On a sunny Saturday morning, the Mira Loma skatepark, officially called Rattlesnake Mountain Skatepark, bustled with skaters of all ages and abilities. Music played through speakers, Capri Suns were flowing, and smiles could be seen all around.
The day marked the first time We Board Together, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded by Ryan Fleming last year, hosted one of their free skateboard clinics at Mira Loma. The clinics will resume October 15th at North Valleys.
Ryan, although now residing in the Portola area of California, previously lived in Reno and will always consider it as home. “No matter where I move, if anyone asks me where home is, I’ll always say Reno,” he said.
Ryan in photo above with a friend has been skateboarding his entire life, and started We Board Together as a way to share his love of skateboarding with others, and in a few months, hopefully snowboarding as well. Over the past year, Ryan has been hosting free skateboard clinics in Portola, and is now sharing the riding love with the Reno community. Four clinics have already taken place at North Valleys Skate Park, and October 1st was the first clinic held at Mira Loma.
Ryan works as a full-time garden designer, dedicating the free time he has on weekends to make the drive to Reno for the clinics. He posts upcoming clinics as events on the We Board Together Facebook page and brings with him spare skateboards, helmets, knee and elbow pads, and drinks. Although the participants mostly consist of younger children, Ryan stresses that the clinics are extremely inclusive and anyone is welcome. “Sometimes parents will bring their kids, and because they’re here anyway will decide to give it ago. It’s awesome, we definitely encourage anyone who wants to give it a try to come along. There’s no limits on skateboarding.”
“There’s a lot of negative stigma attached to skateboarding, when really none of it’s true,” Michelle, a volunteer at the clinic said. “There’s a huge supportive community within skateboarding, especially here in Reno. That’s why we love coming here.”
A parent of one of the participants explains that “these clinics are really great because my daughter can meet other kids, make friends, and have someone to progress with. They get to push each other and it’s really nice to see.”
It was clear there was some real camaraderie on show, with everyone hyping each other up and supporting one another. Even though Ryan hosts these clinics for free and doesn’t ask for payment of any kind, the participants actively want to give back. At the end of the skate session, a young lady came up to Ryan and handed him some cash to cover the drinks he provided; a delightful gesture.
Not only was October 1st the first clinic held at Mira Loma, it was also the first time Ryan hosted “Skate Art in the Park”. He brought with him dozens of pieces of old and broken skateboards that he had cut and sanded.
The boards had been collected by Ryan over time, with some being donations from friends and local skateboarders. Along with these blank wooden canvases, Ryan brought tubs of paint and brushes for participants to create their own artwork; a way to relax and get creative after skating for the last few hours in the sun. “I have been painting my decks for years, my walls are full of mine and my grandfather’s artwork. So doing SkateArt in the Park is something I have wanted to add to the events since last year. The time has finally come,” Ryan said.
He has even bigger goals for We Board Together in the coming months, with snowboarding also on his agenda. “There’s a reason I called it We Board Together not We Skate Together,” Ryan says. “I didn’t want to limit myself to just skateboarding.”
Ryan hosted a pilot snowboard clinic at an abandoned ski area last year, which registered a lot of interest. He aims to partner up with some local ski resorts and rental shops to make it happen. “That’s why we made the decision to register We Board Together as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in California. When it comes down to snowboarding, more funding and industry relationships will be needed, so it will make things easier in the future,” Ryan said.
Snowboarding and skiing are known for being more ‘elitist’ sports, with one of the main barriers to participation being the sheer financial cost of even getting started with the sport. There are gear expenses; a snowboard, bindings, boots, goggles, helmet (not to mention all the new waterproof/insulated outerwear necessary to be out in the snow). Season pass lift tickets to ski resorts can be extremely pricey. In Tahoe, a season pass for one person costs roughly $500-600, and a single day pass around the $100 mark. Travel expenses, ski instructor hire and lessons… it all adds up very quickly, often putting people off or simply blocking them from participating completely.
By hopefully working alongside a local resort to get cheaper lift tickets and partnering up with a rental shop to secure a discount or borrow demo gear, Ryan wants to make snowboarding more accessible to people that want to give it a try, but maybe haven’t had the opportunity before.