Tsawwassen skate park was a blessing when it was constructed, not just because of how amazing the New Line design was, or how perfect the concrete ended up, but because it was in a place where there was so much talent in the skateboard world and as an added bonus it was in a place where it’s sunny 90% of the year. So this gave an extra advantage to all the locals to get super good at skateboarding since they had more chance to ride. I personally became a local to Tsawwassen park and skated hard there every day for years, and in that time there was a solid group of guys that shredded there – Mike Hastie, Paul Machnau, Sean Hayes, Graeme Betts, Jason Delaney, Dan Pageau, Shadd Trepp, Johnny McMartin and a few more. And with all of us representing what solid skateboarding was it was obvious that the next generation of Tsawwassen was going to be insane.
Watching the kids grow up was amazing, seeing them expand their horizons and step up to the next levels of skating, some got hurt, some gave up, and some are now some of the most recognizable names in the Lower Mainland. Ryan Lepore and Michael Ray have definitely been setting a standard as to how to skate super tech and land everything perfectly. They are the faces of Tsawwassen right now and they both rip it hard everywhere they go. Andrew Classon happened to move out there a few years back which was perfect for his style and he fit right in with that clique. With Antosh Cimoszko rocking the camera action all the time these guys just expanded their realms and got so good. I’m proud to know this group of skaters that are so amazing and super glad to have been a part of the old generation of rippers at that park. It’s a great place to learn, to get to know friends, and to escape the rain.
Check out these boys and some others in this crazy film put together by Jason Bergen simply named RIP…