Williston Publishimg - Index

Williston Publishimg - Teen Vermont - Index

“The popularization of skateboarding,
with the media and lots of companies
jumping on board to try to be a
part of it, that’s happening again,”
Rodriguez said.
He would know. The founder of
5boro, a New York City-based
skateboard company, Rodriguez, 37,
has been skating since his childhood.
Whether the current rise in popularity
is good or bad remains debatable,
in Rodriguez’ opinion. He used
Shaun White as an example. The
professional skateboarder and
snowboarder recently dropped his
longtime sponsor, Volcom, and
signed with Target.
“If you ask me, it’s great for him, and
kind of questionable for the industry,
because what has Target ever
done? It’s a whole new era. Maybe
Target starts sponsoring skateboard
parks, but let’s see where it goes,”
Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez wants skaters to drive the
future of the sport, rather than letting
popular culture dictate the direction.
That’s how 5boro started 12 years
ago, when Rodriguez organized his
network of skateboarding friends into
36 — Teen Vermont, Spring/Summer 2008
Skate Culture
Thrives
in Vermont
Industry icon
5Boro coming
for TeenFest
By Greg Duggan
The popularity of skateboarding, says Steve
Rodriguez, waxes and wanes on a 10-year cycle,
and now is the time the sport is reaching its apex. A
recent report on National Public Radio deemed it the
fastest growing sport in the world.
a business.
“In the beginning, I’d say we were
more about representing what we
thought skating in New York City
and the East Coast should be about,
when at a time in the mid-’90s the
culture was more representative
of popular culture than skateboard
culture. ... It watered down the actual
skateboard aspect of it,” Rodriguez
said. “We were trying to go more of
the skateboard route.”
5boro started by posting stickers
around the tri-state area, and soon
began selling t-shirts and taking
part in skateboarding events.
The company now designs and
manufactures boards and clothing.
Other than Rodriguez and a 5boro
rider named Dan Pensyl, the original
members have moved on to other
pursuits, but others have fi lled the
spots.
Rodriguez has three teams traveling
around the world, shooting videos
and promoting the sport. In addition
to the main team, there’s an
international team that represents the
company throughout the world, and
the “Flow Team,” which Rodriguez
called, “Potential guys to be on the
team.”
The main crew is coming to
Champlain Valley Exposition in
Essex Junction on May 31 and June
1 for TeenFest Vermont.
Rodriguez and 5boro have skated
in cities like Tokyo and London, in
countries from China to Chile. But
they’re no strangers to the Green
Mountain State. 5boro makes an
annual stop in Vermont, often visiting
Talent Skatepark in South Burlington
and heading to other area locations.
“I know there are good spots in
Burlington,” Rodriguez said. “Usually
how it works is, we do a demo, hang
out with some locals, then skate the
local street spots. Or someone has
a ramp. That’s what’s so good about
skating, people want to share.”
In Burlington, Rodriguez said the
downtown area around Church Street
has fun features, like rocks sticking
out of the brick walkway. He also
mentioned a spot near the Burton
headquarters, but didn’t want to give
out more details.
“They come up here all the time.
They’re really chill,” John Heroux,
the shop manager at Talent, said of
5boro. “They have good pros, like
Dan Pensyl, Willy Akers. It’s a really
sick team, and really nice guys, too.”
He also credited the team for sticking
to its foundation of East Coast riding
which, as Rodriguez described,
“is more of a raw sort of skating,
more urban” — and not having the
constant luxury of warm, sunny
weather that blesses a place like
southern California.
Skating Vermont
Vermont has its own skateboard
community, with public and private
skate parks in several towns.
“There’s a bunch of skaters from
ages 6 to whatever, older guys
who’ve been skating a long time,
younger kids just getting into it.
There’s a really good scene here,”
said Heroux.
With the snow having melted, the
skateboarding season is picking
up again. On a Thursday afternoon
during April, nearly a dozen boarders,