September 2011
12 posts
20 tags
SKATOPIA
Photos: Ryan Young
Words: Travis Schirmer
At the bottom of a gravel road somewhere in the grassy city of Rutland, Ohio the van pulled up to a sign enclosed by pool coping with “Skatopia” written on it. The entrance lead to an 80-acre piece of land founded on ideas concerning skateboarding and freedom by a man named Brewce Martin. We drove by a pink school bus with broken windows, a house ...
Ohio
Photos: Ryan Young
Words: Travis Schirmer
Andy Schrock (Youtube Username) welcomed us into his home in Columbus, Ohio sometime around 5 a.m. We proceeded to fall asleep on couches and a basement floor until we woke up in the afternoon, sore from driving through three consecutive states. After eating a local delicacy of chili and cheese over spaghetti, Andy introduced us to his friends at a...
Travelogue 1.4
Travelogue 1.3
12 tags
New York and Massachusetts
Photos: Ryan Young
Words: Travis Schirmer
For two nights we slept on the hardwood floor of a barren living room among our dirty clothes, electronics and other valuable items in an area of Brooklyn populated by art students and unclassifiable weirdos. During the day we skated as a mob, taking priority over a few timid drivers but mostly dispersing at intersections to make space for barreling...
Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Photos: Ryan Young
Words: Travis Schirmer
A shirtless, barefoot drunk guy swayed on top of a D.I.Y. cement bowl as he looked down at Mcnugget, Ratface and Joel avoiding puddles on their skateboards at Philadelphia’s F.D.R. skatepark. The wind from the passing storm eventually pushed him over. If it weren’t for a reflexive catch by Mcnugget, he would have fallen to the hard, wet...
Travelogue 1.2
10 tags
Virginia and Maryland
Photos: Ryan Young
Words: Travis Schirmer
The van pulled into the parking lot of Baltimore’s indoor Charm City Skatepark as water leaked into the van and puddles overflowing from gutters spilled into streets. The park was a maze of bowls, rails, ledges, gaps and hidden second-story rooms containing lengthy spine ramps; all managed by owner Jason, who gave us a thoughtful interview with his...
11 tags
North Carolina
Photos: Ryan Young
Words: Travis Schirmer
One more night was spent on a beach in North Carolina after a scouting mission for rooftop urban camping proved unsuccessful. The empty, peaceful spot where we rolled out our sleeping bags late at night became a lane for joggers, walking families and concerned beach patrol officers at daybreak. We met up with Levi (Youtube username eliteskater08) and...
Travelogue 1.1
17 tags
Georgia and South Carolina
Photos: Ryan Young
Words: Travis Schirmer
Ratface and Chris Mcnugget started walking on their hands on the densely packed sand beaches of Florida. While we waited for the van’s cracked radiator to be replaced on our way out of Daytona, they walked on their hands into the unlit, moldy smelling corridor of a strip mall. They did handstands on their boards and made sharp echoes with their flip...
8 tags
Travelogue 1.0
