Please share with your friends and family!
J.T.
The official dates and flyer for the journey!
To the Skaters Getting Started: We are a team, a family, an adventure
To all my fellow beginners out there, it is never too late to start skating or even to pick it back up again. I was 7 years old when I first started my adventures with skateboarding with no clue where it would take me, but with just one family member who helped me learn the basics! One year after I first got some of the basics, I stopped because I wasn’t motivated enough, which I sincerely regret. But many years later, my skateboarding adventure would see a new beginning at Lindsay Skate Park on 42nd Pl in South Los Angeles.
Gilbert Lindsay Skate park is where I grew as a person, and where I found my second family. To those who live around Lindsay Skate park or any other Skate park, visit them and experience for yourself how skateboarding and its community can help you as a person.
This year, due to the pandemic, my skateboarding had to be put on hold for a while, which wasn’t easy for me because staying home so much was tough and still is. When I was finally able to go outside again, getting back on my board was kind of odd at first because since it was put on hold for a while, certain parts of it became more challenging. Basically I had to relearn everything and it wasn’t easy. Skateboarding is something you must constantly practice or you’ll lose the ability to do certain things. But eventually, after two weeks of relearning everything, I got my style back and felt motivated to go harder, to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. It’s all helped me gain even more experience then I had before quarantine.
So to those who want to quit this amazing adventure that skateboarding can provide for you, don’t because once you see yourself grow you will only continue getting better. In skateboarding there is no shame for who you are or what skill level you’re in. No matter what, you’ll always be welcomed into the skateboarding community like it’s your second family.
To those that think needing help getting started isn’t “cool enough,” you are wrong. The adventures and challenges that skateboarding can bring upon you are not easy, so if you need some tips, just ask someone because it will help you progress in this crazy adventure.
The first skate deck I ever used was a “blind” deck. And if you still have your very first skate deck, be sure to keep it because one day you’ll look back at it and think about all the happy adventures that skateboarding began with. What I see for myself in these crazy fun adventures on my deck is something that will continue long into the future for me. So if you’re thinking of starting this adventure, go for it, and be prepared for the challenges it can bring upon your life. Most importantly, whether you see it as something professional or as something to pass time with, just have fun.
Life is filled with challenges and it can be confusing sometimes because everyone handles the challenges differently, but to those who can use some help with the many obstacles life brings, skateboarding won’t let you down. For myself, as someone who gets confused with life’s challenges sometimes, it’s not easy, but with the freedom of skateboarding, the happy adventures help me with everything else. They can help you too!
IR
IR is a skater and student in the 10th grade through South Los Angeles. He dedicates this poem to all the new skaters out there.
Meg Rakos: Supay & New York City: Two Adventures, One Destiny
Since as long as I can remember, the background on my computer screen was the NYC skyline. I was drawn to the city lights and told myself, “in another life” I would live there. I was born in Cusco, Peru, but was adopted weeks after birth and raised in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. At 25, I had just moved into a beautiful apartment and had an amazing job and strong support system from my friends and family in Brooklyn Park. But I was craving more. At the time everything felt like it was too easy, I knew I could be more and do more.
In 2017, I sold my car, packed two suitcases, and followed my heart, purchasing a one way ticket to New York City.
It was then that I reconnected with Sam, a friend of mine I’d met years earlier on a family visit to Lima, Peru. Sam had also been adopted from Peru and we met while we were both trying to reconnect with our birth families.
We didn’t know we’d both be in New York City 13 years later, but there we were. One night, while we were playing soccer down at the pier, Sam asked if I wanted to be his partner with SUPAY, a design company he had started in Summer 2015 showcasing his South American ties through modern street-wear. I was thrilled! Our illustration styles were similar, we had both gone to college for Graphic Design, and both shared an incredible culture to look back on together. I knew we’d make a solid team.
We started with the idea of self identity – who we are, where we come from, where we’re going. We both struggled with identity since we were each raised by Caucasian parents, missing out on the experience and knowledge of a Hispanic family. We wanted to reconnect with our roots and so we began to research South American civilizations, studying designs, textiles, architecture and artwork to make sense of the history.
Sam looked into Incan mythology and selected Supay for the brand’s name because Supay was the god of the Incan underworld. He was a misfit, but his unique character provided sustaining springs of subterranean waters to the upper world of life. We could both relate to Supay since each of us is constantly searching for the light among the darkness in NYC. It’s what we aim to show in each design for our t-shirts.
Sam also now goes by Uku Pacha for his DJ name, which references the Incan underworld.
It all happened very fast, but I feel like I’m right where I need to be.
When I step outside I feel a tremendous amount of energy that the city permeates. There’s always something more you can do to push yourself and that’s something I didn’t feel in MN. I’ve had so many people stop me at coffee-shops asking what I’m doing when I’m designing, wanting to see more illustrations and learn about the story behind SUPAY. Their positive energy advances me forward. It brings me only more happiness to know this is just the beginning and that I’m blessed to be following my dreams alongside my best friend.
My advice for anyone out there who feels out of place sometimes but who still has a dream just like I did, would be this: your dream doesn’t have to be just an idea resting in your mind. You can will it into existence and take that first step. If you truly give yourself a chance to push through all the uncertainty and do everything with love, you’ll be steered in the right direction, every time.
M.R.