"Made In Venice" Premieres In Venice

The long anticipated, years in the making documentary Made In Venice premiered in Venice last Saturday at The Electric Lodge, and was more than worth the wait. It was a screening for the cast and crew, most of whom were in attendance. This wonderful film tells the story of how the dream of a Venice Skatepark came to be a fantastic reality, and all the struggle that went into it.

The movie covers the history of skating in Venice, and how it came to be known as the legendary Dogtown ("This town ain't fit for a dog!"). Though modern skateboarding was pretty much invented here, it took until 2009 for Venice to have its own skatepark, and would never had happened without the tireless work and absolute belief in the project on the behalf of skaters and activists in the community. As the audience filtered in, you saw one cast member after another arrive ... Christian Hosoi, Jeff Ho, Bart Saric (who did the film's animation sequences), Victor Blue, Tonan, Aaron Murray, Masao Miyashiro, Lauren Wiley, Dan Levy and Juice Magazine ... and finally, the true hero of the story, Jesse Martinez.

Martinez introduced the film along with its director, Jonathan Penson, who both told about the years and hurdles it took to make. They also explained that though we do now have this beautiful skatepark, the struggle continues, as the city of Los Angeles relies on Martinez and his crew to maintain and clean the park every day - without any compensation from the city. Unbelievable. But they do it. Every day, seven days a week.

The documentary is so good because the subject matter is beloved by Venice. It's incredibly lump in the throat touching at times, and laugh out loud funny at others. Venice does not lack for characters, and the ones you get to know in Made In Venice are some of our best. As pro skater Tuma Britton says in the film, "We don't do boring. This is Venice." Exactly.

"We were the bad stepsons of Venice, we were raising hell on this beach. If you were considered a Dogtown boy, you had made it," says Martinez in a clip to explain what it all meant to people. We are taken through the history of the rise and fall of both skating and skateparks, including a time when the area was briefly taken over by Rollerbladers. Dark days indeed. "We'd do almost anything to protect Dogtown," says Martinez at one point - and they certainly did.

Spearheaded by a mighty group of skatepark supporters who truly believed that skaters were the heart and soul of Venice, the dream for a world class skatepark was kept alive, and seen through. Ger-I Lewis teamed up with Heidi Lemmon (of Skatepark Association USA), and along with the tireless help of our late Councilman Bill Rosendahl (who found funds from an old oil fund!), the spirited group finally won approval for a skatepark. It was a unanimous decision from the Coastal Commission, after a touching speech by Martinez who spoke to the fact that skating had changed lives for the much better. And then it took four more years of redtape.

Construction finally began on the park on December 31, 2008 and the official opening was on October 3, 2009 - a triumphant and emotional highpoint of the film. "We did it! And I'm not too old to use it!" - Ger - I Lewis says, with obvious joy across his face. The opening day scenes are so happy and exciting ... but the work didn't/doesn't stop there.

Martinez is out there at the skatepark every morning, pre-dawn, making sure it's clean and safe to skate. This means hand scrubbing off the graffiti, cleaning up after the homeless and partiers that wreak havoc overnight, and generally 100% taking care of the park's maintenance on their own. For free. Often out of their own pockets. This clearly isn't right, and one of the hopes of the film is not only to showcase the park that more pro skaters come out of than any other in the world, but also to show its value to the City of L.A. and get these tireless workers some sorely needed compensation, although money is very obviously not what drives Martinez and his volunteer crew.

"Money you won't be remembered for, but to be a Dogtown boy {or girl}, you'll be remembered forever. This skatepark is the legacy I'll leave behind one day for my sons," says Martinez, and it's true. Both the film and the audience were filled with kids and skaters of the up and coming generations who will continue to benefit from all of the hard work and history of the Venice legends who gave them what they have today. And the future is bright.

