knew they were just trying to placate me. This is why I want to show the true importance of this specific location. But explain it in a way where the reader will genuinely understand how I feel about the park. Because it honestly is more than what it appears to be from first glance. No other place had a story behind it that means so much to me as the Millbrae skate park does. Not only this, but some of the most interesting, good-hearted and fun people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, I met at the skate park. I was aiming to uncover how much the skate park really means to the other people who go there. Because from knowing and seeing the people who go there; it is impossible to not see that the skate park has an impact on these people’s lives. For once, I wanted to dive deeper and uncover some stories in a different perspective, with both complimenting, and conflicting views; in order to provide a broad spectrum of opinions. The ultimate purpose this book has in my eyes, is exploring my passion in a whole new sense. I’ve experienced skateboarding in all forms, in different places and with different people; although, I’ve never expressed this passion through writing or becoming a documentary producer. It’s pretty incredible to explore a whole other passion I have, like writing or filming, and combining it with my all time favorite sport. And best of all, it is set in my wonderland, and features all the people I’ve come to consider my best friends and even family. The best possible research I could’ve gotten was through interviews of all sorts of people. Interviewing skateboarders, parents, school faculty and even police definitely provided the most interesting and powerful content. None of the interviews disappointed. It was perhaps the passion that each of these people felt towards the topic that lead to such great responses. The answers 9
gave were real, wellthought and unique. Not one person felt exactly the same about the topic provided. Their answers also provided a lot of information about the people who I interviewed, even if the questions I asked weren’t necessarily asking about themselves. The people who are involved is what matters most, because without them, the Millbrae skate park would just be another decollete lot of concrete. My greatest challenges throughout the production of this documentary was definitely scheduling interviews with people who live so far away. But through good communication, good enough planning, hard work and perhaps a touch a luck; I conquered these obstacles and produced good 10
quality content. There was a lot I learned that I didn’t expect to. I learned a lot about the lives of people who I’ve known for a very long time. I’ve learned how parents see their children when they spend their time away from home skateboarding. And I’ve learned how the Millbrae skate park has uniquely impacted the people’s lives who go there, and the people who aren’t even directly involved. I’ve come to see things that I’ve been looking at for years in a different perspective; and I honestly can say that I am happy I did and this experience in full was utterly phenomenal.
Introduction
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he Millbrae skate park may seem like an average skate park. From first glance you may just see random people skateboarding. But if you take the time to meet the people and understand the passion they all share for skateboarding; you would surely see this skate park differently. The story behind this skate park is deeper than the history of the park itself. The true hidden story is the lives of the people who are affected by the park. F r o m
skateboarders to parents to police, many people’s lives have changed because of the Millbrae skate park. Personally, I can say the skate park has provided me with a place to express my passion, and feel freedom in a safe and happy environment. It’s unlike any other place I’ve spent my time, and it has had more of an impact on me than any other place, even more than school and arguably even more than my own home. I have taught myself a lot spending time here, and I have also learned a lot from the people I have met here over the years. Important things that if I never learned, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.
