Skateboarding Is My Girlfriend

In life, everyone needs to have something that they love. Whether it's your lady, your children, your job, or even your skateboard. I have found on occasion even myself calling my skateboard my girlfriend because it is probably one of the best friends I have. It never gets mad at you, but is apologetic when you yell at it or throw it onto the ground. It always goes where you want to go and never has some snobby voice telling you what to do. It has many hardships with you, sometimes some of the hardest hardships a man can face in a life. But as always, you can rely on your skateboard to be there for you.

Thank you and good night,

-Hugh Little

Living On the East Coast

Living on the east coast is something that I have learned to appreciate over time. The skate scene is much different than the scene in the west coast say California. Here we have rough asphalt that hasn't been redone for decades which makes the ground super gritty. It is nice because one second we can be in a busy city like Baltimore, then ten minutes later can be in rural Loch Raven Reservoir skating the bank by the dam. Living in Baltimore is an awesome thing because we are just in between a couple of major cities like DC, Philly, and New York. These cities are all major skateboarding extravaganzas because there is a lot of marble, perfect stairs, and many other ridiculous obstacles that skaters find pleasing to skate. The east coast is an awesome place to live and am glad to have grown up where I have.

-Hugh

Skaters and Fashion

Skateboarders and fashion go hand-in-hand in todays generation. I wouldn't be surprised if kids nowadays are just buying a skateboard so they can get away with wearing the ridiculously stylish clothes that us skateboarders wear. I'm not talking about no multi-colored zumiez clothes. I am talking about some genuine skate brand clothes, not the stuff you pick up at the mall. Walking down the street even, I can notice if someone skateboards or not. You can tell this by the shoes they wear, whether they have holes or not, and the clothes that the skater wears. I can even go farther and say i could tell roughly how many years they have been skating just by the way they dress. The skateboarders that are just getting in the scene will most likely dress more "goonish" where the older and developed skater fits in more because over time he has developed a style for himself. All in all, skateboarders stand out from the rest of society because we don't live by everyone else's standards, we live as our individual self. That is one of the most celebrated things of skateboarding in my opinion

-Hugh

Skateboarders Misunderstood

Throughout the years, skateboarders have made a name for themselves being badasses in the community. They were always the punks who went out looking for trouble. Now that's just the stereotype that is put on skateboarders. A good amount are doing it at a professional level and the ones who aren't there yet are striving to be. It is very difficult to progress in something you love whenever you go out you get hassled by police, security, or just crazy, stuck up people we have in our world today. They overlook that we might be filming a trick, learning a new trick, or skating around town. It's a common misconception that we have learned to deal with. Were not all bad kids, a lot of us come from normal family like yours, the only difference is we found our passion in skateboarding. Here are some videos with evidence that we are prejudged and stereotype just from the pure sport that we take part in.

-Hugh

Filmed in Baltimore- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GgWrV8TcUc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suaLXIAtWGE&feature=fvwrel

YouTube

YouTube has changed the game of video sharing. During the developing years of skateboarding a lot of people weren't filming, they didn't have the money to produce there own film. But as time moves on it became more possible. By the 90's there were more independent skate films being made and distributed. These videos would be put on VHS and sold to local skate shops just to make a quick buck. As time travelled into the 21st century internet became an everyday use for Americans. One site that emerged at that time was YouTube. YouTube enabled small-time videographers like myself to share my work in an easy and broad way. For the first time it wasn't just the major skate companies that were spreading there videos to all points of the map, the independent videographer could get just as much coverage as the big time skate company. This also changed the game of skateboarding forever. Now there is more emphasis on amateur skateboarders where it used to be mainly professionals. YouTube has made video sharing a blessing for independent filmers.

-Hugh

Ridge Lumber Yard

Ridge Lumber Yard might just sound like a place where you buy your wood when remodeling your house. It's not actually, as a matter of fact, Ridge has been gone for many years now. The Ridge we know/knew in Perry Hall has changed quite a bit since its lumber days. The Ridge that has been known for the past decade has been for skateboarding. Once the lumber yard shut down the skateboarders moved in so to speak. There were multiple levels which created different sections of ridge. There was everything above Big Ledge which had a bank, some rails, manual pads, and other assortments. there was the side where Manz Ledge and the euro gap were the main attractions. Then down below where the majority of skateboarding went down. There was a bank, multiple ledges, two quarter pipes, manual pad, boxes, handrails, gaps, euro gaps, and many other things. Ridge is a place where family was created. Where kids stayed out of trouble because all the trouble they wanted to cause was right there in one place on their skateboard. As of this past summer all that had been cut short due to people going against the skate movement and taking away the spot where we had oh so many memories and good times. I will never forget you ridge. Here is a video showing the good days ridge had to offer...Enjoy!

