The Second Golden Era Of The Skatepark

European skateboarding always had its grand old dames: La Kantera in the Basque country is a legacy of the long surf history there, Romford near London has an unbroken history well into the last century. Marseille, Annecy, for skaters of a certain age they are all remembered particularly from the Marseille Bowlriders events which now are the stuff of global skateboarding legend.

Remarkably, however, most countries in Europe now boast structures of equal or oftentimes more ambitious scope. Let’s take a lighting tour:

Sweden and Denmark have led the way with truly staggering outdoor structures- Stapelbadsparkken in Malmo and the new jawdropper in Faelledparken, Copenhagen just across the bridge there. Faelleddparken hosted Rune Glifberg’s 30^th year skating anniversary just passed and is but a part of what is going on here on the outdoor front. Special mention must be given to Swedish scene don John Magnusson here because of his involvement not just in the concrete side of things but also because of his involvement with the Brygerriet skate school, and their no less amazing indoor facility and educational space there, organising Vert Attack and so much else. We take our hats off to you John.

So anyway, like the guy doing the weather forecast: south of Scandinavia and into Scotland you have a no less remarkable phenomenon where the ancient sacred concrete of Livingston has been joined by mushrooming destination parks in small towns which has led directly to an explosion in Scottish talent on exactly this sort of terrain. Think of them as the sons of Creature’s Stu Graham, and be afeared. Ireland has had its own concrete mini- renaissance with a smattering of concrete parks around Dublin, and Wales has just received two beefy ones in Porthcawl and Newport.

Staying with the idea of ‘how did this thing end up here?’, England has also enjoyed multiple megaparks in comparatively small market towns with names like Saffron Walden and Norton Castle joining Stoke and Hastings in having ludicrously wild developments, however with every month news of a smaller but no less development somewhere like Belfast underscores that this is a genuine phenomenon. In London, Converse paid to re- surface the decrepit Kennington Bowl just a few years ago, and the distinctive Shoreham bowl on England’s south coast has brought three generations of skaters together.

Nor is this a localised thing. in 2012, the small town of Nova Gorica in Slovenia broke ground on a 350,000 Euros skatepark project developed between Germany's Concrete Rudolph and local concrete builders which looks set to make the town a major destination for the ever growing number of kids who like to travel to skate in the summer, certainly in my experience one of the best ways to experience Europe and her peoples.

On the other side of the Adriatic there lies Bologna, whose park as ridden by Signor Daniel Cardone holds a strong argument for being voted Europe’s most complete vision of a single skatepark design. Bologna does not have all the features of the megaparks; it is not a beginner’s park but in terms of its geometry, location and loving finish it is flawless.

On the ‘glorious location’ tip we should also never overlook Austria’s wonderful Cradle Skatepark in Brixlegg, built by the American concrete maestro’s Dreamland. Any of these parks is a joy in the summertime but Brixlegg has a special charm and enjoys considerably more relaxed ambience than, say, Marseille’s Prado bowl at sunset- unique though those charms certainly are.

Even in Holland where the weather sees a preponderance of indoor parks, the evening session after the Volcom Damn Am contest this summer inevitably saw big crowds drawn to the outdoor Marnix bowl there, and next door in Belgium there  stands not just the wonderful community- driven Ursulines skatepark built in conjunction with the city council after much sterling work by Ian Dykmans and the BRUSK collective, but also the rather wonderful cradle capsule in Kortrijk, a pleasantly high- danger sort of clover bowl plonked in the middle of a town which also boasts one of Europe’s finest indoor parks a few miles down the road.

And as anyone who likes skate tour life will testify,
we cannot talk about outdoor concrete parks in Europe without speaking of the Basque country, where the world- famous La Kantera is now joined by the La Leoia and Guernica parks in what is really Europe’s equivalent of Oregon in terms of concrete skate culture, and where many of the best skaters in Europe’s history have hailed from. Skaters from across Europe can be found sleeping 10 to a floor here in the summer.

The rapid expansion of good outdoor concrete skateparks across Europe could not have been possible without the best of local expertise and in some cases the best outdoor parkbuilders in the world.

For the concrete devotees of Europe sitting on their hands waiting for the council to have an epiphany was never going to be on the cards, and so I would like to pay tribute here to the park builders who have come up through the DIY skatepark movement: Roman Astleitner, Darryl Nobbs and the mighty Pontus Alv being three who have been involved with projects of all scales and varying degrees of legality and would be the first people I would suggest talking to should you be so inclined.

As well as Concrete Rudolph mentioned earlier, worth your support and consideration are England’s Maverick, Marc Churchill for his House Of Vans build, and in terms of overall vision and consultancy once again, hire John Magnusson and forget about your problems. However with these and the notable US brand Grindline notwithstanding, the general consensus globally is that the virtuoso’s, the absolute masters of the craft are Mark Red Scott’s Dreamland Skateparks. Counting among their number the founders of the daddy of all illegal DIY skateparks, Burnside in Portland, Dreamland turned Oregon into the skatepark Mecca of the world. On the strength of a series of builds there, Dreamland created a whole new paradise road trip of glassy concrete waves which have ‘the best cement contours I've ever ridden, by far." says one Mr Tony Hawk.

Dreamland are also the people who built two of our favourites listed earlier, the fabulous Bologna and Brixlegg parks. Really, whatever your age or involvement in skateboarding try to get to either of those parks, and feel how those things fashioned by human hand can be imbued with love.

The irony of this silent revolution is that in fact it has caught the mainstream skateboarding media off guard. Because of skateboarding’s fascination with its self regard as being an arbiter of legitimacy, the magazines continue to favour street skating despite the fact that thoroughbred street skaters are now in the minority of skateboarding’s wider population. Park kids, rad dads, longboarders, skateparks have re-opened the doors of skateboarding’s church to all the faithful. The fact that many of these parks are multi- purpose facilities may trouble the purists who don’t want to risk killing a small child on a microscooter every 30 seconds (which is a legitimate concern), but we must be realistic that the money for many of these creations comes from a council who wants to throw money at a one size fits all solution and the unfortunate reality that although skateboarding is the best thing ever it can no longer afford to sustain itself financially.

What is interesting about the history of Del Mar on the Ride Channel is that Del Mar became famous worldwide precisely because it survived skateboarding’s first popularity collapse. As amazing as it is to see the scratches dance across that sun bleached footage of an America which belonged to another age, the truth is that the real golden era of the concrete skatepark is now, and it no longer belongs exclusively in California.

 In China, in the Cayman Islands, in Oregon, in New Zealand and right here in Europe we are looking at concrete beasts the like of which we may never see again. You don’t even have to be able to hit the lip to enjoy them. Whether by following some of the tips here or the links below, look into what it might mean for the size of wheels and boards people are beginning to ride, how you can find a chain of two or three, organise a bus full of likely chaps, and get yours.

The original version of this article appeared here!