DRIVE starring Mike Vallely: Parental Guidance (2008) - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewcgywtGEhg Transcript: (00:12) the idea of parental involvement in skateboarding is a foreign concept to many skaters of my generation many of us want it alone often misunderstood or worse ignored but there were exceptions and it was in such homes where we gathered to watch skate videos and in whose backyards and driveways ramps were built attracting skaters from all over the neighborhood creating a place where we felt appreciated i've always respected that [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] (01:21) [Music] when we take into account just how many young skateboarders there are today parental involvement becomes even more important and through it skateboarding has grown and grown up what was once seen as a rebellious activity has been legitimized in many communities because of the actions of caring and supportive parents parents like tom bruno in crownsville maryland it was so important for me to do this for them i wanted to have a nice place to skate in their own yard and and also have a lot of other kids over (02:10) and give them a place to skate where they could uh i know they'd be safe and be off the streets and how many kids utilize the ramps on a regular basis there's 10 kids mostly all neighborhood kids or neighborhood kids that's cool i was very fortunate that my kids when in school asked who their hero was they both said me you know oh that's awesome and uh this is part of it we build the ramps together we skate together when i get home from work wait he'll say dad you want to go out for a skate i'm like yeah let's roll you (02:45) know when i was young and i was playing sports parents were involved but usually it was like they were cracking the whip you know it was like they wanted to see performance they wanted to see you know their kid could potentially be their ticket out of this dead end town you know what i mean that was the mentality and i see that in skating now too but there's really something to be said for just the act of facilitating and being being there as a father and as a friend and as a partner and you know having something like this where you're (03:15) in it together you know i mean i could see where they would feel that way you know this this neighborhood is geared a lot towards soccer baseball lacrosse and basketball and i've coached their teams for a number of years and i watch other parents and they do they push their kids and like you said they some parents i believe think that their child is their ticket to whatever the next level is and i always just encourage my kids and give them the tools to do what they need to do and that's why we're we have this that's why (03:49) we're here oh it's cool i mean i kind of grew up skating in the era of the backyards where that's about all we had besides the streets in front of our houses you know there's a few kids in my neighborhood that had backyard ramps and it meant a lot to us it meant a lot to the kids in the neighborhood you know and having a place to go a safe house to go to or where you know where you were welcome you know it's a really important thing and i think uh i think what you're doing is a good thing (04:15) here yeah thanks i i enjoy the kids coming over all i ask is that the younger ones wear their helmets and anybody that comes here just pick up your trash yeah take it out of here with you yeah so sure [Music] [Applause] [Music] skateboard class uh is this real is this really happening [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the desire to participate and facilitate (05:29) his son's newfound interest in skateboarding led fillmore california middle school teacher david mcdonald to forge new ground creating a skateboard class at school the first of its kind in the state in the process he has positively affected a great number of the student body changing the way the school and the city view skateboarding my son came home from uh baseball practice he said dad i don't want to play baseball anymore i want to be a pro skater and for us it was like ah what do you mean you don't want to (06:02) play baseball anymore he said no i don't want to play baseball anymore i want to be a professional skater and it was tough for me because i can help him with his baseball i can help him with basketball i can help him with football but i have no clue how to help my skateboarding i understand like your son comes home your son becomes a skateboarder you go whoa okay and you start making some moves to adapt to that and be supportive how do you get a school a school board you know a community to embrace that i mean (06:30) because now this is a gymnasium that's traditionally used for basketball other and now we see skateboarding scuff marks on the floors on the walls and you know on the benches and um that's accepted that's part of the uh curriculum here it's part of the curriculum that's amazing yeah i mean you might have 60 kids play youth football maybe 100 kids play youth baseball but when we talked to the kids we had like 500 kids who either a wanted to skateboard or were skateboarding and wanted to continue to skateboard and wanted to to (07:04) take the skateboarding class and it was like it was eye-opening i mean what a better use for your facility than the gym than to be for skateboarding i started skateboarding in 1984 and i could never have dreamed that there'd be such a thing as a skateboard class one day at a school nice keep your shoulders right over your board the whole time yeah you got it brett nice and low bend the knees there you go and you see the skate program here as being of real significance it's integral it's actually the core now of what the (07:43) moore middle school is in other words how can we use skateboarding as a means of which to increase student achievement increase physical fitness increase self-esteem skateboarding is going to be our centerpiece [Music] well you know what i see i mean there's kids that are skating and they're going for it and they call themselves skaters but there's also a girl over there who's just against the wall and she's not really doing anything right but she's here she feels like she's a part of something (08:33) she doesn't have to achieve anything other than the door is open and she's welcome to come in and be a part of it right that doesn't happen in traditional sports no and and the worst the worst day of pe for most for most kids is the day we pick we pick teams if you're not the best athlete well you know you're always getting picked last and they hate that day but when we started skateboarding there wasn't any more teams it was like there's 51 individuals out there and all they had to do was pick their board but (08:59) they all interacted they all did their stuff nobody was like oh look at that kid which is like you saying traditional p it's not that way yeah yeah you know two scores a touchdown it's who's faster it's who's right you know this or that so skateboarding is just kind of like a offer one one for all kind of you know all in it together kind of mentality you know uh it's really kind of an open and level playing field where everyone's just kind of in it together and you see that at the skate parks you see (09:27) that out in the streets see it here today you know it's pretty special as someone who's totally new to this sport and new to i guess the observation of it it's mind-blowing because you just don't see that camaraderie [Music] opening the door and and facilitating something like this is is opening the door to opportunity really because you learn a lot about yourself when you're riding a skateboard you know and when