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Charity Skate Park helps Deprived Children Former street dancer and circus performer, Rico Jakk, tells us of his ambitious plan to help the deprived youth through his economically built skate park and amphitheatre.

Albany Road industrial park in Gateshead is much like every other industrial estate you would have seen. There is an array of mechanical and engineering businesses encapsulated by grey warehouses and hidden behind harsh metal railings. The warehouses, that all look the same, are buried within a maze of side roads branching off in every direction.

However within this grey, drab and depressing estate there are sounds of laughing, screaming and shouting coming from one of the larger warehouses. The shouts and giggles build to crescendo as you move closer. When you enter the building children appear everywhere skateboarding and BMXing. Children in groups laughing and giggling, watching others perform impressive stunts on the different ramps and rails.

Dynamix Skate Park is an innovative idea made a reality by Rico Jakk the founder and owner of the project. Dynamix is non-profit skate park specifically catering for deprived children in the area. The interior is kitted out with ramps, flat banks, rails and stair sets. All made from what some people would call unwanted junk reclaimed from building sites. Junk, which is injected with new life and forms an integral part to the dynamic of the park itself. The warehouse offices, have been converted into living accommodation in which, Jakk and his partner Rosa McCreery, live.

His inspiration for Dynamix, dates back to his childhood. “I was born in Africa and moved to Whitley Bay when I was five or six it was very difficult in those days being the only black in the village…as it were.” He says. “I didnʼt have a lot of things back then, not like the kids these days.” He doesnʼt seem the type to value material possessions much and he never really gained any qualifications or hobbies, “I was a very scrawny child and never really got into football or anything like that. But my mind was always active.”

His creative side first displayed itself when he discovered street dancing. “I have always been intrigued by street dancing, Iʼd only ever seen it on the TV. But in Whitley Bay if you danced you were gay. You went out got drunk and pulled women.

You didnʼt dance.” He says.

So, he was something of a modern day Billy Elliot. “I was at college doing graphic design, I had always wanted to do something creative, and I saw people street dancing in clubs and thought Iʼd give it a go. He says. “I liked dancing, it didnʼt require material or money you could just do it.”

Rico seems to have a passion for finding old or broken things and using them in his project. The warehouse itself was abandoned and unused and with the help of volunteers from the local community, Rico instilled new life into the building. Jakk formed the idea for Dynamix after training with The Pirates Circus. He converted a wrecked 40,000 square foot warehouse into a skate park where sport and creativity find a harmonious balance.

“I wanted to fuse the idea of sport and theatre in a way in which I could help people.”

He says. “We provide training for deprived children and put on shows in our very own amphitheatre which children can be apart of in a safe environment.”

Rico Funds the Skate Park by charging entry for general public use and using that money to fund his social programs that help deprived children and children with special needs. Rico and his team visit centres and children homes in Gateshead putting on shows in which the children can participate and allowing them free access to his Skate Park. “If the children are having fun in Dynamix then there are less of them on the streets. I want to give them the opportunity to enjoy experiences that I never had.”

His goals for Dynamix have changed considerably since opening the skate park.

“Initially I wanted to make a bit of money to send back to Africa to help people, then my vision became more localised” “Ultimately I want to make a difference in Gateshead. I want to take everything I have learned and apply them to my business, I think material possessions are secondary to personal satisfaction.”

The Rock is Ricoʼs ultimate dream; it is a purpose built extreme activities centre. The Rock would look like a meteor fallen in the middle of the field hollowed out with the interior converted into an extreme skate park and the exterior itself used as rock climbing for mountaineers.

From Africa to the industrial landscape of Gateshead, Jakk has already made a huge impact on the community. His dream of helping deprived children is a unique one.

Where charities and aid agencies have failed he has seemed to succeed, on a small scale at least. Dynamix offers an escape for deprived children, a sanctuary where they can come and forget the hardships of real life. “I started this project because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to help children who, like me, canʼt afford every experience and if I have managed to do that, even a little, then it has all been worth it.”

For the Sunday Times Magazine