Made In Venice closes with a soundbite from the late skate legend and friend, Jay Adams, who says, "You know how some people say, 'Oh, I love it, I'd do it for free'. Well, Jesse IS doing it for free. Why don't some of you guys start paying him?" Yes. WHY don't we? In typical Martinez fashion, he was nowhere to be found when the hoots, hollers, whistles, and "Thank you, Jesse!'s" rang out over the closing credits. I found him outside after the film, far from the crowd, and visibly uncomfortable with the attention and praise. So much so that he'll probably never even see the film, but the important thing is that now everyone else can see it and know what a true hero he is to our community. A true hero Made In Venice.

Made in Venice will debut in theaters August 25, 2016. It's a must see for anyone who knows and loves Venice.

*Merch proceeds from the film will go towards the upkeep of the Skatepark. Get yours!

Help The Venice Skatepark Fund!

We all love the Venice Skatepark, right? Well, then it's time to help them out over there. Jesse Martinez has been lovingly and faithfully cleaning that place every morning since it opened, and paid nothing for it by the city of L.A. The truck he used to haul all the cleaning supplies was stolen. Martinez has been using his own car to get down to clean the park from downtown L.A. (where he had to move from Venice after more gentrification b.s. - a whole other story ...) at 3 am every day.

The Skatepark doesn't clean itself, and the city does nothing to help. That is a crime. Thank goodness for good people volunteering to help (as about 20 did on Tuesday) and to companies that donate supplies and equipment (as World's Best Graffiti Removal did), and to YOU!

Because you can donate right now to the Venice Skatepark Fund HERE, and help make life a little easier on Martinez and his cleaning crew (when he has one, made up of volunteers). You can also make calls and write letters to place a little pressure on the City Of L.A. (another reason why Venice should be its own city) to PAY the man, pay for supplies, and let the Skatepark keep all the fees and things the city charges to use it, but doesn't use the money to maintain it. No brainer, right?

Few things around town are as iconic, or provide as much enjoyment and excitement as the Venice Skatepark ... let's thank it with some help, Venice (and everyone else who has enjoyed being there)!


*Photos by Ray Rae

The Makaha 50th Anniversary Skate Contest At The Venice Skatepark

Last Saturday was one of the most beautiful days ever in Venice. You would sure never know it was mid-December. As most of the rest of the world was out running around shopping and getting ready for the holidays in the freezing cold, Venice was having a skate contest.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Makaha Skateboards (and the first skate contest held in Santa Monica in 1963 by founder, Larry Stevenson), the Venice Skate Association put on an absolutely great event.

Skaters (and skate watchers) were out in droves to see the snake run/mini bowl contest ... and though it was a celebration of the past 50 years, it also let everyone know that the future of skating is just as bright. Some of the skaters I saw were just UN. REAL. Killing it every run.

DJs (Bennett Harada) were spinning tunes, and with the Boardwalk right there, it felt like the whole town was out enjoying the spectacular day in the sunshine.

There were the usual food trucks (now encroaching on the beach too? Ugh.) which reminded one that the other point of the day was a food drive for the Westside Food Bank to stock their shelves for the holidays.

There were a ton of cool sponsors (Jimmy'Z, House Of Marley, Venice Originals, Vans, etc ... ) so that meant there were a ton of raffle drawings too, though everyone won just by being there.

I had 7 zillion things to do and places to be that day, so I couldn't stick around to see who won everything, but know that the total ripper, Charlie Blair, took first overall.

What a fantastic time it was - and a perfect example of what good comes from supporting your local skatepark!

The Venice Skatepark - A Diamond In The Rough

Happy New Year, People! In the interest of shining a light on the things that are still awesome about living in Venice in 2013, I recently dug a little deeper into the everyday goings on at the Venice Skatepark. I grew up with my brother's half-pipe in our backyard, smashed my own face trying to drop in off that thing, and was always surrounded by skaters, so I have a soft spot for the whole scene, but also recognize the beauty and importance of this place in our community.

Officially known as the Dennis "Polar Bear" Agnew Memorial Skatepark, this gleaming jewel of a skatepark smack in the middle of Venice Beach is maintained - every single day - by the Venice Surf and Skateboard Association (V.S.A.), which really means by professional skate legend and V.S.A. President, Jesse Martinez, and his helpers.

