A few weeks ago our local press (Tri City News) wrote a story about the Asbury Park Casino Shoe that was released in June 2008, they got the story all wrong and focused on the exploitation of the town that Nike supposedly took. After a knock on there door and a lot of hate mail they gave us the "Skateboarders Of Asbury" a chance to let everyone know what that time and that place meant to us and exactly why the shoe was made:
Clearly stated on this newspaper’s website are the words that read “The triCityNews is an alternative newspaper focusing on the arts, culture and politics in eastern Monmouth County, New Jersey.” Their mission...”to identify and promote the creative and alternative throughout the area. We have placed particular emphasis on promoting the restoration of Asbury Park to its rightful place as one of the great progressive and multicultural small cities in this country”.
While we (the skateboarders of Asbury Park) are not writing to debate any of those statements, we are disappointed with the editorial that ran on December 16, 2010. On the cover of that week’s paper was a thumbnail image of a shoe, created by Nike, for the long departed Casino Skatepark with a caption that read ‘Nike Exploits Asbury’. Opening to the feature story, the reader is welcomed by these words ‘Nike Jumps On The Asbury Bandwagon’.
We are not sure what bandwagon the paper was referring but let’s start by bringing the public up to speed about what exactly was transpiring at the Casino Skatepark and Asbury Park in 1997.
Geographically, the Casino Skatepark was located at the South end of the Asbury Park boardwalk and was in operation during a time better left forgotten. Somewhere between the city’s glory days and its recent facelift, the Casino Skatepark was built and run by skateboarders. There was no better example of arts, culture and independent thought in Asbury Park, especially in the late 1990‘s, than the events that took place over the course of two short years at Casino Skatepark.
Back in 1997 a group of skateboarders secured permission to build a skatepark at the Casino. It was completed and opened in 1998 without any press releases or public accolades, and limited (to say the least) support from its landlord, The City of Asbury Park. Providing inexpensive rent was just about the least the City could do...and that is just what they did, the least they could do. The heating, plumbing and structural repairs were all done by the skateboarders, each lending their skills from each trade, on their own dime.
Once opened, the staff at the Casino Skatepark reached out to Vans Shoes to make them aware of the park and see if Vans had any interest in supporting it. What came out of those discussions was a relationship between the park and Vans that would 1) make Casino Skatepark a part the 1998 Warped Tour, using their indoor bowl at the Casino for the Warped Tour competition and 2) release a Casino Skatepark Tribute shoe. During and after the Warped Tour, the Casino Skatepark would double as a music venue, hosting bands like Murphy's Law, Lords of Brooklyn, Lord Sterling & The Bouncing Souls.
Equally as important as the contribution the venue made to skateboarding and music communities (both locally and nationally) was its influence with the urban youth. Countless kids from broken homes and less than suitable family situations found not just shelter at the skatepark, but a welcoming into a world of sharing, experiencing and learning that they had never gotten at home or even at their schools. It wasn’t unusual to see school books at the skate shop counter and kids being helped with homework before, during or after skate sessions.
After the park closed, many of the key figures involved with Casino Skatepark went on to make their mark in the skateboard industry as professional skaters, writers, skatepark designers and even into the skateboard footwear market. One of these individuals while working for Nike, approached the company with an idea of a tribute shoe. A shoe to show respect for a time and a place in the lives the skateboarders of this community as not just a place of business but as a place many called home. A place where community and creativity came first above and before media accolades, public accepted and even money.
As we mentioned before, we’re not too sure what bandwagon this paper was alluding to in the piece of December 16, 2010, but this shoe represents Asbury Park from a time when the Asbury bandwagon appeared to have been car jacked, taken for a joyride and stripped for parts (and tax credits).
It was the skateboarders of the community that made these things a reality. The events that transpired at the Casino Skatepark and later at the Deal Lake Pool have been documented in magazines, books and film. People around the world recognized the hard work and dedication of skateboarders who cared for a city when it appeared that even it’s town fathers had become dead-beat Dads. It thrived long before the art galleries, coffee shops and bars that offer canned beer on the same drink list as martinis would line the downtown streets, walking a fine line between gentrification and homogenization.
If and when another skate shop or skate park opens in Asbury park, its legacy will not be defined by whether it ‘furthers the cultural stock’ of the street where it lives, simply adding another piece to some jigsaw puzzle of a downtown scene. It should provide the skaters of this community with a voice and an outlet to be creative both on and off their boards, showcasing the art and music that comes from this creatively in a way that hasn’t been represented in this city since the Casino Skatepark closed its doors.
The story of December 16, 2010 so enraged all those involved with the Casino Skatepark that it triggered an endless trail of emails and phone calls. We, as the skateboarders of Asbury Park, are not here to further any political debate over how Asbury Park should or should not look, how it should be represented or what business should or should not come into town. All we wanted to be able to do is present the facts about how the Casino Skatepark Shoe came to be.
The triCity News has made this space available to us (the skateboarders of Asbury Park) to voice our response to that article and we are thankful to be able to present the readers a small peek into an influential part of this city’s history. There were many involved with the skatepark and no names were mentioned in this article because, just like skateboarding, the Casino Skatepark was a group effort and no individuals meant more than the collective whole of the family that it became and always will be.
There two sides to every story. The triCity News voiced their opinion on December 16 and the skateboarders of Asbury Park have voiced theirs. Now that both sides have had their say, we can all move forward. Who knows, maybe one day we can all get together and laugh about this over a couple of grande mocha frappuccinos at the new Starbucks on the Asbury boardwalk. Kidding.