I am certainly not the only one who was affected this much. After getting to know the local skateboarders of Millbrae over the years I spent there; I came to learn about their lives and how similar they were to mine. I want to show people how these lives have been changed, and how big of an impact the skate park has had on the people who go there. 11
“Oh yeah, there’s definitely a bond between everyone at the skate park.. It’s almost like there’s just a mutual respect between everyone and we can all just relate really well. Ya know?” -Jonathan Vigil
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Skater-Operated Community Owned
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Chapter 1
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he Millbrae skate park is a skater-operated and flourishing establishment. People varying between the ages of 4 and 40 are attending the park day daily. However, the park was not always like this. When the park was established by the YMCA and the Millbrae Parks and Recreation Department in 2002, the YMCA regulated and maintained the park with little respect for the property, or the satisfaction of the park-goers. They charged about $5 per entry, and had minimum hours of business from noon to 5 p.m. Kids began to stop coming to the skate park because of minimum hours, cost and low maintenance. Local skaters believed that skateboarding should not be a business, and that
changes needed to occur. The city of Millbrae purchased the rights to the land and decided to make these changes. Under new management, the city funded clean up crews to open the skate park and clean it up and hand over the responsibility of closing the park to Millbrae police. Until that time, the skate park was under no supervision or regulation. The park was now open 7 days a week, from morning till dusk free to be used as a place for skateboarding free of charge. In the park’s early years, there was strict management over allowing bikes, scooters and roller blades into the skate
park. Under the park’s new management that was changed, and all kids could ride whatever they liked, as opposed to only skateboarding. Although, some people preferred the park being exclusive to skateboarding. Nate Nack a local skater of Millbrae says, “Scooters are definitely not cool, if you scoot; I don’t even know what to say to you.” There is always a battle over which ride is better, but many people believe it doesn’t matter. 15
The skate park was laid with a concrete foundation, with concrete transitions and bowls. Then the YMCA built wooden structures to fill the empty space. two pyramid structures were added, along with a wooden structure in the back. The park was closed after the city bought the park, to perform reconstruction. The wooden structures were redone on the surface, keeping the original interior. These wooden structures were desperately in need of remodeling, many of the wooden faces were cracked, water-logged and had holes. The local skaters appreciated the city’s concern of providing good quality infrastructure. With new management, new structures and new people; the Millbrae skate park developed a famous name among the southern San Francisco area. 16
Skaters from all over the peninsula and east bay come to this skate park. Many non local skaters come from all over the country. A good majority of these skaters are from Southern California, but many of the people I’ve met are from the East Coast. This skate park would have never thrived without the management of the city of Millbrae, and we all show appreciation for the dedication and financing of the city.
A Life In Transition
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Chapter 2
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he Millbrae skate park provides a place of opportunity for everyone, no matter what your skill level is, or who your friends are or what your background is. The skate park encourages improvement for everyone that goes. It is almost impossible to not push your limits, especially when you’re having fun. You don’t need to do something crazy or try something you are totally uncomfortable with to get better. A really talented skateboarder Jonathan Vigil puts it, “Nah, I’m not the best skater here. We have different skill sets and we are all good in different areas. It’s about having fun with your friends at your lo cal park.” The fact 18
that you are just enjoying the ride and having fun, means you are improving; you become more consistent, you understand your board better and you develop a strong sense of comfort on your board. Skating isn’t all about who can do the harder trick, or the craziest set, it is about who can have the most fun doing it; which is a contest that everyone wins. I’ve seen my friends do such amazing things on their boards, and I still remember them being little; just getting comfortable and learning the fundamentals of skateboarding. Now they are developed skateboarders that turned skateboarding into more than just a hobby. Tracey Ballard,
a mother of a frequent park-goer thinks, “Skateboarding has become a passion for my son, it’s much more than just a hobby. He’s met so many people and he has improved immensely since he started going to the skate park.” Most of the progression I’ve seen in them and even myself was when we went to the skate park and pushed each other to not see a limit to what we were doing, and push our boundaries until they were no longer boundaries at all. Vigil states, “The most fun I have at the skate park is just hanging with the homies, hanging out, learning new things and having fun. That’s really what it’s all about.” Jonathan believes Every
thing I learned about skateboarding stemmed from what I learned at the Millbrae skate park. Many skate parks, like the ramps at Skate Works skate shop in downtown Los Altos, Society located in San Carlos and Action also located in San Carlos require payment and reservation. These parks are open during strictly regulated times. They also enforce helmets and knee pads for liability concerns. They all also require you sign a waiver. Nate Nack explains, “When the park first opened, it was packed. Probably because it was
a new park and all. But people stopped going because they didn’t want to pay to get in.” Millbrae was one of the first parks in the southern San Francisco area to change its regulations on paid entry and open hours. They allowed all skaters in without having to sign a waiver, making the park more accessible to people. Ballard states, “I think there should be more public skate parks, because just like there are playgrounds for five and six year-olds, skate parks are like playgrounds for 12 to 18 yearolds.” There has been a dramatic increase in the num-
ber of skaters that attend the Millbrae skate park. Turning it into the thriving skate park it is today. The relaxed regulation has given skaters the freedom to develop their own image and environment at the Millbrae skate park. With this they have developed a close family of friends at the skate park, where the locals who go a lot are all mutual friends. You are likely to see separate cliques in the park of groups of teens who go to the same school, or who are the same age; however, despite the certain friend groups that existed before the park was opened,
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all of the skaters get along with one another. Jonathan states, “If you’re a skater and I’m a skater, it’s just really easy to click and connect to each other. It makes it really easy to meet cool new people.” No matter the age, race or even gender, skaters all have something in common which makes it easy for us all to relate and share good stories. The skate park may be intimidating for a young child, or someone new to the area, but that quickly fades because the people that go to the skate park are generally very accepting and outgoing. Nate Nack says, “Just as long as you respect the park, and respect the people there, and don’t get in the way then you should be good.” It is quite easy to make friends at the skate park, especially if 20
you share a strong passion for skateboarding or BMXing. People often encourage others to try something new, even if they aren’t acquainted. The fact that the other person skates is enough to start an interesting conversation that can lead to new friendships and relationships.
