A bad movie changed my life when I was 15. The skateboarding in Police Academy IV made me grab a board and practice my tricks. I started my own zine about the local skate/art/music scene in Denton, Texas, where I moved from Alaska to skate year-round. I wanted to get sponsored and skate the world.
While my skills were better than some of the bros but not quite on par with the pros, my literary ambitions would pick up the slack in making my dream a reality. I became a professional writing teacher and traveled the world with my skateboard after getting a piece on skateboarding published in Heckler Magazine.
I've had the opportunity to visit and practice my skills on some of the most beautiful skateparks on the planet, because I've been a teacher for the last 20 years. Every skate amateur or wannabe pro should check out this selection of cool skateparks.
The photo was taken by Philip Lange.
How could the local skatepark not be better? The designers at Convic combined the Kite Beach setting of date palms, white sand, and the clear Arabian Sea with Australian skatepark design knowhow to create the largest skatepark in the U.S. Under the big shade structure there is a seamless flow from the skate plaza to a 10.88 foot deep bowl of polished concrete with gaps, ledges, and rails in between. You will be treated to the call to prayer ringing out from a nearby minaret more than once while performing tricks at X-Dubai.
The photo is by Art Saari.
Taghazout is a sleepy fishing village that is known for its killer surf and panoramic skatepark. The park draws inspiration from the North African surf scene and Islamic architecture while creating a unique, creative space for cultural exchange. The Taghazout Skatepark Association hooks up young surfers who can't afford gear with skateboards and protective accessories but also organizes skate classes three days per week.
Photo: lulejt
Venice Beach is considered hallowed ground in skateboarding culture. The local DogTown crew and Z-Boys were the first to perform aerial maneuvers in backyard pools. The battle to get a cool skatepark built in Venice was helped by the help of technical design consultants Christian Hosoi andZachary Wormhoudt, who is a Mavericks big wave surfer. The result is awe-inspiring. You can see the evolution from surfing to skating and the rich cultural history represented in the smooth flow of the concrete bowls, pool tiles, and snake run.
Teddy Morellec shared a photo of the Red Bull Content Pool.
If you've ever played the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, you'll know the Skatepark Du Prado. It was once the best skatepark in the world, but it has since been demoted. I wouldn't argue that Jean-Pierre's urban masterpiece is anything less than perfect because of its location on a topless beach in the south of France.
The photo is from Elchino Po via Ink and Movement.
The Kaos Temple in Llanera, Spain, is the Sistine Chapel if Venice Beach is skateboarding. A group of local skaters transformed an old church into something beautiful. They collaborated with an urban artist and his team at Ink and Movement to transform a dilapidated building into a skate sanctuary. The kaleidoscope of geometric faces and animal motifs painted inside play with the light from the stained-glass windows in much the same way the skaters play with gravity and physics on the halfpipe, creating a mystical atmosphere unlike any other skatepark in the world.
The photo was taken by Rune Gilfberg.
It's time to leave it to Amsterdam to create a beautiful love triangle. By building this skatepark up rather than down, the agency has embraced the challenges of the design while honoring the traditional land reclamation techniques that have spread the city far and wide. The blue tile sprinkled throughout the skatepark gives it a unique sense of place and local flavor.
The photo is of Molly Hope.
The burgeoning resort town of Wanaka is located towards the southern end of New Zealand's South Island, amidst beech forests, glaciers, and Alpine lakes. There is a skatepark on the shores of the town's lake, designed by Premium Skatepark Designs. Standing on the edge of the 12-foot-deep bowl with snow-capped mountains in the background, you will aspire to greatness and understand why this park has become an attraction for snowboarders and free skiers alike.
The photo was taken by Miguel Ramos.
It is hard to beat a skatepark with an ocean view. There is a view of the Caribbean Sea framed by coconut trees in San Jose, Puerto Rico. The Boricua skatepark was designed by the renowned skatepark designer, Stefan Houser, and has a silky surface, beautiful curves, and vertical extensions that keep skaters coming back for more.
David Hupp has a photo.
The original skatepark under the east end of the Burnside Bridge in Portland, Oregon is so beautiful that it epitomizes the nature of skateboard architecture. Since its inception in 1990, it has inspired many of the other do-it-yourselfs. It has become an icon of the skateboarding world because of the belief in the freedom of personal expression and a legitimate stop on the Portland Walking Tour.
The photo was taken by The Elias Group.
La Duna embodies the next generation's way of thinking about the role cool skateparks can play in an urban environment, with an undulant pink concrete landscape that is reminiscent of the Samalayuca Dune Fields in the Chihuahuan Desert. The local municipalities commissioned the Elias Group to design a skatepark that would draw the community together to improve marginalized barrios. The three zones are a bowl, street and beginner's area separated by endemic trees and desert flora.
The photo was taken by Milton Arellano.
The highest skatepark in the world is at 13,000 feet above sea level. The view of snow-capped Mt. and the swaying eucalyptus trees are just some of the things that make this place so beautiful. It embodies the spirit of skateboarding in the distance. Over a hundred volunteer skatepark builders from 17 different countries camped out on the site for a month to give youth an outlet for their energies, as part of a global do-it-yourself project called Pura Pura Skatepark.
The photo is from degetzica.
A 16th-century impregnable fortress inspired a cool skatepark? There is a park next to the bridge that leads into the old city of Luxembourg. The Vauban Fortress and the skatepark have the same hexagonal patterns, and the designers at Constructo Skatepark Architecture have created a fun homage to the heritage of the site. The patchwork parkland of the P-9 is popular for its playground, fitness parks, pathways and picnic areas.
Lance Childers is pictured.
One of the most beautiful skate parks in the world, the North Houston skate park is 78,000 square feet and is the second largest in the world. The maxim, "bigger is better" was taken to the extreme by the people at Grindline, who made a bowl and full pipe in the shape of Texas. There is a giant Lone Star at the center of the street section that will send you careening towards an endless array of ledges, rails, benches, banks and quarter pipes. There is a 12-foot vertical ramp, backyard-style pools, three flow bowls, and a snake run.
The photo was taken by Finn Ståle.
The skatepark was designed by Dark Arkitekter, Glifberg-Lykke, and IOU Ramps. A pattern derived from a 1978 law that banned skateboarding in the entire country is used in the sheath of Skatehall. It is organic on the inside thanks to its centerpiece, a wooden bowl. It feels like skating in a Norwegian forest with its tree-like columns stretching out and supporting the bean shaped bowl overhead. Spectators can take in the scene from all angles without disrupting the skaters.
You can find a super cool skatepark on the Atlantic coast of France. The blue and yellow concrete was used to reflect the local environment and to help revive the area that was submerged in 2010 by Storm Xynthia. The color scheme in the bowls, street area, and snake run is unique and marks a new era in skatepark construction. As a way to change a city, skate parks are now seen as an asset.
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