THE SKATE PARK

Cops think they're out to cause trouble. Businesses think they scare away customers. Adults generally disapprove of their clothes, their music and, most importantly, their attitudes.

Skaters have been chased away from practically any decent place they might practice their craft, Kent State senior journalism major Jeremy Baltzly says, and that is why he and his brother built a haven for skaters.

Baltzly, 27, and his brother, Chris, 29, opened Joe's Skatepark south of Akron in July. Baltzly and his brother originally got the idea from a successful park in Tampa, Fla. But the idea didn't seem like it could become a reality until the release of the video game "Tony Hawk: Pro Skater" during the 1999 Christmas season, Baltzly says. The game was extremely popular, and it demonstrated a genuine interest in skateboarding.

"We felt out the market before we did anything," Baltzly says. "We saw the demand there, and we filled it before somebody else could beat us to it."

Joe's Skatepark is a 12,000-square-foot warehouse attached to a full-service shop. The shop sells clothing and equipment for skateboarding, in-line skating and biking.

The skating area itself is full of different types of ramps, Baltzly says. In addition to assorted quarter pipes and wedge ramps, the park has an 18-foot vertical wall that skaters can attempt to ride up.

"There's a whole bunch of stickers on the wall where people ride up and try to mark how high they get," Baltzly says.

The park also features a 4-foot half pipe and several pyramid boxes. But the park is missing a giant, X-Games-style, 10-foot half pipe.

"We were thinking about having a 10-foot half pipe built, but so few people can actually drop in on one that we didn't think it was really worth it," Baltzly says.

Starting a new business from scratch was hardly inexpensive. Baltzly says he was lucky that his brother had good credit.

"We're about half way out of debt now, but we haven't really been open that long," Baltzly says.

Baltzly has been skating for almost 15 years. He credits his original interest in the sport to a movie that came out in the mid-1980s.

"I became interested in skating when I saw Back to the Future," Baltzly says. "I don't think enough people give that movie credit for really giving skateboarding a new life."

Even though the acrobatic antics of Michael J. Fox inspired Baltzly's original interest in skateboarding, he says the personal satisfaction he gains from skateboarding keeps him going.

In addition to being a full-time student, Baltzly works 40 to 50 hours a week. Baltzly says he works more hours in the store than his brother, but his brother handles more of the financial aspects of the business. Baltzly also handles all of the orders for the skateboarding equipment, while his brother is responsible for the in-line skates and bikes.

So far the business has been doing well, Baltzly says.

"It's good for the kids because now they have some place to skate, and the parents like it because they know their kids are someplace safe," Baltzly says.

~ by David Fischer