High Impact Sport
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Chapter 3
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he impact the Millbrae skate park has on the local skateboarders, is not unlike the impact a strong home and a supportive family provides a person. The skate park has become a huge part of skateboarders’ livesa part that many of them would find devastating to give up. Nate Nack says, “All my friends go to the Millbrae skate park, I love them all equally.” Many people rely on the skate park to maintain their positive state of mind,
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to keep their focus, and have a place to belong to. It is very likely that the community of skaters that has developed in Millbrae would have never met each other if they didn’t have the skate park. The Millbrae skate park has an effect on those who don’t even skate. It affects the lives of family members of skaters, the jobs of local police and requires the maintenance and funding of the city of Millbrae. Tracey Ballard, a proud yet concerned mother says, “My son’s grades have been dramatically decreased, because he spends all of his time at the skate park. I’m glad he has a
place he belongs, and somewhere where he can express his passion; but, I worry for his safety and for his priorities.” The skate park affects people beyond just the people who go there. In both positive and negative ways. Tim Christian, long-time dean of students at Mills high has been personally involved with the skate park. He has needed to discipline kids ditching class to go to the skate park; conveniently located right behind the
school. Since Mills High School does not promote an open campus, they are always on the lookout for students leaving during class or lunch. Nate Nack, a skateboarder and student attending Mills high school admits, “Yeah, I’ve ditched a few times to go skate. The security lady Bev has caught me quite a few times. She drives a golf cart around campus and looks out for the students. She’s a really nice lady though, and usually lets me off with a warning, unless it’s happened multiple times a week.” Authoritative figures are
respons i b l e for many things, and what happens at the s k a t e park involving their students, children or structures is definitely one of them. Ballard believes, “I think that skaters are still considered as punks who make noise and are annoying, my brother was a skater, and I used to hang out with skaters. So I’m just afraid that my son is doing things he wouldn’t be doing if he didn’t spend his time at the skate park.” The controversy over the park being unsupervised for the most-part causes issues between skateboarders and their authoritative figures. This be-
came an issue with the Millbrae police, so they ended up installing video cameras to hold surveillance over the park. Some believe this is a good idea. Ballard thinks, “Having a video camera should prevent you guys from doing things that will get you in trouble and get the park closed. It’ll be good for you in the long run.” While some think it’s necessary for safety, some people disagree. Nate Nack think, “We don’t really need a camera there, drugs used to be a problem at the park. But it stopped being a problem well before the camera was even there.”