After working for over 20 years to erect a skatepark in what many believe is the birth place of skateboarding, Venice finally got its skate home in 2009, and skaters have been tearing it up ever since. Which is why the maintenance of the park is such a big deal. Many places have skateparks put in by well-meaning skate companies and foundations, or grants or whatever, but then they leave and it's up to whomever else is left to keep it up and running. Venice Skatepark is on Park and Recreation (City of L.A.) territory, but no one from the city has ever stepped a foot into the park to clean it. Ever. ALL the clean up and maintenance of the park is done by beyond dedicated, hard working and meaning it volunteers (hmm ... kind of like The Beachhead).

The head of these volunteers is the very reluctant interviewee, Mr. Martinez. He's out there seven days a week, before dawn, cleaning up the sand, glass, piss, blood, booze, graffiti, and whatever else winds up in the bowls of the skatepark overnight. I don't think people really know how much work this takes, and that the skatepark isn't just magically sparkling pristine and perfectly skateable every day on its own.

I'm impressed to my core that someone of such legendary skate stature as Martinez (which he completely down-plays every time it comes up - and it comes up a lot down at the skatepark) is the one that willingly gets up at 4 a.m. every day to make sure the park that he and his friends all worked so hard for so long to bring to life, is given the respect it deserves. As impressed as I am though, Martinez isn't. He suggested I go interview a guy who lives down the street from him, a doctor, "that saves kids. THAT'S someone worth interviewing ...". As much as I admire his true humility, I would also argue that Martinez, in his own way, also saves kids.

Kids that - because of him - have somewhere safe to skate, which in turn, may be saving them from a more thug life, like the one Martinez came from, and feels that skateboarding really saved him from. He rejected gang life for skate life, and has dedicated most every waking moment to that end. Injured now (ankle), and a couple healing months away from shredding at his normal level, you can feel Martinez just aching to be in there, as he watched the others skate a few days ago, offering pointers (like leaning forward when you drop in, not back. That might have helped me out years ago ...) and encouragement. You can also feel the very tangible respect all the kids down there have for Martinez. Respect not just for his Pro/Dogtown/Bones Brigade status, but for the fact that they can feel the deep care he has for the park, the up and comer skaters, and for skating itself, and that respect is infectious (if also a little fear-based, as no one wants to get chewed out by Martinez and Company).

That respect is there because of the specter of Venice's skate past. Dogtown, Z Boys, the Bones Brigade ... all those guys had was the streets and the pools, and look what they did with it! They created a legendary time, legendary tricks and styles, and legendary names for themselves. Now that today's skaters have a beautiful skatepark, perfectly kept and maintained by one of their own, they need to step it up, and represent VENICE, like the guys before them did. Martinez remembers when every contest they went to, it seemed like every other name called was "So and So - Venice, California!" Now you're lucky if you hear of one or two competitors called out for Venice. With that gorgeous park as their home turf, we'd like to see some new legends coming out of here. And not just coming out of here, but respecting it on the same level as the guys before them did. Which also means helping. If you appreciate that you get to have this unreal, super clean, amazing view, skate mecca as your home park, maybe you'd like to give back a little too - take turns helping on a dawn patrol clean-up one day a week. Push yourselves to charge it, and not just because you want a cool sponsor or a rad photo in a magazine, but because you love it to your core, like they used to and still do. Have PRIDE, like they used to, and still do. They knew what they represented back then. That is how you stand the test of time. And the Dogtown guys still do, which is why THEY are giving back now, in so many ways.

The reason why they're giving back, is to keep that legacy going into the future, to raise another generation of pros from Venice, and to keep the Venice skate scene vibrant and exciting. This is the home of some of the best skaters of all time EVER, and that fact is honored and built upon every day that our skatepark exists.

