COMMUNITY
GILBERT SUN NEWS | JANUARY 2, 2022
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Freestone Park a beloved home for skateboarders BY ASHLYN ROBINETTE GSN Contributor
P
ast the playgrounds, past the fields and past the basketball, tennis and volleyball courts, skateboarders, rollerbladers, roller skaters, bikers and scooter riders unite at Freestone Skatepark. “There is such a big community and family there,” said Grace Clayton, 15, who skates at Freestone almost every day. “We all care for each other, look out for each other and just hang out. It doesn’t matter what age you are at the skatepark. You could be 14 and be friends with someone who’s 30 and just be there to skate with them.” Regardless of age, gender or looks, Freestone’s skatepark community supports and inspires one another, Clayton said. “We all push each other to do better, we film each other, we give advice, we learn with each other and the list just goes on,” she said. “We all want to get better, so we do that with each other.” Located at 1045 E. Juniper Road, Freestone Park was the Town of Gilbert’s first major district park and began with 65 acres that opened to the public in June 1988. After further construction in 2001, the skatepark was born. At 22,000 square feet, the skatepark features a variety of ledges and rails, several banks and many transitions including spines, extensions and different depth bowls for every skater, according to SITE Design Group, Inc. It’s open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and closed the first Tuesday of the month for cleaning and maintenance. Most skateboarders said they choose Freestone over other parks because of its proximity to home. However, it’s truly the family that they’ve created there that keeps them going back, they said. The convenience and camaraderie that
Wyatt Cunningham carefully balances himself on a rail at Freestone Park in what is called a backside grind. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)
Mateo Pena watches as Rilee Hipps gets air over the funbox at Freestone Skate Park. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)
Freestone offers is invaluable, skateboarders said, adding many people have grown up there and hold countless memories close to their heart. Skateboarder Joshua Herrera spends nearly every day at Freestone, yet one experience there stands out from the rest. Herrera cherishes the time that the
skating community rallied around the family and friends of Sergio, a fellow skateboarder who passed away. “When our friend Sergio died, we all got together and skated for him ’till like 10 p.m. and like 70 people were there,” the 15-year-old said. Skating in Sergio’s honor is just one
illustration of the Freestone skateboarding community’s support for one another. “Freestone is a sacred place to me and so many other people,” said Raymond Thomas, who has been rollerblading since he was 4. Compared to other skateparks, Freestone has the most welcoming and unique environment, he said, noting the skateboarding scene is always changing as people move here or move away. “But it’s always the same vibes there – a super accepting community that is friendly and caring,” Thomas, 25, said. “Going to some of the other parks around here, the atmosphere can be extremely standoffish or even hostile at times, especially being a rollerblader in skateboard-dominated parks.” Freestone is different in the sense that scooter riders, skateboarders, rollerbladers, roller skaters and bikers can all coexist and help one another grow and develop as riders rather than treat each other with hostility, Thomas said. “It’s not a super-closed-off community either,” he added. “New people show up for a single session or make it their new local and they’ll be brought in.” Thomas’ favorite memory at Freestone was one night when he was trying to land a complex trick over a large gap. He was “getting completely wrecked” and had spent the last seven sessions, each about four hours long, repeatedly failing at landing the trick. But this night he was determined to land it. “Twenty or so people were riding in the park, but everyone stopped what they were doing to watch me attempt this stunt and give me room,” he said. “I get about two and half hours into the session with half an hour ’till the lights go out and finally land it. The whole park just erupts
see SKATE page 16
