FIN D YOUR
GRIND SKATE TEAM 2 0 1 9 - 2 0 2 0
Who we are,What we do The Find Your Grind (FYG) Skate Team was a joint program partnership between The Bay and the FYG Foundation under which six, diehard Bay regulars — Parker Smith (18), Wolow Gutlak (18), Nevin Brady (18), Dallis Merrill (16), Lual Pouch (15), and Mugen Lynch (13) — were given the once in a lifetime opportunity to be sponsored by the FYG brand for a full year. On top of the heaps of free skateboards, apparel, and shoes the FYG Skate Team received throughout this last year, they were also given numerous, hands-on digital learning experiences via The Collective (also powered by FYG); and an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles, CA in December 2019, chaperoned by The Bay’s Skatepark Director, Matthew Ratliff, and Assistant Skatepark Director, Noah Appleget. The zine you see in front of you marks the capstone of the FYG Skate Team program — it features various photos and memories from this past year, all handselected and captioned by each individual team rider. Look herein to get a glimpse of all the fun the FYG Skate Team had on their journey together! A major thank you goes out to the FYG Foundation for their support of the FYG Skate Team and The Bay. We can’t thank FYG enough for believing in this amazing group of misfits!
This picture [on the left is] of me at Nyjah’s skatepark sitting on a Crazy Cart. I’m thankful to be a FYG Skate Team rider because skating is my hobby other than playing basketball with my friends. Skateboarding is a lifetime thing; I plan to keep up with skating and keep getting better. It’s also another way for me to get out of the house. I’ve made so many friends through skateboarding, the stuff I do for The Bay, and the community.
DALLIS MERILL
This picture [above] of me skateboarding is at Familia HQ in Minneapolis, MN for the women’s finals of the Red Bull Cornerstone skate series in the Midwest. I was one of three women to qualify for the finals in Minnesota. The contest was on the 27th of July. I was the youngest competitor because I was 16 years old and the cutoff age was 16. I was very overwhelmed by skating in this competition. I had a huge advantage of placing because there was only five women that signed up for the contest. I also represented my sponsorship from Find Your Grind. I tried my hardest, believed in myself, and made everyone proud at my second home at The Bay.
W O LO W G A T LU A K
This is a picture of me, Noah Appleget, and my best friend, Parker Smith, heading to the Omaha airport to get all checked in and get everything figured out [for the California trip]. This was my very first time flying on a plane. I wasn’t that scared because I’m not scared of heights...The only thing that was bothering me was my ears popping from the pressure change! This is a picture of Kelly Stoddard, who was a part of The Bay family. Kelly played a huge role at The Bay; he was like another dad to all of us. He was a person that I could look up to to keep on skating because he motivated me to keep trying my hardest and stick to skateboarding. Kelly always had a positive attitude when he came to The Bay; he always had a smile on his face. I remember a time when he stuck up for me when one of the older guys was bullying me. Kelly had told the older guys to buzz off, leave me alone, and move on, so the guys finally left me alone for the rest of the day. Sadly, I didn’t get to say, “See you later,” one last time before he passed away, but we all love and miss you like crazy, Kelly. Rest easy, Kelly E. Stoddard (03-07-19).
I chose this photo because it was like a dream come true. It’s every skater’s wish to be able to skate a well known skatepark, especially if it’s owned by one of the best skaters out right now [Nyjah Huston]. To get this opportunity was insane and truly one of the best parts about our trip to California!
I love this photo because it’s the whole team together watching a clip that I got. You can see the bond we all have in just this one photo. This was one of my first photos I took after getting on the Find Your Grind (FYG) Skate Team. I was really hyped to get on and be able to rep FYG!
This is just a sick photo that I like. This spot was pretty sick — it was a place we went to skate when we were rained out in California and couldn’t find any dry spots. It ended up being a dope spot and we got some clips there.
This photo with Kelly in it is a gem. This is when Lual, Johnny, and I would come down to Skate School and help out teaching kids with Kelly and everyone else.
x
LUAL POUch While we were in California, it rained for two days, so when we got to that underground spot, it was a f*** it and skate moment.
I can't even describe how much I miss Kelly. Kelly was one of the best people I’ve ever met. He was a great role model and he would push you above your limits in skating. Just being around Kelly made me a happier person, and after he passed away, it was truly heartbreaking. Man, I would do anything to have him back here on Earth...Fly high.
Going to Venice Beach was a cool experience. I did things in Cali that I never thought I’d do!
Skating curbs in California is very different than skating curbs in Lincoln. It was just a whole different perspective in California...
PARKER SMITH I’m no stranger to the beach, but it’s never anything less than breathtaking. The Venice Beach skatepark can be brought up to almost anyone — whether they skate or not — just by saying, “The park in GTA,” or, “The park on the beach.” I’ve always described it as one of my final destinations; a goal more than a place. I knew that if I ever got to skate Venice, I’d know I was on the right track and in the right place. Seeing it in person was surreal. Everyone couldn’t believe we were really there, but I knew it wasn’t a dream. A lot of my dreams came true on that California trip.
Kelly and Kyler had a great relationship. They skated together all the time. Kyler killed it and so did Kelly. It seemed like they just loved each other like they loved skateboarding.
This was by far the best skating picture I got at Nyjah’s skatepark. We were more focused on skating than cameras for most of the trip, so I’m glad Shane got a picture like this, especially at a place that I never thought I’d get to skate.
I think because he was a dad, Kelly was always eager to give advice on skating or life or whatever it was. It made him happy; he never had anything but positive things to say. A local legend for sure.
When I started skating, people made fun of me for wearing shorts, basketball shoes, etc., but I never cared. All I wanted to do was skate, not impress people. I didn’t need anyone’s approval; I was dedicated enough to do it anyway. I just always wanted to skate...It’s been an escape from so many dark places for me and I love it more than anything. I always knew the hard work would be worth it someday, whether it was just keeping me fit or changing my life entirely like it seems to be doing now. I knew that skateboarding could save my life from day one. I fell in love with it. I gave it everything I had without ever expecting a thing in return, but it gave it all back anyway. It changed my life and improved it tenfold. “Thank you” isn’t a powerful enough statement.
loyalty
supreme goof
Nevin BRADY Back Heel Vibes The Future Belongs...
Taking it a l l i n
TO US FYG Beach Gang
Mugen lynch
I like this photo because we got to go skate a famous spot in L.A. [JKwon] where so many pros have skated.
This was my first time ever seeing the ocean!
I like this photo because I got to skate one of my favorite skater’s [Nyjah Huston’s] private park... And not a lot of people get to do that!
Kelly always loved to skate. He loved to do boardslides and he was very good at them.