 

And it exists in large part because of the V.S.A. In talking to Lauren Wiley of the V.S.A., I was very surprised to learn that here is no help from the City of L.A. or Park and Recs with the maintenance. When film crews shoot at the skatepark, they are charged a clean-up fee, which the V.S.A. never sees, nor do they see anyone else out there doing the fee-charged cleaning. When the V.S.A. wants to put on a contest or an event, they are charged for expensive permits and a usage fee by the City - for their own park that they use every day. These fees can run into the thousands, making it hard to pay for simple things like cleaning supplies (which also do not come from the City - but from donations and the V.S.A.'s own pockets), never mind putting on the contests themselves, or even paying a small salary to the guys out there keeping it all clean and safe. They don't see a dime as it stands now, and that just doesn't feel right. Not when they work so hard, and the park is such a tourist attraction, and when it provides such a home away from home for so many of our local kids. Though the V.S.A. is extremely grateful and appreciative for any help they do get from the City, Park and Recs, the "awesome" lifeguards, the LAPD Pacific Division, Councilman Rosendahl (a champion for the skatepark from day one), and from various local business donations, I'm pretty sure we can do better for it, as a community. Like Martinez said, "ALL locals should look out for their neighborhood." Of course.

By doing better, I mean getting more involved. Local businesses can be sponsoring events at the skatepark. Local parents, grateful that their kids have a safe, fun - and FREE - place to hang out, could be donating, taking their turn doing some clean-up, organizing fundraisers so that the kids can have contests (like the one coming up in early 2013 for slalom and the crowd-pleasing Highest Ollie!), attend away contests, get prizes, have a summer camp where kids learn to surf and skate ... and the good ideas just keep flowing. Those kinds of cool things are so possible, but they also cost money. Money that is as scarce at the skatepark as it is most everywhere else, but this is a place where you can actually see the few dollars they do have in action.

Ideally, it would be great to have the skatepark take in enough donations and monies earned from contests, summer camps, etc .. that they can be entirely self-sufficient and not have to worry about scrounging funds up from the City and grants and all that to do anything. The V.S.A. has already saved the City multi-thousands of dollars, because if they had to employ (and they would HAVE to) a couple full-time city workers to maintain the park, that would add up in a hurry, especially at the pre-dawn hours that it all has to be done. It would help to actually see those clean-up fees that the city collects from shoots used for clean-up - that they aren't is shady, in my opinion. It would also help to NOT charge those usage fees for use of their own park - that just doesn't make sense, Park and Recs, C'mon! Let's give them a little break. So much good can be done, with just a very little help.

SO much good. I talked to V.S.A. member and the pretty much lone consistent volunteer, Victor Blue, who like Martinez, was born and raised -and hell-raised - his whole life in Venice. After a life of trouble-making, Blue got into skating, which led him to spending pretty much all day, every day at the skatepark, giving back and helping out today's skaters. "I get to be a good example here," Blue told me, after sharing a story about how a local mother interrupted a meeting to find out who this "Mr. Blue" was that her kid had been talking about so much. She wanted to thank him for putting her son on the right path, with his counsel and support every day down at the park. As Blue sees it, "The skatepark is the brightest spot in Venice right now ... this park was built to stop destroying other areas ... and you can see the positivity down here spread through Venice like a virus." Let it!

This sentiment was echoed by local skater, Sean Vasquez, who told me that he loves to come skate Venice because "It's one of the nicest skateparks around, it's really well-kept and smooth, which makes your skating better." He went on to say that "It's all about the friendships, and the good vibes. Who wouldn't want to skate on the beach?" I think Martinez and Blue and Wiley alike would be happy to hear that Vasquez also said, "I just come here to relax and skate. This place keeps kids here skating, instead of on the streets getting into trouble ... I do it for the love of skating, which is a lifestyle, not a trend." If Vasquez's sentiments are the common ones held by today's skaters, Martinez may be able to rest a little easier.

But he won't. Because he has to get up at 4 a.m. to go clean the park all over again. Please think about that the next time you cruise past the wonderful Venice Skatepark, remember how it got that way, and consider what you can do to help preserve and protect both the history and the future of skating in Venice.

Thank you in advance.



*Beautiful opening and closing skatepark photos + Jesse Martinez air one by www.rayraepix.com

FINALLY!! Venice gets itself a Skatepark!

