Father of local skating
Elia Powers
In his most carefree days, as an 18-year-old professional
skateboarder, Jim Gray made tracks all over Orange County. He used
sidewalks as freestyle courses and contorted his body to meet the
steep slopes of concrete skate park bowls.
The spiky hair, baggy shorts and low-top shoes remain staples of
Gray’s style.
He is 42 now, a businessman, a husband, a father of three -- or as
he likes to say this summer, a father of four.
After years of campaigning, networking and listening to promises,
Gray finally got what he wanted: a new playground.
In late June, the $1-million, 15,000-square-foot Volcom Skate Park
of Costa Mesa opened near the corner of Arlington and Junipero
drives.
The park is in its infancy, and Gray, the site’s primary advocate,
gushes like a father watching over his newborn.
“It was like the birth of my fourth child,” he said. “This was a
long time coming. It’s such a good feeling to look at it every
morning.”
A board life
Local skaters, like Gray, have had first crack at the park, which
doesn’t officially open until a dedication ceremony on Aug. 23.
Work and family responsibilities prevent Gray from picking up his
skateboard and riding at will, but he still finds time to weave
between teenagers at the skate park, navigating the curves with his
7-year-old daughter, Brooke, wedged between his legs.
Eleven-year-old Skyler and 13-year-old Hunter, both owners of
floppy blond hair, prefer to watch their dad ride from a distance.
“It’s kind of cool,” Hunter said as he grabbed a fence that
circumvents the park. “Most dads are all business. Sometimes our dad
will get us out of things to come and skate.”
Skyler and Hunter have been skating for more than eight years
combined. On this Wednesday morning, the dry heat hasn’t dissuaded
Hunter and his friends from crisscrossing each other in the upper
area of the skate park.
From his perch atop a ramp, Skyler observes his father scraping
his board along the edges of the deepest bowl, creating a piercing
sound.
“I like how you can get into the flow, except for when it’s
crowded,” Skyler said.
The park is filled with riders throughout the day, from 9 a.m.
until 9 p.m. closing time. The evening is one of Gray’s favorite
times to come.
He is a known quantity around these parts, a man whose business
card tells the story -- “Jim Gray: Skateboarder since 1970.”
Raised in Westminster, Gray bought a home in Costa Mesa two
decades ago and befriended key players in the skateboarding industry,
including the founders of Volcom.
He began his own company 14 years ago: ABC Board Supply, which
manufactures hundreds of thousands of skateboards per year. Gray
created his own brands, including Acme and Scarecrow, but most of the
equipment he manufactures is for other companies.
Gray’s children sport his company’s products. They get free gear
and unlimited access to skateboards.
“It can be annoying, though,” Skyler said. “Kids at school ask if
I can get free stickers and stuff from my dad.”
Sometimes, a bumpy ride
Gray is no stranger to acts of goodwill. On slow days at work, he
gives his employees the morning off to skate.
In his quest to give skateboarders a public place to ride, Gray
has navigated some roadblocks, though.
For more than a decade, he pitched the idea to Newport-Mesa
politicians while slowly building a coalition of supporters.
Former Costa Mesa City Councilman Mike Scheafer is one of them.
Two years ago, he invited skate park advocates to participate in a
discussion with city officials on possible park dimensions.
Bill Sharp, a skateboarder who is known for his involvement in the
surfing community, is another staunch supporter of the park. When he
was 15, he stood in front of the Newport Beach City Council and made
his case for a park.
He was angered by a city ordinance that banned skateboarding on
hills that had more than a 6% grade.
“I was promised by the council in the 1970s that we’d get a place
to skate after we were kicked off the streets,” Sharp said.
Changing council regimes posed another problem for Gray and park
supporters. He knew the group had to become more organized, so he
developed Skate Park Coalition and began a website to drum up public
interest.
Gray said the final straw was a comment from Newport Beach City
Councilman Tod Ridgeway that skaters were part of an inherently
defiant subculture.
“My comment motivated him more than anything,” Ridgeway said.
Gray said he mostly took issue with the Ridgeway’s generalities.
“Here I am, a family guy, running a business, no shaved head or
tattoos; I didn’t fit the stereotype,” Gray said.
Both Gray and Sharp began citing statistics -- that more youth
were skating than playing tennis. They publicly posed the question:
Why are there dozens of public tennis courts but no skate parks?
But neighbors continued to express concerns. Some complained that
noise and loitering would become issues at the proposed TeWinkle Park
site. Dog owners who use the adjacent Bark Park wanted the space to
expand the dog park.
But in the fall of 2003, Gray and skate park supporters won out.
The Costa Mesa City Council agreed to open the facility.
This April, Volcom signed a 10-year, $300,000 sponsorship deal
with the city that will basically cover the city’s costs to run the
park. Company logos are posted throughout the park, and most of the
skateboarders wear at least one piece of Volcom apparel.
Helmets, arm pads and knee pads are key parts of a skaters’
attire. One of the stipulations to the park’s opening was that users
follow state law by wearing protective gear.
In order to enforce the rule, extra Costa Mesa Police officers
have been dispatched to TeWinkle Park, said Steve Calles, senior
patrol officer for the Costa Mesa Police Department.
Calles said 100 citations were given out from July 1 through July
18 at the park, 98% of which were for lack of proper equipment. He
said only two arrests have been made, both stemming from a fight
between a pair of park users.
And since the park opened, many neighbors say their concerns have
been quelled.
“I was worried that it would be too noisy,” said Carla Mayer, who
lives a block away from the park. “That hasn’t been an issue.”
Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Katrina Foley, whose son skates
regularly at the site, said the opening has gone as planned.
“I’m pleased with the park,” she said. “There was a fear of the
unknown. Now that we have it, I can tell by the number of users that
it was needed in the community.”
Paving the way
Foley has worked with Gray to ensure $150,000 worth of park
improvements, including adding spectator seating outside the fence.
Both Gray and Foley said they are looking to build a second park
in Costa Mesa. Foley mentioned one possible site as being in the
vicinity of Estancia High School. Some council members have mentioned
Lions Park as another potential location.
Sharp said he is already looking at Newport Beach for the next
skate park. He is planning to survey users of the Volcom Skate Park
of Costa Mesa to prove that a sizable number are from Newport Beach.
That’s his home, and the Newport Beach City Council can no longer
deny a skateboarding presence there, he said.
“It has become a completely accepted business and lifestyle,”
Sharp said. “You have second- and third-generation skaters now whose
parents appreciate the sport.”
Still, Ridgeway said a skate park in Newport Beach would be a
tough sell. He said high property values is one obstacle.
“It’s not an asset in a residential neighborhood,” Ridgeway said.
“The noise, the gathering of a group of young teenagers, residents
would come out in droves to oppose a stake park.”
He said there is the continued possibility of a park being built
in Newport Beach away from residential communities. And Ridgeway
added that the opening of Volcom Skate Park of Costa Mesa has been
positive.
That’s a sentiment shared by Skyler, who moves from his post near
the ramp to a spot in the shade while talking to his dad.
After an hour of skating in the sun, Gray is fatigued and Skyler
slightly burned.
“He hated having to go to other parks far away,” Skyler said as he
is lifted into the air by his father. “He stood up for what he wants,
and now there’s a place for him.”
* ELIA POWERS may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at
elia.powers@latimes.com.
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