we come to school generally speaking we don't really learn a whole lot about ourselves we're kind (10:02) of taught structure and the way society sees the world the way we want the world to be for you know and get on a skateboard it's you know it's kind of a different experience and i think it's very encouraging a lot of times i see that spark in kids eyes where they're suddenly like alive it's great i think what you got here is great man you're on to something you're definitely on to something i'm a lucky guy [Music] [Music] do do (11:06) [Music] do [Music] [Music] lake havasu arizona has had a skate park for years but while the city continues to grow the skate park has remained unchanged and unable to adequately and safely support the growing number of kids who go there to ride their bikes and skateboards [Music] seeing a need rachelle duncan and julie sassine two moms brought together by tragic (12:09) circumstance have taken it upon themselves to ensure that all the youth of lake havasu are provided a safe and challenging place to pursue their passions [Music] through the creation of the tinel memorial committee they have rallied a community to build a new park in honor of local bmxer patrick tinnell and skateboarder colin who spearheads all of this how did you get involved and why are you leading the charge on this well i've got four boys that bmx ride and skateboard and for a long time i've come down to (12:52) this park and seen it you know being overused and um overcrowded and then when we lost our our soldier who was a bmx rider his name is patrick tinnell and he went over to iraq yeah unfortunately he lost his life over there he was a really talented guy really talented soldier and he used to come down to this park and he would teach kids you know his tricks and everybody knew pat for the crazy stuff that he would do he was crazy so then his passing in iraq that had a great impact on the community yeah everybody just kind of got together and (13:31) said let's let's do something that pat would have loved and we know that pat was wanting a new park and we're like let's just do it then how far into this process was it that colin passed away well he died in march so about a year and i was like any other busy working mom i knew about the skate park every time i'd see a donation jar i'd stick something in but i really wasn't involved and then when colin died it just he was so about this park and he used to always tell me about it i told my husband i (14:00) said you know this is just what we need to do so we made a big donation to the to the park colin was a skateboarder it was his passion that kid lived breathed and ended up ultimately dying skateboarding julie's son was skateboarding in what should have been the most safe place for him was his own driveway and he fell into the street and was hit by a car and was killed instantly from his injuries and that has also spawned a bigger awareness as to why we need a safer place for our kids 14 14. (14:41) i started skating when i was 14. you know after he died he just told everybody make donations to the skate park and uh someone set up a fund uh in his name and 25 000 later we were able to give quite a big chunk and this was strangers friends neighbors people i don't even know donating money to his account for the skate park so i just think that you know patrick and and colin died very different ways but they have united our community together i think for this cause we'll be remembering colin in the new (15:16) park there's a whole section there that'll be in memory of colin the community found an ally in lake havasu parks and recreations director bill mulcahy who was instrumental in helping secure a piece of city property on which the new park could be built it seems like prime real estate here what kind of a coup did you pull to get a skate park on this property well we just needed a skate park and this is the only property the city had and we thought this would be a good uh reason to donate it and so the city (15:51) council donated the property to this is donated right wow you know the other thing that's really worked i think is rachelle and her group have got the kids buying into the program and assisting every chance they get this is inspiring for me you know it's just to see this this level of involvement across the board is uh very encouraging i think it'll be good things happening here in lake havasu city but this will have a ripple effect in other communities as well i hope so yeah i think it will the more places we (16:25) provide for the skate porters and bmx riders and right those sports the better it gets them off the street and into a safe safe place no sports but those kids kids in general just just stepping up in this way for young people is it's just so crucial such crucial time in your life that you know yeah like i said to feel that kind of support and to be that empowered um that's a ripple effect as well that's going to affect these kids for the rest of their lives they're going to be you know productive (16:56) citizens because of that yeah [Music] i think that's that's pretty righteous of of you ladies to you know step in and do this on behalf of you know the community the young people here and the kids are doing it themselves too though right yeah they are you know they've designed that park and we got skaters and bikers which are typically two that compete for this small little spot we got them all together in one room sitting at one table and it's so cool to see them all just unite and come together and work together to get their (17:33) new park and these same kids are going to city council meetings and making a stand for what they believe in and what they want to see happen which is really really impressive to see if everything just meshes together we'll get it done real soon [Music] [Applause] so [Music] need for a new park has brought parents kids and city officials together and together they are changing their skate scene and their community the process of getting a skatepark built is never an easy one but through passion and persistence the community continues to move closer (18:36) to its goal of breaking ground on a world-class skate park in memory of patrick and colin i just want to say it's been a real pleasure to come out here to lake havasu city hang with you all i wish you all the best of luck in uh getting your new skatepark built i'm sure it's going to happen i'm certain because i've met the lovely lady who is spearheading the entire uh project [Applause] [Music] now there's a lot going into getting this new skate park built a lot of people are fighting really hard and i (19:12) think it's going to be up to you guys in the end to take some real sense of ownership and uh you know really feel empowered to make that skate park a positive place a place where it's just about riding and everybody being together having a good time i think it's up to you guys to step up take real ownership of that thing and make it worth everybody's while what do you think all right who wants this [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] our children are the future but they are more so the present we need to rise up (20:05) and do whatever we can to let them know that they are loved and appreciated right now if that means implementing skateboard programs at their schools or fighting for skate parks in our communities then that is what we must do [Music] [Music] foreign so no matter what our kids interests (21:13) whether it be skateboarding or ballet we need to support our children and light the way so they can grow to become secure independent and productive adults [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] you