Welcome to NC State University, where people come to school just for the skateboarding… Well, not quite, but it was at least 50% of the reason why I moved from NJ to come to school here four years ago. In those four years, I have been lucky enough to experience a growing excitement in the skate scene at NCSU and the endless stoke and fun of the skate scene of Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

If you ask any skater in North Carolina to describe the skating at NCSU they will give you one word: spots. NC State has a plethora of spots. We have rows and rows of slick plastic benches, basketball court-length banks, bondo-ed 10 and 12 sets, handrails around every corner, and tons of interesting gaps if you tend to think outside the box. The other thing that everyone remembers about NC State is the signature “click-clack” of the smooth brick that covers the campus and makes just cruising around and pushing as fast as you can something to fall in love with.

Most people in Raleigh, especially skaters, will tell you that they love it here. I have not met one skater here who was bummed on the scene, the people, or the atmosphere of skateboarding. Living right beside campus is the place to be. Skating campus anytime you want; a quick skate or bike ride away from Downtown Raleigh- which is home to some things that I must mention, such as the classic Endless Grind skateshop, the best bars, clubs and food, shows and festivals, and, of course, more skating; house parties, keggers and ragers damn near every night during the semester- that being a blessing or a curse for different people; beautiful weather and ladies in summer clothes a majority of the year; backyard and indoor miniramps- I have two within 3 blocks of my apartment, one of which belonging to Jed Shooter of Post 22 (one of the raddest, most humble dudes you will ever meet).

 

In a place like Raleigh, it is no surprise that skateboarding will inevitably find its way into the University. People will forever shred a campus like NC State, and that is why we created NC Skate. A small group of students formed the skate club when I was a freshmen and its one main goal was to gain support for skating a bust-free campus. From there, the club grew into a gnarly and ambitious group of homies, who are also my best friends. When I witnessed the dawn of the club four years ago, I was completely oblivious to its full potential. After a few rough battles with the University, NC Skate found its way to benefit from the institution.

 

The club has become fully supported and funded by NCSU. The only downside was that we had to give in to the somewhat vomit-inducing label of being classified as a ‘Club Sport’ (along with filling out some b.s. paperwork). But, imagine giving in to that to receive an all-expense-paid skate road trip with your homies. Amongst countless NC Skate expeditions have been 3-4 day trips to Jacksonville, Fl. to skate the legendary Kona skatepark and to NYC to be a part of the Agenda tradeshow and meet some legends from our culture. Both of which we had our gas, (nice) hotels, and entry paid for by the school.

 

The reason the school is so willing to accept our group is because we are recognized as the ‘Community Service Leaders’ of the NCSU club organizations… and I know what you’re thinking, “community service?! F*@# that! I’ll do my share of service when the judge sentences me to it for that ticket I got skating…” but it’s not the type that you’re thinking. Our community service is that we’ve convinced the school to allow us to hold contests and skate events on campus. We put on best trick contests at spots at State, games of s.k.a.t.e., ramp jam events on setups we build and make them all charity-benefit events. Entry fees and money raised have gone to Grind for Life Cancer Foundation, ASkate Autism Foundation, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Raleigh. Companies such as LRG, Diamond, Ambig, Vans, DVS, Matix, Satori Movement, and Mighty Healthy have donated thousands of dollars of product for these events.

 

After being here a couple of years, you will also notice two other big things in Raleigh: lots of underground talent and lots of underprivileged kids to whom skateboarding is all they got. This community is what really makes these events such a big deal. It’s truly a win-win for everyone and something to see if you’re ever in the area. Some of the top heads in NC Skate, Keegan Guizard, Diego Fernandez, myself, and others, have realized this and just decided to run with it. It’s just one of those ideas we got super lucky with and have had so many good times to kick.

 

We have tons of help and support from all of the homies involved with NC Skate and from the larger skate community and are thankful for every bit. Some people reading might get the wrong idea about all of this, so just to be clear, the club’s intention isn’t to separate us from the rest of the skateboard culture or to sell out the heart of skateboarding to soulless corporations and institutions that look to profit from what they see as a ‘marketable sport’. Our intention is to use the club and the University’s support as a tool to benefit the entire Raleigh skate community and beyond.

 

The skateboarding community should always act as one big family, because only a skateboarder knows skateboarding. That is how it is here in Raleigh and that is what we all love about this place.

 

Currently, NC Skate is fighting the ongoing struggle against the authorities to make ALL street skating on campus legal. We have made progress, but I guess that fight will just always be a part of true skateboarding. Not everybody is going to accept it. Our other projects right now include working to get a small skatepark/d.i.y. spot on central campus, filming for our ‘Brick Magic’ video series, and getting our own board graphic into NC shops. In the words of former officer and committed member of NC Skate, Keegan Guizard, “NC Skate having its own skateboard graphic, distributing that through several outlets, and being known that we’ve accomplished that much in a few short years would be the next step in expanding the movement and the good influence of skateboarding.”

 

To see the board graphic and peep some vids check out ncsk8.blogspot.com

Special thanks to Dan Murphy, Mary Yemma, Jim Law, the Post 22 guys, Peter Fradella, Lee Kennedy, Steve Fox, moms and dads err’where, and anyone else who’s ever supported or helped us.

 

‘Skate & Create!’