Support my local skatepark......Exist, Swansea.

Route One have run the Free Skate day for the second year....last year the winner of the £1000 was The Boardroom in Leicester. The Boardroom is a skatepark close to my heart as it was originally The Edge which me and 3 friends set up back in 2003. We built the park in a warehouse we found traipsing around Leicester....i kind of entered into the whole business thing without much idea of the possible consequences of failure and the massive commitment in both time and finance.
Owning and running my own skatepark was a dream come true, skate whenever i liked, parties...fun,fun,fun....the reality can be quite different....The responsibility of it all slowly dawned on me and the others.....we ran the place as The Edge for almost 4 years before we reached the decision to sell up. It was an amazing time but for 4 of us, all with different ideas and no real way of supporting us from the skatepark alone, we were doing other jobs and working at the park for nothing in order to pay the bills.
A couple of guys bought the park from us, the money was just enough to pay off all the outstanding bills and loans so we got out of there with no debt. The people who bought the park from us didn't last long before they then sold it to Dave who already had The Boardroom in another warehouse in Leicester.....can you believe it there were actually 3 indoor parks in Leicester at one point!
So The Boardroom moved in and turned the place around....the place has been a total success ever since...a great park and a great scene...the point being that Dave has put his heart and soul into running a skatepark and likewise here in Swansea Exist has the same spirit.....skater owned and run, small independent and self financed set up.
Unlike me and my friends in Leicester Ric already knew the reality of business and the high stakes of putting everything into the skatepark....he went for it anyway! Exist is in the same position this year that The Boardroom was in last......
Passionate owners, passionate skaters with the prospect of winning the Route One £1000......


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So The Boardroom won through the dedication of Dave and the scene the skatepark supported and nurtured....the skaters recognised the effort and commitment Dave has and voted and voted and did everything they could to spread the word. They won by a country mile. The same is the case in Swansea right now and Exist has the chance to get the money and the coverage to make what is already an amazing and thriving skatepark even better.
That is why everyone who cares about small, independent skater run parks should vote for Exist this year...Ric and Exist are true grass roots, they are what makes skateboarding so good and skateboarding needs people like Ric with their energy and passion to push it and provide us the spots we need. Lets give it back and get Ric and Exist something in return for their generosity to skateboarding....vote Exist!!!


Exist Skatepark

And remember to VOTE FOR EXIST