Hi Ryan and Derrick! Can you tell me a little about yourselves and what you do?
Hi there, my name is Ryan McCormick, and I'm the Vice Principal at CamdenForward School in Camden, New Jersey. CamdenForward is part of a nonprofit called UrbanPromise Ministries. Our work in Camden has inspired affiliate sites all over the USA, Canada, and even in Latin America, Europe and Africa, committed to working with youth during and afterschool.
My name is Derrick Sondrini, 31. Born in Rome, Georgia; raised in Camden, NJ. I am a former site director for afterschool and summer programs for UrbanPromise. I'm currently working towards starting a creative arts program for youth around Camden.
How did you hear about Roarockit? What inspired you to start a skateboard building workshop?
Ryan: One of my favorite parts of the job is helping out in our after school boat building program called “BoatWorks.” We work with students across Camden to build cedar strip or plywood canoes for use in our summer paddling program. The students get to work collaboratively to create and build a canoe. Unfortunately, at the end of the program a canoe is just too large to let any one student take home.
I was out one Saturday browsing through the aisles of a Barnes and Noble bookstore when I came across the book, “The Handmade Skateboard” by Matt Berger. As I sat there flipping through the pages a thought began to form, “If we can build something as large as a canoe, then surely we can work with students to create their own skateboard.”
With this new thought and visions of our students and after school kids doing kick flips across campus on boards they designed, I started googling DIY skateboarding, skateboard kits, and basically anything I could think of that might get me an article to read, or a video to watch.
One of the websites that popped up was the Roarockit site. I explored the site and found the pages dedicated to teaching with skateboards and decided that these were the kits I wanted to use for our first skateboard build.
Derrick: Ryan mentioned Roarockit to me. I actually have wanted to customize longboards for a number of years. I grew to love longboarding during my years living in Miami. I now have a folding longboard which I love but I've always wanted to customize the grip tape and design of the board. The opportunity finally came to work alongside Ryan and I jumped on it.
How do you feel this workshop benefits the students?
Ryan: We piloted skateboard building as an activity in our after school program. Some of the students took advantage because they are skaters, others were intrigued by the building process, and others by being able to design their own product or brand. The beauty of board building is that it can be used to meet students where they are and be anything from a simple after school activity to a more in-depth design, marketing, and building program.
Any student that participates will walk away having explored different skills that can be used later on in life and they have literally and figuratively built something that can take them places.
Derrick: The kids were raving about their longboards once they were done. Literally every other kid wanted to build one after seeing those. I think it benefits the kids because they made something that is very unique to them. Kids don't ride boards that often in inner city spaces because it's either not cool to them, maybe they just can't afford it, or it is unfamilar/uncommon. One teen took his longboard and rode all the way home from his workspace, which had to be at least a 45 minute ride but now he has a mode of transportation that he's benefitting from. They got to dream up an idea and see it come to life from using their hands to sand the boards to painting a design that they came up with. It taught them problem solving, project management, and it gave kids a sense of togetherness and belonging to something special.
What were the students’ reactions to getting to build skateboards? Do you have any special stories to share of the effects it had on them?
Ryan: For many of the students this was their first time being exposed to building anything. They were excited to use the tools to create something that they were going to take with them. The palm sanders became very popular early on and as one of our younger participants stated, “I had to like put my force in it to move it everywhere and my hand was like red.”
We also had a sibling pair, two brothers about 10 years age difference. The older brother described his experience as, “It was ultimately amazing! The most enjoyment I had from it was my little brother finally experiencing something like that and making something of his own. My grandma was so proud of him when he brought it home. I have pictures of him and he is just so ecstatic about creating something and like having fun with it. He’s gonna use that for the rest of his days.”
Derrick: I talked about this in the previous section but I remember begging some of the older kids to give this opportunity a chance. Some did it, some didn't. The ones that did definitely had pride in their boards and had so much joy when it was finished. Every little kid though, wanted to make their own board. The kids who weren't old enough to join started to make their own little boards out of popsicle sticks at the after school program.
How were you able to get a skateboard building workshop started, did you have to jump through any administrative hoops to get there?
Ryan: I am very fortunate to work in a school that encourages us to create projects that are engaging to the students, and to work with our amazing after school Camp Directors and collaborate with them on many different things.
Since Derrick (who is one of our directors) is an avid longboarder, when I approached him with the idea of building boards with some of the after school participants, he was immediately interested.
I was able to apply for an UrbanPromise Staff Innovation Grant that our organization gives out to encourage employees to come up with new and engaging ways to connect and involve the youth that we serve. I was awarded the grant and began designing the pilot program with Derrick. I would use my woodworking experience to guide participants in creating the boards and Derrick would leverage his arts background to work with the students to design the artwork for the boards.
Derrick: We were awarded a mini grant from UrbanPromise.
How did it turn out? Are the students riding their boards afterwards, or do they use them more as an art project?
Ryan: It was fantastic! By the end of the pilot program the participants had created thirteen unique longboards that reflect their personalities. Most of the participants left planning to ride their boards or begin learning to ride (we had several that had never been on a board before). There are a few that will likely not ride because their artwork and designs are amazing and the boards will remain a display piece that they are proud of.
Derrick: I think mostly using them as boards. Some kids are probably on them everyday. It took a while to get the art projects done and some of their wheels were on the wrong way (one kid still has it backwards LOL... I have to fix it). I'm sure some kids are using it as an art piece.
Do you have a history of skateboarding?
Ryan: I grew up in the Midwest with a gravel driveway and a poorly paved road in front of our house. I remember receiving a skateboard as a gift and attempting to ride, but not being very successful. Flash forward to during the pandemic and like many people I was tired of being stuck at home. I purchased a skateboard and carefully taught myself to ride. I have been regularly riding for the last three years. I am hoping to take some time and attempt to revisit learning on a traditional skateboard.
Derrick: Just longboarding.
Thanks for your time! Any last words for the viewers back home?
Ryan: If you are thinking about doing something like this with your students, after school participants, even your own kids, I would strongly recommend it. It has been an amazing experience for me and the students involved. I am already looking forward to next year and continuing to build our program.
Derrick: A project like this isn't easy. The customizing of multiple boards was weighing heavily on me at times but that's why you gotta keep pushing through because the end result will all be worth it.
Taryn O’Grady,
Roarockit Skateboard Company