Saturday, May 16, 2009

Skate High is No Good

I just had the displeasure of spending some time at Skate High the newest indoor skatepark in our area. There are three mini ramps and one bowl. only one of which is fun to skate. The street course is cramped and poorly conceived. Even if there was enough space to hit the center obsticles they are so poorly designed you couldn't do anythign fun on them. It cost $8 for a two hour session. Save your money and hit the streets.I hate to be a shit talker, but I wanted to save everyone the time and money. The way this place is layed out I doubt anyone involved even skates.

11 comments:

Tim Lamb said...

eeek! bummer
come to richmond temp!

Unknown said...

so sorry

Anonymous said...

Damn. Of course as a skateboarder and journalist you should give an honest depiction of a spot and let people know the truth about it. BUT at least someone is trying to provide an indoor spot in your area for kids to learn at. Maybe if you went in and talked to the management you could explain that their faculties are not up to par with the level of design associated with skateboarding these days, and that you had some ideas that could help improve the layout of the park and raise customer attendance. You never know, that way you might get a in-door park in your area people ACTUALLY want to chill at and skate.

Templeton said...

Anonymous makes a good point. maybe I should send the Skate High guys an e-mail and let them know that their course is totally fucked.

HeadlessMonster said...

It's nice to have an indoor spot you can retreat to, no matter how shitty it is...but 8 bones for a two hour session?! This ain't Photon, man! C'mon!

Anonymous said...

Dude... Skate High is the best place for indoor skating in Va Beach...I know Templeton- he's just pissed because he got kicked out of the place for some seriously messed up shit he tried to pull. Sessions are 3 hours or longer BTW and I'm stoked to have somewhere to skate indoors. I hate to shit talk too, but get your ass back in school and learn how to spell "obsticles" and "layed"...stupid people are funny as hell.

Templeton said...

I'm not sure if Anonymous knows me. But I will admit I am a terrible speller.

razii said...

I admit i dont skateboard, but ive been to skate high a couple times, and from my experience, the management is very laid back and nice. They just started having shows there, and are all about helping the local music scene out, and dont rip people off like some other local venues... From what i can see, theres mostly young skaters there, they offer courses, which is giving kids a place to go instead of hanging out on the streets getting into stupid shit. yea its $8, but so is movie tickets, regular roller skating places, a hardees combo, and two packs of cheap ciggs.... If theres a problem with the layout, you should really say something to them, give skaters a better designed course.

Anonymous said...

you need to stop talking shit about a place you got kicked out of. Ok maybe it's small...but is way better than taking a risk of getting a $200 fine for skateboarding. Instead of talking shit and trying to screw up a good skate spot and good venue for concerts maybe you should build your own skate park and realize that it is a lot of money and insurance is a BITCH and approval for a business license for this kind of establishment is really costing!! STOP complaining and go to mount trash more or get a ticket

Templeton said...

For the record I never got kicked out of Skate High. My complaint is the poor layout and the poorly conceived obstacles. I'm not trying to "screw up a good skate spot" I am trying to let people know my experience there. I have built spots and I have helped in the design of Norfolk's new skatepark, and advocated to the cities of Portsmouth and Suffolk for good designs. I'd much rather risk getting a ticket than ride at Skate High. I do realize that a skatepark is a tough business that's why it is so important to design a fun course. I can't support a business that puts out a poor product. Skate High may be fine for younger skaters or people who live close by, but it is not a place worth making a special trip to.

danny boyle said...

they changed it and its way better now so give it a chance and the guy who works there shreds by the way