"I'm sorry," he said before walking away, picking up a stack of skateboard decks and tossing them into the crowd, yelling: "Go get 'em!"
On Sunday, Phelps brought his much-anticipated Thrasher Skate Rock concert series to the Marginal Way Skate Park in the SODO neighborhood for an afternoon filled with barbecue burgers, cold beer, live music and hardcore skateboarding. Hundreds of skateboarders and skateboarding fans ranging in age from 13 to 50 gathered to either participate or watch.
Sitting next to or on cinder blocks, piles of lumber or bags of concrete waiting to be transformed into the park's next phase, people cheered, skated, ate, drank, took their chances in the mosh-pit swirling below a stage featuring a rotation of skate punk bands and got their picture taken with Phelps - a hero to many.
"It's a must see event," said co-founder of Marginal Way Skate Park Shawn Bishop, while drinking a can of cold brew at the event. "[Phelps] is pretty intimidating. We've never worked together before so it's cool."
The event was the final stop on Thrasher's West Coast Skate Rock "Life of Pain" tour celebrating the magazine's latest, and 13th, Skate Rock CD release. The tour, which included stops in Las Vegas, Sacramento, Medford and Portland, featured punk bands Grindline the Band, Shed, Kilgore, and local band Board Youth.
"There was a place in Renton that they had already planned out," said Tony Crogan, owner of 35th North skate shop on Capitol Hill, referring to why Phelps and the rest of the Thrasher crew chose Marginal Way as the location to put on the show. "They called and asked where they should have the event. I told 'em here. It's a skate rock show. It all tied in really well to do it here."
The event lasted more than four hours and attracted all different types of people from guys who have been skating for decades to kids who are just learning. It was free with a $5 suggested donation to help raise money for the park.
The Park
Hidden beneath Highway 99 next to East Marginal Way on South Hanford Street, Marginal Way Skate Park is a work in progress. Started in 2004 as a result of the city of Seattle closing the original Ballard Bowl Skate Park, the park is the youngest in a growing trend of DIY (do-it-yourself) skate parks along the West Coast. The mission of the park is to create a legal recreational facility for skateboarders in the City of Seattle, and that's exactly what they've done.
"When we first started, we got away with it for the first six months," Bishop said. "After that we had to prove to them (the city) that it was a good thing. We did that. There was no opposition from the businesses around us. It was filled with garbage and drugs and homeless people. The city graciously gave us the land."
Despite the land donation and support from local businesses, funding for the park is still the biggest challenge. There are no grants to apply for. There are no financial backers waiting in the wings to help complete the project. The work is done voluntarily, and the supplies are donated.
Jeff Amet of Pearl Jam recently donated a truckload of concrete used to complete the 7-foot, west-facing wall before last weekend's event, and Red Bull Energy drink co-sponsored the event to help offset costs.
"We need more cinder blocks, concrete and money," said Adrian Turnbull, also one of the park's founders. "We're trying to get as much filled in as possible. We respect everyone around us and want to make sure everyone is happy. We want to create as much skatable footage from the city."
The park was originally intended as an interim solution by the Seattle's skateboarding community to bridge the gap between the demolition and promised reconstruction of the two city skate parks in Ballard and the Seattle Center. The lack of legal facilities managed by the City of Seattle leaves thousands of Seattle skateboarders without a proper park and continues to remain an issue. Skateboarding, by recent estimates, is one the fastest growing recreational activities in the United States today and is enjoyed by millions of participants.
Currently, the Marginal Way group is working with the city of Seattle to obtain permits for the park, but that doesn't stop them skating what's there, building more and having fun.
"The more they do the better it gets," said Turnbull. "We've never had any problems or opposition from anyone or the city."
Events are always taking place at Marginal Way Skate Park and it's free to skate and open to the public. More information about Marginal Way Skate Park can be found at www.marginalwayskatepark.org.
Peter Kearns may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.[[In-content Ad]]