Photos by Beau Barlow.
Video by Beau Barlow, Alex Kissinger, Rae Barlow, and Ian Keller.
Dear Skate Jawn,
Life’s so good. The Ledgewood Zoo DIY is going really well. It isn’t so bad out here in Edgewood, MD. I mean… the neighborhood surrounding the DIY can’t even get a pizza delivered after dark, but they haven’t given us any trouble. Trey Gumbach and his friends found the court. Put in a few things and the rest is history.
Fast forward about a decade, the court was in shambles. Cracks like you’ve never seen, hastily overbuilt and underbuilt obstacles left unfinished and in ruin. Some built hollow and full of bees. Poison sumac growing up the fence and a general lack of trash removal. This was turning into the sort of place that David Gravette would visit cause it’s the worst. I don’t think it was deliberate, just nobody was in charge here.
About 2 years ago, our good friend Ron Over approached us about a potential ledge build. We put a lot of thought into it, knowing that we’d be sucked into the builder’s coalition. But who are we to let a good spot go to waste. We have been skating this spot often in the recent time, so we dove in. A little 8 ft ledge turned into a 24 ft quarter pipe complete with an 8 ft ledge in the middle, sidewalk across the back with all the bells and whistles.
We thought we were done, but we had been entranced by the Zoo and the community. The people wanted more and we were having way too much fun. Now that Super Stone had shown the community what we can do, they began to pitch in that much more. We got rid of all the vines, cleaned up the edges and chained the trash cans to the fence. Cleaning up after these animals isn’t an easy task, but most fall in line. The undesirables are totally outnumbered.
All this led to early mornings and long days of hard work for the family of Super Stone. The community gave us the responsibility of Ledgewood, and we aren’t going to let them down. Don’t get us wrong, a few people help here and there but, let’s be honest, most people would rather skate than help out. The money we receive from the community is appreciated immensely. It just gave the Super Stone family that much more purpose and we thank you all.
As we cleaned up the place, many skateboarders started to come out of the woodwork. They had caught wind of Ledgewood being under new management. Some that quit or lost their way even started to skate again.
You never know who’s going to show up at The Zoo. People from all over have been here to skate. From Bobby Worrest to Myles Willard…Baltimore legends like Rodney Jones, Spencer Brown, Jake Rupp and Gary Smith that frequently terrorize the Zoo. This is one of Gary’s favorite places to skate. Its most likely because it’s more of a street spot than a regular skatepark. Gary, being the owner of Vú Skateshop, is one of the Zoo’s highest contributors. As the community gives to the Vú, the Vú gives right back to the community. Funny how that works. Full circle of life.
It’s not “Big Names” that make it what it is. It’s the community collectively. They say it takes a village. Well, it takes at least a family and the Barlow family has stepped up to the plate. I can’t say that it is always easy to build and maintain. A lot of times we end up spending our own money on materials and such, but to see the skaters and the community so happy makes it all worth it. We just enjoy each day as it comes and hope for many more. We never know if Parks and Rec will bring a dozer in…. the unthinkable. Ledgewood Zoo is such an essential part of the community now, I can’t imagine this community would let it go easily. At the end of the day, it’s not just an old tennis court all cracked up and abandoned by society. It’s paradise. That being said we take no days for granted. We keep it clean, pick up the trash and hall it away. All worth it…. because of the community of skateboarders that we have. They are the best. There’s a certain pride at the Zoo these days. You can’t just do whatever you want anymore. But it’s all common sense. Think of it as any other hub type spot like Freedom Plaza, you better not be waxing unless you’re Pooch or Bobby Worrest. But really, there’s just one law…respect the Zoo.
People say it’s like the “New Ridge”. It feels that way more and more every day. For all of you living under a rock…Ridge was one of the best DIYs in Baltimore’s history and it was slowly ripped away from the skateboard community piece by piece until it was reduced to rubble.
Its spirit lives on. Carl Schmidt, Dan Zanks and Danny Neverstop just built a new ledge for us at the Zoo with an old piece of angle iron Danny salvaged from the rubble of Ridge.
Carl was kind and respectful enough to hit us up and work with us on proper placement. He’s an old friend from the Ridge Army. It’s an honor to the Zoo to have these Ridge Army builders grace us with a build. Danny Neverstop is no stranger to Ledgewood Zoo. He built one of the most essential obstacles, the manual pad. Dan Zanks can’t stop patching and fixing at the Zoo. When it’s in your blood there’s no stopping. Zanks built one of the most important things here…the 20-foot-wide quarter. Legend has it, he and his then 5 year old son built it by themselves. Benji barely remembers it. Years later to now…He turned out to be a little shredder. Go figure.
Working together with all the builders is so important when building a DIY so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs for a spot.
The passion that all skateboarders have for their spot is unexplainable to the average Joe. It’s our whole world. We do whatever it takes to keep our home safe. You could say it’s a primal instinct, a need. It’s everything. For myself as a builder it’s the most spiritual uplifting feeling to create something that is made to be destroyed by skateboarding. We are the luckiest family in the end honestly, doing what we love. We get to build stuff as a family and enjoy the fruits as a family. Our fate has brought us to provide skateboarding. To do tricks and see amazing things go down on an obstacle we built…. Priceless.
Yours Sincerely,
