If you opened up last month’s issue of Thrasher you probably saw the weird concrete structure the dude on the Real team was blasting. The hipped/spine concrete piece can be found at New Bedford, MA’s DIY concrete spot. I asked one of the builders, Ryan Walker, to answer a few questions about their janky concrete masterpiece.

Jay From Solstice photo: Stolen from Walker's Myspace

Q: So we’ll start off simple, how long have you guys been working under the bridge in NB? Why did you guys want to start? I know there’s a plethora of good parks in the NB (haha)?
A:  I guess about 3 years.  But I will say that we (myself, Rich, Jay, and the other various helpers) were not the first people to build down there. The first version of the ledge was build by other NB skaters.  But the other stuff was us.  Rich really took the first initiative to get it going.  We just thought it was a good spot and we wanted to give it a go.  The NB area does have some pre-fab parks that are ok for what they are, but we figured if we’re going to skate lumpy-ass concrete skate terrain, we might as well try to build it ourselves and try to make some different shit.

Q: Is it a large crew effort or more of a close-knit group building everything? How do you guys decide on what to build?
A:  It pretty much just Me, Rich, and Jay.  I’m not a NB native, just an eager skate rat and spot opportunist.  But I’ll give more credit to Rich because he’s really put in the most time and effort.  Others have helped here and there: Martin, Chad, Craig, Andrew, Jus, Ian, Kareem, others.   We just sort of  loosely discuss what we’d like to see here and there and then we start.  I personally like skating tight transitions and more oddball kind of stuff so that’s what I push for.  I think we’re all pretty much game for whatever though.  We’re trying to think about getting some kind of flow going too.  Right now, theres not a ton of shit there, but in the future hopefully it will grow.

Q: I think the concrete job came out real good. Was the concrete skills learned for this project or did someone have some experience under their belt?
A:  Well, We’re certainly not pros by anyone’s standards.  I think the concern is mostly that the stuff stays together for more than a summer.  We’re not too concerned with it being pretty.  It is a DIY/renegade spot, so we just kind of work as fast as we can and get the crete down quickly.  I’m a sculptor and carpenter and I have a lot of home renovation experience, so I’ve mixed a lot of concrete and tied rebar before.  That doesn’t mean I’m very good at it though. The other guys don’t have a lot of experience, but they’re capable dudes and we all just sort of learn as we go. We’ve gotten better since the first wallride that’s for sure.

Q: Do you guys have any problems with unwanted visitors, cops, etc?
A: Beside the neighborhood kids scratching up the fresh crete a little, no, not at all.   Its definitely a graffiti target, but We expect that.  Some of the Danny Pont graffiti is epic!  That spot used to be a bad place for druggies and whores, but not anymore.  I thinks that’s why the cops are ok with it.  We’ve actually had cops come done while we’re there and tell us to “carry on”.  You know, some people think skating is a crime, but I don’t think anyone thinks its worse than drugs and prostitution.  Plus the spot is right next to a school.  Its a no brainer.  Plus I’ve found that NB is pretty skate friendly in general.  They let Jay close down city blocks for Solstice skate jams.  There aren’t a lot of cities that do that!

Coleman Lopes, pillar carve. photo: Nick Ferreira

Q: That Volcano thing you guys built is sick. The photo in thrasher is crazy! Have you seen Coleman Lopes boost that sh*t on his bike? I don’t know how he does it. I can imagine some locals in that neighborhood getting broke off on that obstacle, is there any truth to that?
A: That thing is crazy.  I don’t think we knew what it was going to be until it was done.  Its lumpy, hard to ride and pretty organic.  Just the way we like it!  That dude from Real is boosting over it in that photo.  So sick!  I would have shit my pants when I first saw it, but I happened to be sitting on the can at the time.   I can’t air the thing, that’s for sure!  I’ve seen some bmx guys doing some nutty stuff there.  I knew that volcano would be a hit with bikes because its just like a spined-out dirt jump.  I used to ride bikes a lot so I love seeing that shit.  Believe it or not, I haven’t seen anyone get wrecked real bad there.  I’m sure it’s happened though.  Those obstacles are not exactly “safe”.  There’s no bench for parents to sit and watch they’re 5 year olds learn to push around.

Q: Last question, Being in New Bedford, there has to be some crazy stories to go along with the place. Indulge the readers.

A:  Well, I now live in Dartmouth, MA so its a bit quieter than NB.  But when I was there, I lived in a basement apartment that faced a burned out building where addicts and homeless sorts hung out.  I’d watch people climbing in and out of the windows all the time.  One morning I woke up to a bum peering into my bedroom window.  That was a little crazy, but the best one was the morning I got up and walked outside right at the moment when one of the neighborhood bums was waking up in the bushes next to my apartment.  I see this rustling in the bush and this disoriented dude stumbles out wiping his eyes and yawning.  He sees me and is like “Oh, good morning”.  It was like he was my roommate or something.  It was too funny.  As far as skate related stories, man, knock-on -wood, there’s nothing too crazy to report.  I’m sure some of the real local dudes have some good ones!  Go see Craig at No Problemo, he’s got some good ones!

Spot overview photo: Stolen from Walker's Myspace