I started going to meetings and pitching the idea for a skate park in my home town of Valley Center, California about five years ago. At that time they, parks and rec., said there was no money for something like that so I didn’t pursue it for another year, until I saw a sign for and new sports field to be built.
Driving down Melrose Ave. I saw a quiet little spot, perfect for a narrow quarter pipe. I knew there is no way I could build there so I started thinking about prefab DIY….
After the demise of the Bronson Ditch project, Clayton Graul was already on the hunt for a new location. Having participated with USP at Bronson, I was also on the hunt for a new location for them. My hunt didn’t take me deeper into the woods or another ditch off the beaten path. I was led right to my local prefab skatepark.
Getting old sucks. One has to get a “job”, “be responsible”, hang overs get worse, healing after slams take longer and other lame “adult” like things. What doesn’t suck about getting old: Friendships grow stronger, one can start drinking any time of the day…
Nestled in the Griffith Park area (Hollywood Hills), where hiking trails welcome hundreds of people a day, Bronson Canyon ditch has been the destination for any skater who visits southern California and more specifically, Hollywood. But like the Hollywood movies that have emerged over the years, someone decided to do something new and exciting with a location that has been untouched for decades. Clayton Graul and his crew have recently taken the DIY approach to Bronson Ditch and have added some creativity to its legendary status.
Graveside, appropriately named, sits next to a real grave yard and is in all essence a hardcore bowl to skate. The location is beautiful but still raw.
“I guess I’ll start with Thrasher Skate Rock…. I thought because my place is in the middle of nowhere… that very few people would show up on a Monday night. But I was wrong.. The weekend was full of skating, creating and positive energy, until Thrasher showed up…” – JP Kraus
“I’ve been doing concrete work for about fifteen years. It was just a job and had never occurred to me to use my knowledge of concrete for skateboarding until I met the Vagabond crew.” – Gene Boles
In September of 2010 Richmond DIY’ers lead with the concrete skills of Bernie Mcgrew took it into their own hands to finally build for the skaters of Richmond, VA a city with no skatepark. Starting with an 8 foot (2.4 meter) deep kidney swimmer bowl, the Lost Bowl now boasts a lot of other tranny around the decks of the bowl. The Lost Bowl continues to expand with the help of tons of skaters from RVA and there is no stop foreseen in the near future.
“The sun rose silently behind the Sunset district of San Francisco.The fog was so thick you could grind it, the travelers were ill prepared for the inevitable onslaught. The ocean rose swallowing everything in her path. Israel Forbes was the first to spot the wall of water through the soupy fog. They struggled up the dunes narrowly escaping their ill timed fate. Zarosh Eggleston forged a quick and true path to the safety of “Neb’s Sanctuary”. There in the concrete safety of dunes they waited out the ebbing destruction. And the sun set once more.” – Mike Crabtree