-Hugh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDan3JUm6EQ

"Dayum" Skateboard Video

The "Dayum" skateboard film might sound like any other lame skateboard video to come out of Baltimore. But no, this skate video was filmed and edited by Hugh Little, Jake White, and Matt Grube in association with 3Ride. We worked long hard hours and sweated many calories for this video. It took two years to make and a few months to edit but in the end it all came together. A lot of people don't realize the difficulty of skateboarding while holding a camera and filming along side the skater doing the trick really is. It takes a lot of skill, practice, and most of all experience. The film was premiered at the historic Senator Theatre conveniently located up the street from 3Ride. The theatre itself can hold 900 people which is a very large theatre. We were only expecting about 500 people, but when 750 attendees came to watch the premiere of the film we were astonished. Even my grandma came out and got a dosage of what the skate scene is. Let me tell you, a skate premier is a lot different than going to any normal film at a theatre. There are kids howlin' and hootin', cussin' and punchin', ballers and lowlifes... we let it all hang out for a skate premier. The after party was held inside the theatre where we had multiple dubstep and hip hop artist to play. Overall, the premier was a great success and a great enjoyment to film and be a part of. Once again, thank you 3Ride and Peter Connor for coming through and finishing up the clinches to make the premiere happen. Here is Peter, Justin, and Jason's part from the video...Enjoy!

Peter Connor- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-8lExQ1BC4

Justin Medero- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PTlMRuusDc

Jason Spivey- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JtTwp1B_rA

-Hugh

Skatepark of Baltimore Close to Goal of $75,000

Skatepark of Baltimore has been a hope and dream for some years now. The skaters have never had an official place to skateboard without getting hassled. We've had Ridge which was an abandoned lumber yard that we took over and built skate ledges and ramps. Essentially we built our own skatepark. The Hampden Rec Center is another deal similar to that. The city gave us a spot and skaters evolved a piece of asphalt into a skatepark. These places are where we stay out of trouble and don't get hassled by police. They already took Ridge away from us so now we don't have much left. There have been efforts to build a concrete plaza in Hampden. Stephanie Murdock, the founder of SOB has been raising money for some years now. People have donated money here and there, the Tony Hawk Foundation recently donated $25,000 in proceeds to the park. We've reached about $60,000 and we need $75,000 in order for the city to match that amount and then we get the skatepark. The only issue is the deadline for that grant with the city is May 31, so with the clock ticking we are trying are hardest to come up with the money. If you feel you would like to support the skateboarders in Baltimore then go to this website and donate money here. Time is running out and we could use all the help we can get!

-Hugh


http://www.skateparkofbaltimore.com/

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/baltimorecounty/neighborhoods/hampden/ph-ms-skatepark-0517-20120511,0,957064.story

3Ride Skate Shop Reopens Its Doors

3Ride Skate Shop has been around since 2001 owned and operated by Carrington Sydnor. It originally got its name because they sold three different types of sports at the shop: Skateboards, snowboards, and bicycles. Its original location was tucked behind some buildings in Timonium. Probably not the greatest location so they moved to 5918 York Road, Baltimore, MD. This location is neighboring to Zen West and the Senator Theatre. Business was thriving for awhile but as time went on the shop was beginning to become hard to withhold. Carrington isn't the wealthiest man in the world but he had a passion for skateboarding and providing quality products to the people. In 2012, he announced that he would no long be able to run the shop because it was too hard for him to make a living and support a family with the income that 3Ride was bringing in. March of 2012 was scary because no one knew if the shop would stay open. Things were getting sad around there, he would almost be giving things away for free because he knew in the end it was the skaters who would always be around and that is what keeps a shop going. Low and behold by April a man stepped up to the plate, Rich Pugh, the owner of Johnny Rads Pizza and Bar. This is a skate bar downtown where people like us feel at home. The shop was closed for about a month because inventory was extremely low but by May the shop began to be fully functioning once more. It's truly a blessing to have good people out there who have a passion to provide to others a need that all of us skateboarders appreciate. Come check out the shop its fully stocked!     http://www.3rideshop.com/3_RIDESHOP_%7C_Baltimores_Skate_and_Snow_Shop_.html

Rockstar Bearings Welcomes Justin Medero

In March, my ex-neighbor and good friend was sponsored by Rockstar Bearings. His name is Justin Medero. There are a lot of great recognized skateboarders in Baltimore but no one that skates like "Mad Air Yo."Watching a video of him skating makes you want to jump off your computer, grab your skateboard, and go shred the streets. His tricks you won't see from any other skaters in Baltimore. They will "bloggle your mind." Whether he is double grinding two dumpsters or doing a foot plant on a tree his stuff is inspiring to watch. The creativity from each trick makes you wonder where in that dreadlocked brain of his did he think of such ridiculous stuff. And that is just his skating. Off the skateboard this kid is a ball of energy. He is the guy who is going to jump off the couch with an idea and be ready to make action or pull you up off the ground and give you the inspiration to land the trick. My friends, may we present to you, Justin Medero. Please watch his brand new skate part welcoming him to the RockStar Team. This kid is truly a rockstar. http://vimeo.com/42238754
-Hugh