I think for Mark it really hit home and being back under the bridge and just
watching the excitement that him and some of the crew had that have volunteered
on Burnside was was big and so it just kind of put everything back in a
perspective that you know that 25 years later you know you're still doing it
you're still able to do what you want under a bridge you know whether it's
regulated or not it's still it's still the passion that they have
really what made me want to work with Dreamland was just like seeing all of
the good things and like all the good parks that they'd been a part of and
like the revolution that it kind of sparked like with Mark being a part of
Burnside and just I've known that since day one really and that's kind of
growing up having them build my hometown park just really influenced me to
want to get a get in the mud myself and be a part of it you know instead of
just seeing it done I wanted to be like somebody helping
how long have you been with the company I believe it would be about 15 years not
15 years now 2014 but I give it take handful months the 99 was we're an
official back then but it was it was this crew
projects like Burnside and a few of the other DIY projects or those renegade
skate parks at the time have influenced and informed professional skate park
building today oh for sure it's definitely
molded what is what is going on now besides there's definitely some avenues
that of the skate park building that are trying to go different directions but
most companies that are trying to be successful in some way or fashion whether
they're doing it for skateboarding or doing it for just to make money and
expand into that realm of making money they're they're borrowing from from
that in there their mold is what's been done at Burnside and a lot of the stuff
that was going on around there definitely rooted in Burnside
and I was the construction project manager for the city of Eugene on this
amazing project for this area specifically it's infused a entire new
positive energy into this specific site and the area around it it had a we had a
real historical sort of negative use homeless camping and drug use down in
this area and it's brought in a lot of positive activity families you know
skaters bikers you know people down here using this in a positive way
so working with dreamland was a great you know overall positive experience it
was it was really unique for us as an organization working with them they
were they're kind of one-part contractor and one-part artist which is kind of a
unique blend of you know construction know-how and then the real knowledge
that's needed behind skateboarding and the intricacies that go with it for
skatepark design and construction
Eugene Eugene was pretty cool there's definitely a kind of sort of like the
same bridge vibe which kind of made rad just kind of lurking in this bridge
building something sick it kind of reminds you of it especially like hanging
out of Burnside so much it's kind of similar in a lot of ways except for the
renegade style
um my favorite dreamland skatepark would have to be Lincoln City it's like
skateboarding playland motorcycle track just high-speed jumps everywhere I
don't know how to explain it it's you got to go there it's so much concrete
in one spot and it's all just got done resurfacing the top part the original
Lincoln City more than just a crew it's of skateboarders it's the hardest
workers I've ever seen in my life it's their families their wives you know
your your family and you're going to each of these communities and you're
being a part of not only the crew and then something bigger in the skateboard
world but every community and we you know that's something that will live
with us for forever and we're excited that it's still going and hopefully it
goes for a long a long time and I think for sure any skateboarder that pulls
into a community or a large city they know it's a dreamland park
yeah for sure the bridge there is quite a bit larger span so it was like
Burnside but twice as wide and a freeway rather than Burnside bridge but
yeah definitely reminded me of that
yeah the opening is definitely a plus that's the best time I can enjoy with
the public it's great and in Eugene it was a really different scenario because
I'd never seen a grand opening with that many people and I could not really
enjoy skating with 300 people just because of the the conflicting lines and the
collision factor but just happy to see people in there charging it and nobody
really cared about that factor at all and I felt bad when we had an opportunity
to skate it for an hour or two before they open the gates but I cherish that
and I can't wait to go back and enjoy it some more it's it's great that it's
open 24-7 and that's lit and it's just something to be said it's definitely a
depth destination spot now and I'm really happy with the outcome
just really fortunate that such as Burnside was able to stay there we got
really lucky there and I was fortunate enough to start building skate parks
professionally decade or so ago and yeah they're still popular and concrete
still a good product to use so yeah I don't see them going anywhere can't
believe it
