Trade Off
Something has caught Rob’s attention. Could it be the spawning of a new stencil idea or a graphic arrangement on a screen print? His gaze directed beyond passing vehicles on Pacific Avenue to where a collection of East Side Longos stake their claim. Or is it an approaching park ranger on patrol, slowly rolling past the skate plaza carefully observing the scene.
Being aware of your surroundings gives you an advantage over your adversaries. Surviving here is like a trade school. The metal railings, pyramids and ramps are unforgiving to the body when technical training meets manual labor. The teachers are your peers and you learn to give the shirt off your back. It’s all about embracing what you’ve been given and imagining and implementing a creative solution. Receiving is based upon what you’re willing to give away.
Rob, a heavyset Hispanic skater, spends his spare time creating stencil designs for ‘Hammer City’. He wants to turn his artwork into a clothing franchise that will help support the crew in their skateboarding endeavors. Most of the guys in the group have at least one of Rob’s designs spray-painted on their boards and his latest design is a soldier on a skateboard. Self-expressive mottos and cultural values are often times repeatedly written with artistic utensils that will make a solid statement regardless if it’s on a skateboard deck or chain link fence. The soul emerges as a sturdy vessel. The voice privately confessed on public or personal property is like a dressing on a wound. There’s healing power when others witness the inspiration.
The charcoal colored grip tape has been written over with fatty gold paint markers ‘Hammer City All Day’. Attempting variations of skateboard tricks from the basic to the most gnarly is what happens at ‘Ghetto Park’ because the skaters here seek to advance their skills all day until the park closes like the day. The exercise on a smooth concrete slab like commercial airplanes taxiing like a cab.
Until then the angled rays of sunlight softly illuminate Rob’s head before the ominous backdrop of old growth jacaranda trees. There’s no telling what could happen once you walk out with your board on your side through the chain link gate. Someone is flying through the air, their feet missed the catch and upon the slab the board’s grip side slaps.
Some of his family members express concern about him hanging out with blacks, but Rob tells them that the skaters don’t discriminate. The frequent violence between the African-American and the Latino gangs in Long Beach is squashed within the gates of ‘Ghetto Park’. There’s a trade off when you spend time away from gang members and join a diverse skateboarding crew who embrace your talents for personal growth and the empowerment of the whole group.