Watch out, Tony Hawk: Here comes Brian Powderly.
Powderly, 10, and his brother Sean are regular visitors to State of Confusion Skatepark in Rosedale, where there are more than enough ramps and rail grinds for skaters to bust all the ollies, transfers and fakies they want.
“During the week I only get to skate two hours a day, but on Saturday I skate for six hours,” the Pinewood fifth-grader said before he sped down the vertical wall of a half-pipe.
But Powderly hasn?t always been dropping-in to half-pipes. He started the way most skaters do, with a board and a small jump called an ollie. Like Powderly, some people are just born to skate. Tony Hawk, the great X-Games champion and inventor of many of today?s moves, was one. And so is 8-year-old Joey Hornish, who is the youngest team skater for State of Confusion.
How good is Hornish? Good enough to be sponsored, said Beau Barlow, manager of State of Confusion.
“He even has his own prodigy model skateboard that we sell in our store,” Barlow said. “Joey just got back from a competition where he placed in the top 10.”
Brandon Strosser, 15, is another team skater for Skate of Confusion. He and his father drive all the way down from Lancaster, Pa., to get to Rosedale. That?s about 150 miles round-trip. That?s dedication.
“Brandon has already been here three times this week,” said his dad, Burnie Strosser. “He wants me to build him his own park behind the house.”
Brandon can do aerial tricks and drops-in to the half-pipe, leading with his nondominate foot. Not easy. “I used to do handstands on skateboards,” his dad said.
So, what makes skating so exciting? “For me it?s the suspense of not knowing what trick I?m going to do next,” Powderly said, after finishing a run that included sliding down a handrail on his skateboard.
For more information, call the skate park at 410-391-8440.
Skateboarding terms
Air » Ride a skateboard into the air, land it and continue on
Bail » An intentional fall
Fakie » Going backward
Hang » Catch the back wheels as the board re-enters the ramp
Half-pipe » A wooden ramp on which a skateboard is ridden
Ollie » The basis for most skateboard tricks. The back foot smacks the tail of the board against the ground while the front foot pulls the board up into the air
Transfer » Changing from rail to rail or ramp to ramp
Tweak » Bending or contorting the body and board during a skateboard maneuver
