Oregon ...

Oregon is beautiful.  I could live there easily.  Portland is a gorgeous city.

Oddly, my perception of the locals is that they're the most relaxed, laid back yet somehow stick-up-the-ass crowd I've ever met.   

Can't beat their cement though.

Despite their "punk as fu**" attitude, the guys were all good at kissing ass. They made themselves known in the area by talking with the local business owners and attending neighborhood meetings. The skaters portrayed their park as part of the solution to the otherwise dangerous industrial area, and gave cops no reason to get out of their cars. With actions like that, at two nearly simultaneous moments, two significant public figures took notice and volunteered their time to advocate for the skaters at Burnside. Joanne Ferrero, CEO of R.J. Templeton, made a major stand on behalf of the skatepark at the Central Eastside's district meeting and John Larkin, a local cop, went to city hall to get support for the skatepark because crime in the sketchy area was beginning to diminish. Then on June 15th, 1992, with support through city hall and the business community, Resolution 1153 was reached which supports skateboarding under the Burnside Bridge. Thefact remains that the skatepark was built illegally and can be torn down at a moment's notice. A cop and a CEO, however, are basically responsible for the continued existence of Burnside.

As young scrappers, one would never predict that these kids would grow up to be family men and successful business owners. These guys were blue-collar kids and builders, so it was a natural extension for these hard workers to become skatepark designers and engineers. After all, they have been building ramps since they were kids. The bulk of Burnside that exists today was completed in 1994. Once the skatepark got famous, phones started ringing. A small portion of the skaters who were significant factors of the construction of Burnside went off to build their first official park in Lincoln City, Oregon, and then created their company, Dreamland Skateparks.

Dreamland Skateparks Company is run by eight skaters and their families. These guys have been skating for over 20 years and are all sponsored to some extent (they prefer to keep it low key). The name "Dreamland" came from people commenting that the Northwest is a dreamland for skaters. They are a quality driven company. They will lose money on a project in order to make it perfect Dreamland work. All their projects are researched before any designing begins in order to build the "fly-paper" skateparks that continually attract people, and keeps them engaged and challenged. For example, before going to the drawing board when designing Hailey, Idaho's Dreamland Skatepark, the company studied what people ride in the area. In Idaho, residents are snowed in nine months of the year. So, many people snowboard. They prefer speed and are not afraid to roll over on a full-pipe. It's scary as hell, but it matches the audience in Idaho. What makes Dreamland Skateparks sticky is in their design and execution. The skateparks are not for leisurely rolls. Apparently, there are three skateparks being built a week in the US alone and, unfortunately, the majority of them suck ass. These park developers have the right intentions, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of those parks are designed and built by people who don't skate and have never built skate equipment.

Dreamland Skateparks receives over 40,000 visitors a month on their Web site, and many phone calls a day for their services. This company is a success because of the perfect mix of personalities and skills, and most importantly, their devotion to skateboarding. They have built over 12 skateparks in America, one in Austria, and have projects pending in Hawaii, California and North Carolina. Dreamland has designed and built skateparks for their friends and celebrities, and there are talks of building a multiple story, 45-foot "death thing" with 3 full-pipes and bowls on each corner in their own back yard. It is disappointing that the skateboarding media continues to send the message to focus on the trick and expect the city to give skaters a crappy place to ride. Burnside Skatepark was not built by the city; it was built by skaters. Perhaps there will be more Burnsides and Dreamlands, creating the best case scenario: skateparks for skaters, built by skaters