'Skateboarding is Life'

Robin Condon found friends and a supportive community when he started to hang around the skateboard park in Pine Ridge as a kid. "It's a pretty good way to meet people because that's where all the good vibes are", grins the lanky Condon, who now lives in the nearby community of Manderson where there's also a skate park.

He started with a cheap board from Walmart. When it broke apart, an older skater gave him the board he treasures today. The previous owner was a talented artist who painted Native American art on both sides. “If you don’t have a board, don’t let that stop you,” he advises other youth. “Somebody will loan you one, and the older kids will help you learn the moves. When you mess up, someone will be there to help you up.”

Condon says four Pine Ridge skateparks built by the Tony Hawk Foundation are life-changers because the parks are safe, positive, drug-free hangouts for youth in an oftenchallenging rural environment.

Condon, 23, leads a team of other young men who repair homes for reservation neighbors. However, he still skates — sometimes, while listening to rock music with headphones. “If you are having a bad day, you come here and skate around and forget about everything else,” he says. “Skateboarding is life.”