Both skating and snowboarding grew from a past on the fringe, when normal folk didn’t understand what we were doing—and didn’t like it, neither. These days, things are obviously different. Snowboarding’s in the Olympics. Skateboarding is in electronics commercials. And a lot of peeps doing these sports can’t remember a time when it was any different.

That’s perfectly okay, too, as long as everyone takes a sec now and then to appreciate how awesome these things that we do are. How they’re more than sports—they’re ways of life and modes to freedom. That’s what Go Skateboarding Day is all about, at least to me. Well, that—and summertime.

Held on the first day of summer every year, Go Skateboarding Day has developed into a pretty massive holiday—thousands of skaters raging through metropolitan areas everywhere, from LA to Chicago to Philly.

Here in Portland, we all met up at Commonwealth last year — that’s the indoor skatepark my boyfriend and I built — and spent the afternoon/evening skatin and tail-gatin. Everyone was crispy from shredding in the sun all day. They were all sweating and smiling. Summer was here, and life was good.


Lance, co-owner of Commonwealth and my main squeeze, was in charge of grilling.


Good friends, lurking hardcore.


Adidas’ George Cutright, reppin’ fresh ink on his forearm.


Just when we thought it couldn’t get any more packed, the band showed up. For the record, The Bugs rip! They’re Portland’s most bad-ass two-set.


The tail-gating scene was pretty heavy.


Lance, with Josh and Dan from Exit Real World. Good people, good times!