In 1995 two life changing experiences took place for me. The first was believing in Jesus, and the second was the accumulation 13 dollars, which purchased my first skateboard. Some kids are ostracized because of being that they aren’t athletic, pretty, tall, or whatever. For me social stigma developed because I had become a Christian, and wanted to do things differently because of my friends. So, when high school came around I was cool with everybody, but I never got invites to parties, or whatever. Looking back I think those people probably viewed me as some kind of vehicle for God’s judgment, but all I wanted was to be their friend.
I grew up skateboarding, and skateboarding a lot, because I had nothing else going on. Skateboarding brought me into a community of people that have treated me better than some of my own family. In 2006 Jason Brown was running N:CE Skateboards in Louisville, KY. We met each other, and became partners in crime. It was this connection that gave me my connection in Daytona Beach. Before coming to Daytona, I asked Morgan McDole if I would find out what Dirt City was (I had no idea), she confidently sent a MySpace message:
----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: wesley
Date: Feb 15, 2008 12:24 PM
Dirt city? Im going to find out about that?
everything still good for the seventh? “
Morgan, told the truth - I did find “out about that”. While I was in Dirt City:
· Thousands of bikers partied in the streets
· Benji Galloway skated Stone Edge with groms (and he liked it)
· grinded pool coping for hours
· The GE Jam went down (tons shredding). Good Job Dug, Aly, Kyle etc.!
· Kids made fun of my glasses by calling me Bob Burnquist
· saw footage of Stone Edge in the eighties
· lived off of Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, and MaxWell House coffee
· Over heard O.G. Dirt guys talking about the back whens
· Sustained minor trauma to all four limbs
· Made friends
· Met Ryan Sheckler -the Heckler version
· Partied at the Stone Edge house
· Didn’t miss Chicago, or Home
To summarize, Dirt City is a lot of things to a lot of people, and to me that’s the beauty of that place. The nine bowl at Stone Edge has been thrashed for nearly two decades! Personally, the grom rippers got annoying, but man they ripped, and kept a good vibe going. So, In Dirt City I found all the things missing from my earlier skate days: friends, multi-generational shredding, and a quality park.
------ Wes is a good visitor...he just wants to sk8, so I didn't really have worry about entertaining him. Though, all my sk8 videos have been lost through friends over the years, so I think Osiris's "Feed the Need" lost the "get pumped" effect after watching it ten times. Everyday he came home with a new cut. Mad props. So here are a few 9-bowl shots, a typical day, in the hot FLA heat. ~Morgan
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