Coming Back to Skateboarding
As a local 14-year-old skater anxiously stands on the top of the ramp at Burgess Skate Park in Sparks in hopes of overcoming his fear and drops into the ramp, his friends begin to yell encouraging words mixed with some use of profanity to display their support.
The young boy listens to the older skaters’s advice but still seems blinded by his nerves. Suddenly the phrase, “You got this little man,” is chanted by Chase McMullen and the 14-year-old’s confidence seems to rise to a new level as he places the wheels of his board on the rail facing the ramp. “You can do it.” The skateboarder looks up to see Chase McMullen smiling and the anticipation of all his other skater friends. Suddenly, the boy releases the tension in his shoulders and leans in. And as the boy successfully completes his trick, the entire skatepark bursts into a brilliantly loud display of cheers.
Chase McMullen is a social media personality, photographer and documentarian who grew up in Reno as a part of the skate community. McMullen’s love for skateboarding has been constant since he started skating as a kid, but he says he found his true calling when he began filming his friends and others skating.
For a while, he left the scene, trying to make money, but now he’s back.
“Coming back to skateboarding, you know, you come back to it because you love it. In my particular instance, I kind of got blackballed because I stopped shooting skateboarding. I did corporate. And a lot of people didn't like that. And skateboarding is like a brotherhood. You have to be down for the skate community. You have to continue to skate and prove yourself, and you have to lead the next generation. And I was totally lost with all that. I wasn't leading anybody.”
McMullen is all smiles among skateboarders.
An Instagram Page to Motivate
McMullen says he started the Instagram “to motivate the next generation of skateboarders in town.” He believes he is leading by example.
While McMullen was growing up in Reno, he remembers the skater community was not as strong. Older skaters did not provide encouragement when he was trying to learn, he says. “A lot of the mistakes that happened when we were younger, we didn't have an older generation to lead us around,” he said.
McMullen understands the importance of having role models and knowledgeable people to uplift one’s spirit when skating.
“When the people that you look up to don't give you the time of day, then, . . . it kills your self-confidence, . . . you're not motivated. You become insecure.”
The Instagram page he is developing in contrast makes the entire community of skateboarders supportive.
“The real idea with the Reno skateboarding stuff, in the long run, is to set a good example for the next generation of skaters and to try to create a spotlight for the skaters in our city. There’s a lot of talented skaters in our city… It's cool watching those clips go up, and people respond to them.”
“It kind of blows my mind a little bit, but like, if it can continue to do as good as it's been doing, you know, and it can continue to get those type of views; then it can help skaters in town to get the attention that they need or deserve...So the idea is to help the skaters.”
From Making Trouble to Helping Others
McMullen started to post clips of the skaters earlier this year during the turbulence and blur of 2020. When he first posted, he didn't expect the excitement and traction he initially got. Moving forward, McMullen only hopes to increase his following and improve his mini-films.
“It's not going to stop, that's for sure,” he said of the Instagram page. “You know, we're going to continue to shoot and create new content.” McMullen even hopes to create a business around this in the near future.
As a young boy, McMullen admits he was a troublemaker. While he was growing up, he and his friends lived “Reno tough,” meaning he did not always follow the rules. In some cases, McMullen encountered rough times, rambunctious crowds, and battled with a rowdy attitude.
“You know, you lose track of what skateboarding is about and you become a different person when you don't get attention. And when you're young, and you're stupid, and you're around the wrong things, you do the wrong things...I've had a lot of friends turn to drugs because of the negativity, you know, various things like that are just negative impacts on somebody's life.”
Skateboarding became an outlet for McMullen. When he needed a sense of belonging, McMullen could go to the skate park in hopes of calming his anger towards the world. McMullen would throw himself into skating.
McMullen wishes when he and his friends were teens that they saw the enjoyment in the hobby. “You know, when I was younger, we would take everything so seriously. Like, I mean, we had to land tricks ten times, and if we didn't get it clean, or I mean, clean to us, you know, we'd have to redo it and do it over again and do it over again. And that's not skateboarding. That's not fun, for the most part, this is again about having fun.”
As McMullen stepped back from his situation, he realized that his love for skating did not disappear. Finding the true purpose of skateboarding pushed McMullen to discover how lucky he was to have his own form of meditation.
“I love skateboarding. . . I love the freedom. I love how it feels. I like the brotherhood of it. I like the vibe. I feel more happy and comfortable when I go home after I leave the skate park. It gives me peace of mind. Anytime I feel like I have something going on in my life or a problem, I just get on my board, and skate around, and I feel a lot better when I'm done,” McMullen (here filming on the left) said.
Perseverance for Obstacles in Life
While skateboarding may be a sense of escape for many, mastering its difficulties can build perseverance for obstacles later in life. Balance, coordination, and concentration are only some of the traits required in landing a trick.
A skater’s patience and persistence are the key factors in becoming an accomplished skater.
“Skateboarding … you can't just talk about it. You gotta be about it,” McMullen explained.
When a skateboarder finally conquers a trick, the acclamation and sense of accomplishment encourages them to be confident in their abilities more often. McMullen loves the city of Reno. Choosing Reno to be the main focus of his filming proved to be the right answer, he says.
“Our city is so much better than so many skate scenes because everybody truly does support each other. Like, without a doubt, you don't get that in a lot of cities. You really don't. “