photos by Howard Tarpey
Kevin Lopez interview by Zach Moeller

When did you first start skating at the spot that would become the DIY, and at what point did you realize that you could do something more with the space?
I started skating there last November. That’s when I first laid concrete. I wasn’t skating much the last year or two before that because I was so busy with work. When I’d go to the skatepark with my friends, I’d suck because all I was doing was working and partying. So I stopped drinking, which kind of sparked me to want to find a place where I could go skate by myself, so I could get back into the swing of skateboarding. I’d fallen out of love with it, and I wanted to find that essence again. So I built myself a ledge. I’d seen that plot of land and knew it had been abandoned for a long time, so I didn’t think it was a problem. I did it at like 1 a.m., and it was freezing. That purple ledge was the first obstacle.

It seems like it started to blow up pretty quickly. When did other homies start pitching in?
It started to snowball, but there was a minute where it was just myself trying so hard to make something happen. I built the orange cinder block ledge, and that’s when I started to see other people skating it. After those two ledges, I wanted to see what else I could get going. I put a flat bar in, but I think the blue manual pad was really the spark. Up until then, there hadn’t been too many hands involved, but with the pad, it was the first time I made it known that I was going to pour something. Some of my bar regulars from where I work started pitching in for concrete. Someone else donated a bunch of tools to me. Eight random people showed up to help. One of my bar regulars even brought their teenage kids who skate, to help with the pour. I’d say that was the pivotal moment for the DIY, now there were three obstacles. People started turning their heads more.

DIYs can be such a special thing for a community. Other than skaters, how did the neighbors interact with the spot?
There was definitely a ton of community that became involved with the spot, even in ways I’d never guess. There are a few restaurants in the area that helped us out. This one place, Blanca, let us use their water spigot to mix concrete because the chef skates, and they loved to see what we were doing. This spot LeGrand was across the street and would let us use their wheelbarrow. That whole area was so sick, it was honestly perfect. There was a lot of support randomly. People would stop by to tell us they loved what we were doing, or honk driving past to say hello. Families would come by just to hang out and watch us skate. It was awesome.

What’s your favorite memory from your time at the spot?
Fuck man, you’re about to make me cry (laughs). The biggest thing I can say, and it’s not even a specific memory, was the feeling I got. Remember when you were a kid and you always wanted your own skatepark? To me, it felt like if the little kid version of me could see what we did, then that kid would’ve thought 32-year-old me was the coolest fucking person in the world. That mattered more to me than anything else. It felt like I was fulfilling a childhood dream. That made it all worth it. And obviously, there are all the friends you make along the way. I know the space meant something to a lot of people. That place taught me a lot.

I first saw it got bulldozed on IG. How did you learn the news?
I got a text asking if I’d heard about the DIY. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I went straight there and saw it was gone. I asked some construction guys working nearby if they knew what happened, and they just said “We had nothing to do with that but we are so sorry for your loss. What you did was so creative and we really respected it.” I gathered a bunch of rubble to give out to those who were a part of it. It really fucking sucked. I went to work, and everyone was asking how the spot was before I had to explain. It was not a good time.

Norfolk skateboarding does seem to be down bad right now. Between losing the DIY and the shop (Cardinal Skateshop) things are rough. How is the scene showing resilience to the changes, and how do you see things moving forward?
Skateboarders are resilient. We always strive to progress. I think moving forward, at least for me, I’m going to try going straight to the city with a proposal. Norfolk is one of the bigger cities in Virginia, they can probably give us something to work with. We can raise the money. This whole thing snowballed into so much more than I ever expected and was so special to the community, whether the skaters or my regulars from work that helped invest in it as well. Even outside of skateboarding, there’s a lot in this city that is being tossed to the side that means a ton to so many people. So let’s get down and gritty to give people what they actually want. It’s definitely feeling a little bleak right now, but as long as you have friends and a support system, you can’t lose. A plant just needs water to flourish. I think we’ll flourish.

To anyone out there who may think their community needs something like this, what advice would you give?
Put one foot in front of the other and always keep pushing. Never stop. I’ve watched Joe Dirt a lot– “Life’s a garden, dig it.”