"It's about time, Man! THANK YOU!!!" was the shout from the man next to me at the ribbon cutting for the Grand Opening of the Venice Beach Skate Plaza, and the sentiment of absolutely every other person in attendance, and probably around the world. Venice is pretty much the HOME of Skateboarding (Dogtown, and Ghosttown before that ...) and it's been long overdue in having a real home for skateboarders to call their own.


October 3, 2009 put an end to all that - after many years of hard work, fundraising and red-tape, the Dennis "Polar Bear" Agnew Skatepark is now open! It was a perfectly glorious morning, and hundreds of people were out at the beach to celebrate this monumental occasion. The mood was purely jubilant all around, and I strongly felt the absence of my brother, Paul, who is in Australia at the moment. He has been a Skateboarder for most of his life, putting up with grief from the jock dudes in high school, building half-pipes in our backyard (that scarred half the neighborhood in Minnesota, including me trying to drop in and face-planting on the bottom ... but the fun was worth it!), getting in trouble all over town for not being able to resist that perfect railing, and sticking with it until this very day, watching the sport grow until now there's even little tiny girls out there getting air in a bunny eared helmet. He now lives straight up the street about half a block from the Skatepark, and when he gets back, he is going to be THRILLED. As was everyone present last Saturday.

It was the full Official ceremony, complete with National Anthem, God Bless America, and a "21 Gun Salute" - which was really some guys from the VSA, (whose organization really made the entire thing possible) who marched out like military guys and banged their skateboard decks against the concrete 21 times. Rad.

After a Native American blessing and remarks from the various politicians involved, Professional Skateboarder Jesse Martinez spoke to roars from his peers and fans ("Dogtown brought the Big Dog" was one shout). He has been focused on this project for 30 years, and seemed pretty emotional about this day, for good reason. He comes from the days when you could get arrested for skateboarding, and said that now the Third and Fourth Generation of Dogtown kids can come here to skate without dealing with any of the B.S. , and enjoy a brighter future for Venice. It was also an example of how "you can make your government work for you. Don't give up on your dreams."


Our Councilman, Bill Rosendahl, said "This Skatepark is another piece of the mosaic of the Venice Coastline", and introduced L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa to cut the ribbon. A huge cheer went up from the crowd, and someone yelled into the mic, "LET'S GO SKATE!!!" Someone got on and said, "The Venice Skatepark is now officially open! Skate your brains out!" And that's exactly what happened.


It was so crowded I don't know if anyone got to have their dream session, but the smiles were wide - from little tiny kids (including my little buddy, Strider Ellis - already sponsored at 6!) to a whole bunch of Pros (another time I wished Paul had been there - he'd know who they all were. I saw Christian Hosoi, Tony Alva, and Jesse Martinez, but I know there were a ton more present. I did not see my favorite OG skater, Natas, but I'm sure he'll be there soon). One teenager guy walked by, with his voice cracking in excitement, "This place is so skate-able, Dude!" I think that's a pretty good endorsement.



I overheard one of the guys who had been on guard-duty of the park while it was being built telling a friend that if any Taggers came near the Skatepark, the least they can expect is broken pointer fingers (making it more difficult to spray-can paint. Yep.), so consider yourselves warned. It's taken so long to come to fruition, I hope that people will respect it as the hallowed ground it should be. And it's FREE!! I'm so excited for the kids of Venice (and visiting Venice), that they can enjoy a lifetime sport, and now have a home court from which to learn and excel. I love the contrast of old school Venice guys, now holding their little babies ... seeing the traditions being passed down and honored. That's what keeps Venice, Venice.


There have been people flying above the park all weekend since the opening, and I don't see it letting up any time soon. Get down there and see what hard work and perseverance can build! Be dazzled by the skills and athleticism of this sport that has earned its place alongside any other. Be proud of your Community! Get out there and try it yourself! (I might even give it another go now ... or not, but it's so great it makes you want to at least try.) Again, it's about time!! Skate your brains out!!