‘Skateboarding is art’: Locals give away limited edition Long Beach-themed decks
Push For Peace makes skateboards featuring local artists’ work and gives one away to young skaters in need for each that is sold.
On a hot summer day, Sunni Baughman meets up with Hector Torres at the Orizaba skatepark in Long Beach’s Zaferia neighborhood. They’re on the lookout for young skaters in need of a bless up. The spot is dead, so the pair move to McBride skatepark.
A skateboarding demo was wrapping up and a few kids stuck around to skate the blistering concrete. Baughman, aka Bill Breaker, talks to the locals, while Torres pulls out his own board for some casual riding around the skatepark. Neither sees what they’re looking for: a kid needing a new board.
Finally, two fresh faces arrive. They drop in and begin clearing gaps and grinding rails. One of the boys notices two pristine decks sitting to the side, picks one up and walks away. After the fact, he notices Baughman — who had missed the incident — standing in the shade and inquires about the board.
Baughman asks him how old he is and if he can see the bottom of the board he had been riding. Sheepishly, the boy turns the board over. Satisfied, Baughman tells him to keep the new deck — free of charge.
