Shop Feature - Rye Airfield
Beau from Rye Airfield Skate Park has been using SkaterTrainers in his classes for almost a year.
The feedback we got from Beau was so great, we wanted to know more.
"Rye Airfield is New England’s premiere skate & bike park. Our indoor skatepark was originally designed and built by Jack Murphy Productions (designers of The Gravity Games, Vans Skateparks and the Dew Tour) with the consultation of former Pro Skaters, Dave Duncan, Andy MacDonald and Chris Senn. Over the past decade we have remodeled a handful of times with the most recent phases of design and construction being completed by Brad Jameson and John Saxton of Skidmark Skateparks along with a covert crew of volunteers.
We are not just a skate & bike park though, we also offer a full service pro shop that carries a solid selection of bike, skateboard and scooter products from completes that are ready to go, or all the parts you need for a custom built ride. Our mechanics can build and repair just about anything that is used in the park.
Our year round indoor facility has 50,000 square feet and features everything you’ve dreamed about riding or skating all under one roof. Our outdoor area is more than 100,000 square feet and is a work in progress with wood and dirt features. The ultimate goal is to create an outdoor bike park that offers something for the cross-country mtb rider and the dirt jumping bmx rider."
Here is our interview with Beau in March 2015:
Us: What’s your experience with skateboarding?
Beau: I have had a skateboard since I was 5 years old. The summer of '76 my brothers were on fire with skateboarding, they were 11 & 13 and we would bomb all over the place in our yellow Cooper hockey helmets. There was a park across the border into NH (ImaMainah) that was that blue fiberglass pool slide looking stuff, those were the first ramps I ever got on, not totally sure of the age but definitely single digits. We had a crazy quarterpipe in our yard that was not supported above the 4' mark. The top snapped off on me when I was like 12 after hitting it on my bike.
Why is skateboarding important to you?
Because I know what it can do for kids. Our Get On Board program is less about creating skateboarders and more about creating confidence through skateboarding. It takes grit to learn how to skate, and that is good for kids brains and helps teach perseverance that is applicable in all aspects of life. I also truly believe in the community building aspect of skateboarding. I am teaching every middle schooler in my hometown, now kids have something in common and you see kids talking that never did before.
How do you think SkaterTrainers will help skateboarding?
An honest answer? I suck at doing an ollie but can actually explain it really well. Now I carry a couple in my pocket and when the request finally happens, and they always do, out come the SkaterTrainers and we go through a quick tutorial. My favorite part is that they go directly on the board at hand so nothing changes for the skater.
How do they work for lessons?
Incredibly well, I'm always willing to try stuff so after getting them on the first board and doing my 1/2" ollie I figured they would work reasonably well. This is pretty much the same as above, ease of install, no discernible weight addition and I watch 12 year olds learn how to get the board off the ground in just a handful of tries.
How do they speed up the process?
Less time with kids falling on the ground, they get the basics of movement down quick, I can't say how the will affect overall proficiency, as in does a kid that learns to ollie with these get better quicker than a kid taking lumps. I will say that they have a taste of success a bit quicker.
What do you think about SkaterTrainers?
I am won over. We are going to put them through the ringer durability wise by teaching more than 1000 kids between now 3.19.15 and 6.15.15 so we will see how they last.
What would you tell someone who has never heard about SkaterTrainers?
Take a chance, Columbus did.
Who do you think SkaterTrainers are for?
People that want to learn how to ollie for sure plus camps and instructors.
Any success stories from people who have used SkaterTrainers?
I taught 6 kids in a matter of minutes, one of them actually did a rolling ollie during the same class. He claims to have never tried one before. More stories will come.
What feedback do you get from kids/parents that haven’t heard about them?
Do they work? I first heard about them from a kid I coach. He wanted to learn how to ollie, Googled it, found you guys and bought them. He showed me one day and the next, bam, he could ollie a broom handle. This kid was not really a skater at the time, he was more a kid with a skateboard. The story is totally different now, much like dropping in really increases the realm of possibilities, an ollie does that times 10.
How is skateboarding different today than when you started?
One word, Opportunity. There are places to skate, videos to watch and great equipment all over the place. When I was a kid, outside of the flash in the pan park when I was a wee one, we had to order stuff online or make it. Otherwise it was toy plastic boards that gave us speed wobble heart attacks daily.
What’s the biggest current trend in skateboarding?
Hmm, from my perspective there are three: shaped boards, people getting into the nuances of how different parts work - Bones is a perfect example, look how many wheel options they have now, that is progress and is awesome, lastly is new kids in the door. We are sensitive to it because we do so much outreach, but I feed good about the future of skating.
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Thanks Beau and Rye Airfield!
Rye Airfield is located in Rye, NH.
Check them out online:
http://www.ryeairfield.com/
