An Indoor Skate Park Against Gun Violence
the Globe and Mail, January 27, 2006

If you stumble into Antisocial to see the gallery-cum-skateboard-shop's latest exhibition, you'll witness a boarder's ultimate fantasy come to life. Two-thirds of the shop has been transformed into a working skate park: One of the back rooms is crammed with steep ramps and the other has been converted into an extremely challenging half-pipe.

For its three creators, the installation represents a chance to build a skate park without adhering to any conventions or bylaws -- and it's the perfect memorial to two beloved skateboarders killed in gun violence.

Around 100 people packed into the Main Street shop at the opening this month to watch skateboarders tackle the difficult course. Boarders skated up the curved wooded ramps and zigzagged between the two rooms, trying to avoid smashing into pillars and overhead lights.

Every so often, two skateboarders collided in midair and tumbled to the ground. When someone pulled off a particularly thrilling stunt, an audience member rang the loud metal gong that is built into the course.

The project began when Antisocial co-owner Michelle Pezel contacted three buddies who build skateboard parks for a living: Luke Jouppi, Seb Templer and Mavie Murphy.

All saw the show as a fitting tribute to friends Lee Matasi, a local skateboarder shot to death in December, and Rachel Davis, another prominent member of the skate community killed in 2004. They named the show Until We Get Leeside -- a reference to the skate park Matasi built in a tunnel under the Cassiar Connector.

The team drew up rough sketches, ordered $3,500 of plywood, concrete and screws, and spent a week building the course. They incorporated a row of red bricks from Gastown into the design, a reminder of the neighbourhood where both Matasi and Davis died. During construction, Matasi's father came down almost every day to watch.

"It's basically about cramming as much skate-able stuff as we can into a room that's not meant to be skated," Murphy says. "Lee liked to make the most of the space he could find, and we're doing the same thing."

Like Leeside, this indoor park gives boarders a place to skate while avoiding Vancouver's generous rains; the only other indoor skate park locally is a pay facility in Richmond.

And for once, Jouppi, Templer and Murphy didn't have to cater to the whims of city bureaucrats. "We've never had so much freedom before," says Murphy. "We always have to answer to someone and that someone is never a skateboarder. This is the most rewarding skate park I've ever built."

The skate park also provides a gathering place for Matasi's and Davis's friends and family.

"Lee and Rachel would have loved to see everyone in the skateboard community come out and have a good time," Jouppi says.

Until We Get Leeside is up until March 13 at Antisocial, 2425 Main St., 604-708-5678, http://www.antisocialshop.com. Bring your skateboard; donations accepted to help restore Leeside.