‘It gave me purpose’

KAPAHI — Growing up for Danny Way was not easy.

For at least part of his childhood, the Portland, Ore., native grew up in a home with domestic violence, drugs and alcohol around him.

Feeling like an outcast in school, at times, didn’t help, either.

But what helped him overcome all of that, Way said, was his skateboard and his friends who shared the same love of the sport.

“Skateboarding was my vehicle away from all of that,” Way said. “It was a healthy outlet for me — it gave me purpose, it gave me the ability to be creative and all these different things that I couldn’t find at home.”

It is a buttress that helped the now 39-year-old professional skateboarder pursue his passion and reach new heights in his career, including opening up his own lifestyle brand, Plan B Skateboards, and holding the record for the longest recorded skateboard ramp jump, according to Guinness World Records.

“It’s my first love and it’s still my passion till this day,” Way said on Wednesday to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Kauai members at Kapaa Elementary School, where he and Kauai Skate Ohana volunteers helped the children build skateboards for them to keep.

“The community of skateboarding and the community organizations that I was involved in as a kid gave me a second home essentially,” he added. “I felt like I was a part of a community.”

Way, who splits his time between his home in Encinitas, Calif. and the Eastside and North Shore areas of Kauai, said he now wants to provide that same opportunity by revitalizing the skate area in Kapaa New Town Park.

That conversation, he said, dates back at least six years ago, when some of his friends in the community were trying to drum up some support for more skate areas.

“As we move forward and we get the concrete plans, we’re looking to redo the Kapaa skate rink,” Department of Parks and Recreation Director Lenny Rapozo said to the Kauai County Council during a recent public meeting. “For one thing, it’s an established use and we want to make it safer and more state-of-the-art and what better way to do it than guys who know the sport and do the sport.”  

Restoration and upgrades for the county-maintained park would be designed and funded, at least in part, by Way’s newly formed nonprofit, The Danny Way Foundation.

Although specific cost estimates haven’t been nailed down just yet, Way said his foundation is committed to getting the skate area rebuilt.

Kauai Skate Ohana is currently working with the County of Kauai to obtain grant money for some of the material costs. The Danny Way Foundation, he said, will work with Kauai Skate Ohana to raise the rest of the funds needed to complete the rebuild.

“There has been a little bit of a movement on the Big Island and on Oahu, and I feel Kauai should be on the same level as the rest of the communities as far as being able to provide a facility that is world-class,” Way said. “It gives kids the chance to be a part of something that has a foundation so that they can be on the level as some of the kids or professional skateboarders that they look up to.”

The skate park in its current condition, Way said, provides a place for skaters to practice their skills but lacks the diverse terrain and objects for kids to emulate what they would see in skate videos or magazines.

“Those kind of parks, may be at the time when it was built, made sense, but in this era, it’s cool that it’s a designated spot, but that spot is not going to produce any well-progressed talent,” he explained. “There’s only so much you can learn there.”

The event also gave kids a chance to build a skateboard.

It was the first time that 10-year-old Kailani Reyes had the chance to assemble a skateboard but not the only time she has ridden one.

“It was fun and I enjoyed making a skateboard,” Reyes said. “The most fun part was getting a signature from him (Way).”

Kauai Skate Ohana volunteer Mark Cooper said having an upgraded park on Kauai is especially important on Kauai because the lack of facilities sometimes force kids to skate in the streets or on private property.

“It gives kids a good reason to explore outside of their communities,” Fellow volunteer Todd Anderson said. “It gives them a reason to go travel somewhere to skateboard and the motivation in general to do things besides hang out at home.”

And it’s good character-building activity, too, Cooper said.

“There’s something to be said for a kid trying a trick and not landing it, not landing it and then landing it,” he explained. “It teaches them persistence and it teaches them to get up and try again when they fail.”  

The design process, Way said, will begin shortly and should be finished within the next several weeks.

For more information, visit The Danny Way Foundation website at: www.dannywayfoundation.org.