It blows my mind how skateboarding still has an “outsider” vibe after 60 years. With over 50 million worldwide skaters and at least 10 million skaters in the USA, why is it still so hard to get a skatepark built in major cities and towns across the USA? I lived in Boston from 2004-2010 and there was a proposal and $2 million earmarked for a skatepark and it never got built, yet at the same time 1,000’s of man hours and who knows how much money went into arresting kids for skating and “repairing” broken benches, etc.
Utah on the other hand gets it. There are so many skateparks here and obviously we would like another one, but at least the people in charge see the need and desire for such places. But why isn’t skateboarding taught as a physical education credit? We know there are many people making a living in the skate industry and if there is a need why not fulfill it?
Sweden has seen this need and dove in head first. In Malmo, Sweden, there is a highschool that focuses on education and skateboarding. Their gym is an amazing indoor skate heaven and is class is taught by a former pro. Watch this video and imagine if our schools had an opportunity for budding pros…
