Outside The Lines

Photos: Ryan Young

Words: Travis Schirmer

Exhausted from over 40 days of zigzagging across the country seeking out shelter and skateboard spots, the crew decided to bypass Colorado and drive straight back to California. The territorial disputes over seats with access to a window for leaning on grew in viciousness and regularity, as all-night driving sessions became the norm. Every few hours a passenger would wake up and mumble, “Where are we?” It was unclear which state we were in at any given time; that we were still far from the West Coast was certain due to the surreal names of gas stations we passed (Kum & Go, Giant Eagle, Flying J, etc.) We took turns sleeping on a strip of floor between the van’s first bench and front seats that had been previously reserved for the soles of our shoes and oily particles of vending machine food.  At rest stops, some of us worked through our delusional weariness by walking in socks through rainy parking lots towards the nearest fast food restaurant, while others chain-smoked in a haze propped against the van.

Miraculously, we materialized in Los Angeles to let off our first crew member. Many half-conscious goodbyes were uttered in the weak morning sun until the trip was concretely over—its reality carried on in the form of electronic imagery and subjective interpretations based on the meaning it held for each person who went along for the ride.

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 where the walls seemed to be made of nothing other than beer boxes, a three-story barn with a roof supported by a full-pipe, and a cement skatepark built on a hill at the highest point of elevation. A few minutes after staring at our surroundings, a car being chased by a pack of barking dogs came charging up the road. Brewce Martin emerged, introduced himself, and then jumped onto his skateboard to show us the lines of the park he built himself. At night, the lights in the barn came on and we watched Brewce, Joel and Ratface have a session in the vertigo-inducing 13-foot tall wooden bowl. Noteworthy events of the evening included a skateboard dropping from the top of the full pipe onto Ryan’s face, games of pool being played for low sums of money and two “bus tours” with Brewce behind the wheel and all of us trying to find a spot to sit on the floor where there was no broken glass as we went off road. We threw our sleeping bags into the pool and slid down to the bottom, but the sound of a revving chainsaw from outside kept everyone awake.

Along with multiple houses, barns and cabins on the property, Brewce constructed a skateboard museum. He gave us a tour, showing us his collection of hundreds of different boards from the earliest era through the present. There was a board with a pair of trucks that still had a “patent pending” label attached to them, along with clay wheels. Visitors are welcome to pick up any of the boards that hang from every inch of ceiling and wall space to stand on them or spin their functioning bearings. We finished our time at Skatopia by shooting handguns, shot guns and rifles at an old computer in front of the museum.

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 one-year-old daughter bouncing on his knee.  We met up with Josh Katz (Youtube username: enminem) and then headed back to his parents’ house for photo and video editing, writing, eating and some sleep.  The next afternoon we returned to Charm City for more interviews and ended the day with one more meal with Josh provided by his super friendly family.

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 his friends, a posse of a dozen skaters and some of their girlfriends, in Lexington, North Carolina.  They showed us their spots until the sun set and we continued on to Chapel Hill where we celebrated Ratface’s 21st birthday at our friend James’ house.  James kindly provided us with beer, good conversation and shelter for three days.  During that time Levi guided us to more of his spots and we ended our time together by riding our skateboards down a steep grass hill as a group of twenty.  Exodus skateshop helped us greatly, allowing us to shoot interviews in their well-stocked shop after hours.  We all appreciated the help from Levi, Exodus and James as our journey continued.   

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 trick attempts.  We got kicked out and went to go sprawl ourselves on the sidewalk.

When we arrived in Savanah later that day in sweat-stained shirts and saw the old, pocked bricks forming buildings and crosswalks, Joel decided we should smoke a cigar.  We broke into groups with some eating at a pirate-themed restaurant and the rest skating on narrow ledges above a 15-foot drop while bored tourists looked on.  Everyone reconvened under a bridge with an acoustic guitar sounding from the window of a restaurant above us, and freighter ships moving in slow lines along the river below.  Three cigars twisted into a braid made up the “Medusa” that Joel bought for us.  A few of us hacked through it until it was finished.  

That night we slept outside on South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach.  Without mentioning it to the rest of the crew, I used an unopened package of four toilet paper rolls as a pillow while Ratface woke up in the middle of the night and had to borrow a sock from Darren.  As we drove away in the morning with the van stuffed with our sleeping bags wet from dew, we spotted a guy on a long board rowing himself along with a stick.  Ten minutes after stopping to photograph him, we were taking showers and drinking coffee at our new friend Carl’s house.  Our next stop was in North Carolina where we interviewed Dan at the Stability Skateshop and park.  *Thank you to the owners of the shop and all the friendly people who have helped us along the way.   

Photos: Ryan Young

Words: Travis Schirmer

Florida’s New Smyrna Beach was roofed in by an ashy sky that fractured with root-like shapes of blue lightening as our van pulled in to the Shluzas’ driveway.  The heat waited patiently behind the clouds, allowing us to skate chunky brick banks and well-constructed skateparks by 4 p.m. on the heels of hurricane Irene.  We stared at thrashing palms from behind glass panes in the elegant home of Joel’s in-laws for most of a day.  The following afternoon Florida powerhouses Joel Meinholz and Ed Selego gave us an interview at M.I.A. skateshop before leading us to a recognizable concaved structure in front of an unused building for a fun session.  By the time we made it to South Beach Miami to interview Danny Fuenzalida it was a black Sunday night.  The beautiful worldly tourists in high heels pretended not to notice Ratface flying over gaps in the sidewalk as they walked down the strip.  Again, a spot appeared like a flash of light to Ratface while the rest of us slept in the van and a spontaneous session was on.  A three-foot wide full-pipe set two stories above cement was enough room for him to perform a number of impressive tricks.  Down below on Earth, Daniel kickflipped a lengthy set of stairs.  We made it back to our beds just before sunrise.  Our last guide in Florida was enthusiastic 14-year old Matt Stokes (username “filmsallday” on Youtube) who brought us to his local skateshop, Flipside, for an interview and a session on a mini-ramp. 

Photos: Ryan Young

Words: Travis Schirmer

The heat settled and moisture took its place in New Orleans.  Bridges over swampy vegetation lead us to old men beneath straw hats swerving on beach cruisers and slow trudging tour groups.  In a flash across the van’s window, Ratface spotted a ramp below a freeway overpass.  Joel pulled off at the next exit to find a makeshift skatepark.  Trapped within the scent of evaporating urine stood a dilapidated quarter pipe, a fun box and a cinderblock ledge with attached metal coping.  We skated and interviewed two nearby spectators who—for the first time on our trip—denied us permission to use the footage after giving them a free board and a pack of cigarettes.     

Other locals such as Bourbon Street’s “Bucket Man”, a lyricist who improvises complex songs and amplifies them with an old plastic bucket, were glad to help us.  Within seconds of seeing the “Outside The Lines” decal on the side of the van, Bucket Man laid down a three minute freestyle that left everyone applauding.  We were also treated hospitably by Phillip, the owner of Humidity Skateshop.  He showed us some of New Orleans’ street spots while cops drove by without paying attention to us.  We all got lost on Bourbon Street at night, hopped a fence to go swimming in a classy hotel’s pool and were housed by a young woman at the core of the local music scene who dramatically intensified our partying.  The following day we left for Florida as a truck bed packed with kids waved us goodbye.