Pillage at the Park

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – A youth skateboarding competition was at a local park for the first time in nearly a decade.

A skate party and competition was held at the South Zanesville Village Park Sunday. Event Coordinator, Robert Riggins said he is happy to see the community uniting because, it took an army to bring it together.

“It’s means a lot to us to actually have the city looking at us in a positive light rather a group of mislead youth teenagers that have a bad perception that was labeled over the whole genre of skateboarding, to actually turn it to a face to show that we are here to support people. Are culture is a culture that teaches independence, self development and diversity,” said Riggins. “It’s quite rewarding it shows that all of your hard work is really paying off.”

16 year old Keith Fitzpatrick explains how his mentor Lou Miller got him interested in the sport and how it changed his life.

“He came up to me came up to me and I had this really Walmart board and I didn’t know how to do anything and he would take me outside and we would go down to kids and we would skate all the time. He just pushed me to do it,” said Fitzpatrick. “Since I learned the mentality to keep going, it helped me with everything else to.”

Fitzpatrick said he’s happy to be apart of the competition and is looking to leave here as the first place winner.