Part of my typical March madness is visiting family in the Carolinas. This year we visited the mountains around (and a few spots in) Asheville which was ridiculously invigorating and inspirational. During our stay with folks around Charlotte we swung down (over?) to Waxhaw, North Carolina to visit the Waxhaw Sk8 Park. The trip was twofold, as most things are. The nephews wanted a go and I have a soft spot for skate park design after working with the Crooked River Skate Park and Lakewood Skate Park folks.
Waxhaw Sk8 Park was a gift from Tom Risser, a local artist, skater, and skate park designer who over the past decade plus donated materials, time, and labor to craft the Waxhaw Sk8 Park and who has a personal bowl (according to locals) that has been graced by many noted pros over the years. The park is comprised of a whole selection of subtle humps, rails, banks, and quarters which allow for a variety of lines. As the nephews rode their scooters and boards I got to talking to a couple of locals who were waxing poetics about the park. Between the constant renovation, events, and community outreach they have a safe space to hone their craft that they feel has the support of the community. They were happy to show me their favorite lines, the tricks they were working on, discuss the finer points between boards, scooters, bearings, trucks, and other minutia while taking the time to help the younger blood with some approaches and words of wisdom. I was struck by how polite the locals were when the younger kids would blindly roll into their paths. If anything they spent too much time apologizing, the kids need to learn some awareness, but maybe the softer approach is better.
Tom also is responsible for the art at the skate park and I’ve been told has donated quite a bit of sculpture to the town which has been installed in other public places although I have had a difficult time finding a catalog of work in the city but he is very well known and prolific.
The skate park resides in a rather quaint, perhaps beautiful, little town of Waxhaw which has protected and isolated itself from the glut of amazingly banal development in the surrounding areas. I am hoping this little enclave continues to maintain it’s charm. I’m looking forward to returning in the upcoming years.