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Taryn Karasti

HIT THE RAIL. Junior Landon Herman jumps onto a rail to go into a boardslide. On Apr. 12, he was at the park with some of his friends. “I came to the park every day when I first started,” Herman said. “There was maybe a week when I first started where I didn’t come to the park.”

Over the past few decades, skateboarding has grown increasingly popular among people of all ages. With snow (mostly) melted and skate parks opening again, now is the perfect time to grab a board (and maybe a beanie) and hit the ramps.

At the Champlin skatepark, junior Landon Herman is a frequent visitor. He first started skating two and a half years ago. His friends helped teach him how to skate, and since then he has been practicing at the skate park often. It has been a great place for him to learn new tricks because of the community at the park.

“For the most part it’s pretty chill,” Herman said. “Everybody’s pretty nice. They teach you how to do some things and stuff.”

Meanwhile, at the Skate Plaza in Maple Grove, 44-year-old Seth Nelson is getting back in the groove. He recently suffered a rolled ankle and has healed enough to get back on his board. Nelson has been skateboarding since the ’80s and has found the Minnesota skateboarding community to be very supportive.

“Minnesota is a really tight-knit community,” he said. “Very accepting of everybody.”

For him, the skateboarding community has also brought many different types of people together, ones that normally would never talk to each other, especially in the 90s. It’s expanded his perspective… and his playlist.

“I listened to Wu-Tang [Clan] and my other friend listened to Rancid and Nirvana,” he said. “It was cool, everyone got along.”

Because of the accepting and chill skateboarding community, there is never much competition for either Herman or Nelson.

Moving forward, Herman has plans to compete this year: “I’m just going to wait for something to pop up on social media because it’s randomized how they’re formed,” he said.

“If you want to skate tomorrow you got to not get hurt today,” Nelson said. “But be in the moment.”

Nelson also has a life message that he applies to skateboarding.

“Just take it slow, but also, carpe diem, seize the day,” he said. “You might not have tomorrow so try and get your tricks today.”

For new and aspiring skaters, Herman and Nelson have wise words.

“Just come to the park,” Herman said, “even if you think people are going to make fun of you because nobody’s actually going to. Just don’t worry about what other people think.”

Similarly, Nelson said, “Ride around and don’t be concerned about what other people think of you.”

Not athletic? No worries. Nelson believes that skateboarding can be for athletic people or artistic people.

“People always say, ‘Is it more of a sport or art?’” he said. “It’s like it’s a mixed bag of nuts.”

Find a skatepark near you anywhere on the globe at Concrete Disciples.

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