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Some of the locals think it is not something the park needs. While there may be negative impacts on people who are responsible for keeping things orderly at the skate park; a bigger impact the skate park has is the way it has changed the lives of the skaters who spend all of their free time at the park. My life has personally been bettered by the skate park more than any other place I’ve decided to spend my time. I’ve learned things about how my passion is connected to my personality very closely. I have also developed a more mature personality and lifestyle because of spending a lot of my time with older skateboarders. This is a controversial impact however, Tracey Bal24
lard says, “I’m pretty sure my son has picked up a lot of habits from kids at the skate park, habits he wouldn’t have if he didn’t spend his time there. I’m afraid those kids are smoking or drinking, and are teaching him their tricks that I feel he would be better off without.” On the other hand, I think it’s really impressive to see older people looking past unimportant things like my age and other aspects of my physical identity. And I think the lessons people have learned here are important things to be exposed to. While there are many things that teenagers should not be exposed to, most things at the skate park are arguably beneficial for them. It teaches independence and focus; along with providing a
source of self-determination, self-reliance and motivation. Things many of us lack nowadays. My friend’s lives have been changed so much after going to the skate park. It has kept many of them from being caught up in a lot of bad situations. For many cases, my friends would have been hanging around people who use hard drugs as an escape. Instead, they found skateboarding; but, teens would need more than the sport itself. They would need a place to practice it, hang out and meet people who have the same interests and passion. Nate Nack and Jonathan Vigil both say, “My household is very unhealthy for me.” Nack digresses, “My dad is always on my case
about something, and I have a sick grandma which is really painful to be around all the time. If I didn’t have the skate park as an escape, you wouldn’t see me smiling half as much as I do now.” Vigil says, “My parents looked down on me for skateboarding. They couldn’t accept it was something I loved doing. They even kicked me out of my church if I refused to give up skating. Can you guess which one was more important to me? I’ll just say that, my Sundays have been free lately.” This goes to show that despite the effort people may put towards trying to contain skateboarding, no threat will be enough to make us give it up. Not even exile of religious practices, or making your parents resent us is enough. I’ve seen my friends at the lowest lows, and their
highest highs; and every time they were at their happiest was when they were at the skate park, spending time with the friends they will keep throughout their lives. The Millbrae skate park has provided us all, a place of escape. Although, while it was a place we rely on to get away from our troubles, we utilized its energy to talk and to ruminate over the negatives in our lives and channel it into a productive and healthy outlet. Skateboarding is the medicine, and the skate park to us is our hospital. To say the Millbrae skate park has changed countless lives for the better, is merely an understatement for the contribution to people’s lives that it has given. For me personally, I have no doubt that my best qualities were developed when I was spending time
at the skate park. My skate park, a place I’m unafraid to call my sanctuary, my home.
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“I’m glad my son found something he can be a part of and have, like-minded folks in his life. Yeah.” -Tracey Ballard
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Conclusion
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doubt I will find anything like them anyplace else. o truly understand why the Millbrae skate park is so unique and so be belong to. Whether you are a skateboarder, BMXer, parent, police officer or a mere spectator, fascinated by the art and sport of skateboarding, the Millbrae skate park has a place for you. And the community as a whole would be happy to welcome another person into the family that we have developed over the many years. The friends I’ve made in Millbrae, the lessons I’ve learned and the many crazy memories that I have been a part of here are without a doubt the best I’ve ever had, and I am positive that I will keep them all close to my heart, because I 31
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“Skateboarding has really become more than just a sport, or a hobby. It’s become a passion, and really just my favorite thing to do during my day. My favorite thing is just skating with my homies and learning new stuff.” -Jonathan Vigil
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“The Millbrae skate park is full of really cool people, that are really funny and friendly. It’s really easy to just hang out there.” -Daniela Chavez-Precido 35
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Works Cited 1. “City of Millbrae: Skate Park.” web, Mar 2014. 2. “Millbrae Skate Park. Millbrae, CA.” web, Mar 2014. 3. Ballard, Tracey. Personal interview. 24 Feb. 2014. 4. Nack, Nate. Personal interview. 8 Jan. 2014. 5. Vigil, Jonathan. Personal interview. 19 Mar. 2014. 6. “Millbrae Skate Park- CLOSED.” V.V. n.d. web Jan 2004. 7. “Millbrae Skate Park.” CK, Plan Patch Media. n.d. web 2014. 8. “Millbrae Skatepark, Back to the grind.” Rosenberg, M. n.d. Nov 1. 2007.
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“Despite the distance that has become between me and the skate park due to my family moving further and further away; I still make the effort to go there constantly. It’s always worth it to go see my friends and have a good time.” -Alex Kim 40
The Daily Grind Alex Kim
Alex Kim is a generally energetic and happy teenager, who has found passion and love in skateboarding. Skateboarding is arguably his favorite thing in the world, the only other thing that comes close, is the people he has made connections and relationships with over the past several years. Originally born in San Francisco, CA; Alex has moved further south in the bay area periodically. Because of this he’s met a lot more people and has been exposed to many important things in his life. An example of one of these things are Freestyle Academy, the most crucial part in his academic career; where he has learned to become a writer, filmmaker, and documentary producer. This book is an excellent example of heart-filled work he has spent his time doing. Overall, Alex lives in the moment and does his best to find happiness within each moment; many of which occurred with his best friends at the Millbrae skate park.
The Daily Grind Written & Designed By Alex Kim