One of our longest running and most successful partnerships at the Roarockit Skateboard Company, is with Stoked Mentoring in New York.
Stoked was started by Steve Larosiliere in 2005 after an inspiring trip to Whistler, BC. He had already been involved in youth mentoring, and thought it would be amazing if his mentee at the time, “a 17 year old kid from the Bronx”, could share an experience like snowboarding in the mountains with him. After a lot of hard work, planning and fundraising, his vision for a non-traditional mentoring program was born.
Today, Stoked is one of the largest programs of its kind and offers mentoring to youths in Snowboarding, Skateboarding and Surfing. They have also expanded their New York based operation into Los Angeles, and are currently in over 10 different schools in the USA.
Part of their successful program is having students make their own skateboards using Roarockit's Thin Air Press Technology. This part of their program (called Stoked Plus) was implemented back in 2009, and they have been responsible for over 300 boards built since!
“In Stoked, you need mad discipline. Don’t even try to come in here if you don’t have discipline... scraping? Sanding? Oooh that stuff is hard! But it’s worth it, it’s worth it. [After finishing my board] I feel beautiful inside... outside too! I feel I accomplished a great work of art!” - Yusef
Description of the program taken from the Stoked website:
"An after-school program started in 2009 that teaches students how to build their own skateboards from scratch without using power tools. The program teaches youth life skills such as time management, project planning, and teamwork. Youth leave the program with a completed board they can skate and high school credit. Approximately 87% of youth in the program complete their boards, 94% of youth felt they had a better understanding of how to manage their time and the steps required to complete a project, 97% of youth felt they were better at working with others, 77% were more excited about going to school on the days the program operated, and 58% felt more connected to their school as a result of the program."
Success – achievement and goal setting
Teamwork – collaboration
Openness – accessibility to youth, mentors, community, and our sponsors
Kudos – positive feedback, rewards, and encouragement
Energy – engaging, relevant, and challenging activities rooted in action sports
Determination – confidence and ambition to deliver opportunities to our youth
We at Roarockit are extremely proud to be involved with an amazing organization like Stoked. Knowing that our materials, tools and technology are being used to positively affect the lives of the underserved youth in these areas (and around the world), makes all the hard work worthwhile.
If you would like to know more about Stoked Mentoring, you can keep up to date by following their Facebook and Twitter feeds.
You can also get more information about their programs from the Official site at www.stoked.org
Also, check out their cool new project in partnership with Mountain Dew and Lil' Wayne, called the Deweezy Project. The kids from Stoked got an opportunity to help shoot and direct a new commercial featuring a skateboarding Weezy himself! It is currently in the shooting stage, and we're excited to see what they come up with.