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| Courtesy of Eric Carleson |
 Big air with attitude: Tim Ewing (circa 1995) executes a successful "ollie" at Marine Park in Juneau. Ewing and other skateboarders in pre-skate park Juneau perfected their tricks on city streets. Courtesy of Eric Carleson |
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Back in the 1990s, before there was a skate park in Juneau, skateboarders practiced their tricks in the streets and other public places.
They could be spotted on the stairs of the Sealaska Plaza downtown, the benches at Marine Park and the trails at the old Native theme park next to the parking garage.
Rob Abbott, 30, remembers that he and his fellow skaters carried their boards with them everywhere and used them for transportation, to sit on - even for protection.
"It was like a part of you," said Abbott, who is now a salesman at Sequence Skate Shop.
Wayne Smallwood, who grew up skateboarding in Juneau, described "skate binges" during which he and his friends skated all night and all day, practicing the same tricks until they perfected them. The 30-year-old also remembers contests that pitted Mendenhall Valley skaters against those downtown.
"It was kind of like the West Side Story," Smallwood said.
Abbott remembered the contests more as friendly rivalry.
"There was always that sense of who was better, like, the downtown people or the valley people," he said. "But ultimately, toward high school, everybody kinda merged together, and we were all friends with each other."
Abbott and Smallwood named Leland Barger, Dave Firmin, Jason Gordon, Tom Kitka, Dan Villanueva, Ross Suddy, Jerry Lumba, Tim Ewing, Bubba Weedman and Mike Sheehan as some of the better skaters back in the day.
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| Courtesy of Eric Carleson |
| Gapping: Wayne Smallwood (circa 1998) ÒolliesÓ between two buildings on South Franklin Street in Juneau. The photographer notes: ÒGap, roof-to-roof, three-story drop. First try, first shot, cops across the street, do the trick, get the photo, run.Ó |
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Although the skate park has provided Juneau skaters with a needed venue, some skateboarders have mixed feelings about it.
"I think it's a good thing because it lets people skate and progress all year long," said Patrick Van Pool, the owner of Sequence Skate Shop. "But at the same time, the kids that only skate the skate park are not developing the same street skills as if they were skating street all the time."
Eric Carleson, 30, a skateboarder and photographer, said those who only skate the park are missing something.
"When you're out on the street, it's a much different type of skating," he said. "It's also a different mentality. If you're a really good street skater, you're, like, above and beyond. There's a different level of respect.
"Kids right now are not that interested in street skating. ... Juneau has some really amazing street skating, and they don't want to do it," Carleson lamented.
Street skaters have added risks that park skaters don't have, such as getting kicked out of places, fined, run over by cars or broken up from the rawconditions.
"We're in a really wet climate so the pavement is rough everywhere," Van Pool said. "Once the skate park was built, everything is smooth."
Spencer Johnson, 18, skates both the street and the park. He said he's drawn to the people and the culture.
"You can't really explain the appeal of (skateboarding)," he said. "You just kind of get it.
"In Juneau, it kind of goes with the whole hip-hop DJ culture, like with AstonoMAR and all those guys. It's the music, art, expression, skating and fun of it," he said.
