Project Fresno Skateboard Salvage - Documentary
https://www.fresnoskateboardsalvage.org/
This is a passion project of mine that I have been working on for way too long. It's easy to get caught up trying to make the most perfect end product that you never get around to actually finishing it. Fresno Skateboard Salvage has really evolved over the years of me working on this project and that's a great thing, but makes it hard to really encapsulate everything Rodney and Fresno Skateboard Salvage has done into one video, but hopefully this film can inform you on it's early days and show how far it has come.
I grew up skating in Fresno, Ca as a teen and when I found out about Rodney's project I knew it was something that had to be shared as much as possible.
Fresno Skateboard Salvage is a not-for-profit organization that provides skateboards and skateboard accessories to underprivileged kids in the city of Fresno, CA. Our purpose is keep them from going down a destructive path in their young lives and to provide a positive outlet and family environment with other skaters.
Rodney Rodriguez is an avid skateboarder who has been skateboarding for the past 30+ years. As a young man, Rodney found refuge from an unstable and often abusive family environment in skateboarding. Being from an impoverished childhood environment himself, Rodney found it difficult to afford new skateboards and often had to resort to finding damaged boards or stealing good boards to fuel this sport that he credits for not only saving his own life, but changing his world view for others. Rodney’s upbringing is a major influence as to how Fresno Skateboard Salvage was started and his passion for this cause is daily fueled by his own connection with the kids he hands these boards out to. They remind him of his younger self.
Fresno Skateboard Salvage’s purpose is to pass this passion onto neighboring kids who were just like Rodney: kids who want to get involved in the skateboard scene, but can’t afford it. Fresno Skateboard Salvage allows them to pursue their passion of skateboarding.
How did Rodney derive the idea of Fresno Skateboard Salvage? With the advent of the skate park, it became common for people of various ages, economic backgrounds, and demographics to intermingle in a central environment and share a common love of a sport. With this environment, it is very common to find older skaters providing their extra accessories and boards to younger skaters who are in need of an upgrade. Rodney has essentially organized this process and now is keeping it consistent. The young people that Fresno Skateboard Salvage are benefiting are getting whole boards and not just pieces that they are unable to do anything with.
Rodney continues to skate today and can often be found at the local skate parks on Saturday and Sunday mornings battering his body for the sport he loves and handing out boards to kids in need.
