URBANA — Champaign County's skateboarding scene looks a lot different than it did a few years ago.
So says Skeuwep skate shop owner Andrew Valentine, a lifelong skater who is at the front of the charge to build new skating facilities in Urbana.
"Rome wasn't built in a day," Valentine said. "Skateboarding is, in my opinion, the best thing ever, but has also suffered from certain stereotypes and stigmas, which I think is also (why) we don't have a skatepark yet and whatnot."
Brian Dunn — who started skating at the age of 26 and now helps extend the life of old skateboards through No Board Left Behind — seconds the sentiment.
"In my opinion, it got a little bit less, like, bro-y," Dunn said. "A little more open, you started seeing more women skaters, more trans (and) LGBTQ skaters."
"It went from something where it was kinda like car kids with flat-billed hats that might say something hom*ophobic to a really open and accepting community."
But there aren't many places for locals to put their skills to the test in a controlled environment.
Skating facilities at Spalding Park in Champaign were built more than two decades ago. Sunset Ridge Skate Park in north Champaign can be a bit of a trek for young skaters. Then there are an array of parking garages and DIY setups.
Valentine's mission is to change that. He — along with other local skaters — left 116 emails with Urbana aldermen before the city's council meeting on Nov. 30.
"I had wandered into Andrew's skate shop thinking I was going to peruse some vinyl records, when Andrew walked up and said, 'Is there anything about skateboarding I can help you with?'" Urbana alderman Christopher Evans said.
"I replied, 'I'd like to build a skate park in downtown Urbana for economic development.' Andrew then said, 'Let me go check in the back and see if we have any left.' Next thing I know the Urbana City Council receives 116 emails wanting a skate park in Urbana's downtown."
Their mission is twofold. For one, they'd like to see a purpose-built skating facility constructed within Urbana's limits.
Urbana officials directed the group toward Urbana Park District after its email blast, with UPD in turn working to include a park in its plan for Weaver and Prairie Parks.
"What I've gathered so far is from our advocating for a skate park resource, we are in phase two of the Urbana Park District's build for the Prairie/Weaver park space," Valentine said.
"From their ETA that I've been told, phase one should be completed sometime in fall and there is a chance that they could break ground on the park in 2025."
They'd also like to see one of the city's public parking lots — like lot 25 behind 25 O'Clock Brewing Company — turned into a mixed-use space to be used for skating, live music and public art among other uses.
That specific space already has lights — good for younger skaters who don't have much time before darkness sets in after school — and is just a stone's throw away from downtown Urbana.
"No one is ever parking there and so the city's spending money maintaining these spaces for no reason," Dunn said. "So we're just like, hey, this is pretty close to downtown. It's not being used at all, it's kind of out of the way of everything, there's nothing right up against it but it's completely city owned."
"We just thought that it would be a prime space for some kind of skate obstacles, maybe a wall for murals. If you go look at the Spalding skate park, you'll see that a lot of skate obstacles become murals through different graffiti artists and stuff."
But they haven't gotten the green light just yet, though the lot already sports a few different signs of skating life.
"I don't want to say too much because it hasn't been officially condoned at all, but we are looking to use a variety of spaces in Urbana to kind of promote skateboarding," Dunn said. "Especially ahead of a new skate park being built."
Some Urbana officials have publicly expressed their support for the project.
Evans, for one, is all in.
"My wish is for a sculpted concrete obstacle course like Grant Park in Chicago, with murals, music, picnic area, maybe a canopy for skating in the rain, lights for night time skating, competitions, fundraisers, lessons, demonstrations, some outdoor hotdog vendors," Evans said.
"Let's get jiggy with it and make it a destination point. The skateboarders have wisely advised to say, 'Slow down there, Dreamer, let's take this baby steps at a time.'"
Valentine's push for skating to be more visible within the community isn't surprising.
His love of skating took hold when he was about 15 years old.
"I didn't excel in any other conventional sport," Valentine said. "And I had always appreciated the aesthetic of skateboarding. Skaters are very forward-thinking as far as fashion. And from a small child, I have always been a fan of streetwear, shoes, clothing, fashion in general."
Skeuwep came along when Valentine started selling boards and gear out of the trunk of his car.
He now shares space with See You CD & Vinyl in downtown Urbana.
"Anytime there's like a competition or a jam at Spalding skate park, Andrew is always a big part of getting it put together," Dunn said.
"He's always reaching into his own pocket and giving us prizes and stuff like that. So I really look up to him as just a good figure in the community."
On the other hand, Dunn didn't take to the sport until he was in his mid-20's.
"It's almost like a family, what we have," Dunn said. "We have a really special scene here, with a lot of different components to it."
Among the new crop of area skaters are Derek Basade, 18, and Cedric Lehman, 17, both of whom turned out to spin the wheels on homemade ramps and hand-smoothed curbs in lot 25 on June 5.
The community's acceptance of new members is part of what drew them to skating.
"Everyone pitches in, like teaching you tricks," Basade said. "It's really cool."
Lehman pointed toward skating's ability to bridge generations like few other sports can.
"There's like all ages and all kinds of people," Lehman said. "There's little kids who have never skated before and there's people who are (older) and some people you wouldn't expect skating at all, they're some of the best skaters there."
Take it as well from 2017 Centennial grad Aidan Hendron, who credits skateboarding with helping him through some rocky times while he was growing up.
“Skateboarding, I think it saved my life emotionally," Hendron said. "My parents were going through a rough divorce at the time and it was more like my silver lining … it gave me a sense of community, like (Basade and Lehman) were saying, something to look forward to after school.”
Valentine and Dunn — among plenty of others — have always been in Hendron’s corner.
"I skated with both of them for maybe 10-plus years," Hendron said. "My mentor, Dustin Stuart, he unfortunately doesn't really skate too much anymore. But he was a big influence on me trying to make me the best skater I could be. And I wanted to be the best skater that I could be."
Valentine's efforts have helped skateboarding into the spotlight in recent months; he was among a dozen skaters that spoke at the council meeting in November and earned praise from council members and other attendees.
Behind the scenes, Steve Miller has been just as critical in helping the community's ambitious plans get off the ground.
Miller has been working closely with Urbana Park District officials — like Executive Director Tim Bartlett and Superintendent of Recreation Corky Emberson — to integrate a park into the district's plan for Weaver and Prairie Parks.
"This would fit with the health and wellness center to serve that neighborhood there, that's got some serious need," Miller said. "And kind of a need for a sport that's relevant to kids that are overlooked ... there's not really a lot to offer them recreation-wise out there other than soccer and softball.
Those plans could come to fruition sooner rather than later.
"What I've heard from Tim and Corky, we had initially looked at Prairie skatepark being a 10,000-square foot build that was slated for phase four (of the park's redevelopment)," Miller said.
"But there was so much interest from the community that (it) pushed the timeline up for a park to move from phase four, which would have been maybe three years out, to phase two, which sounds like the start date is unknown, but it sounds pretty immediate."
More places to skate — and gather — would mean a great deal to Valentine and the skating community.
"It'd be nothing short of fantastic," Hendron said. "(It would get) more people to get more into skating and to see that it's not so bad after all. I was more from a time where it was looked down upon when I was coming up ... now it's in the Olympics."
