Chris and Bryce in the News!! Aug 12th, 2004
KRIS SHERMAN; The News Tribune
Peter Whitley stood at the precipice of the concrete bowl, casually dropped his skateboard over the edge, jumped on and zoomed down, across, up, down and around an unyielding surface that could leave moms shaking their heads and orthopedic surgeons wincing.
His skill, timing and athletic maneuvers made the short run around the Milltown Commons Skatepark in Milton appear effortless - and a bit spectacular.
A half-dozen teenagers, their inline skates stilled for the moment, stood at the top of the bowl, shouting encouragement and appreciation.
But the man who's at least twice their age wasn't satisfied with his work.
"That wasn't too gnarly," he declared.
At 38, Peter Whitley is one of the South Sound's "elder skatesmen," a skateboarding enthusiast who enjoys his sport as much as other adults who spend their nights and weekends on basketball courts and baseball diamonds.
But he does a lot more than zip around on his skateboard.
Some afternoons, you might find him helping other skateboarders scour graffiti or pick up litter from area skate parks. Evenings, he might be meeting with parks and City Council officials, devising ways to bring more skate parks to the area or suggesting safety improvements in those already in use. Or, he might be on the phone, seeking money to buy helmets for young skateboarders in need.
Whitley, along with longtime skateboarder Matt Levens and other enthusiasts in their 20s, 30s and 40s, is working to bring more public acceptance, safety and accessibility to a sport that's often the subject of adult complaints.
The art director for Wizards of the Coast game company and father of 8- and 10-year-old sons sees his volunteer work as a way to improve the sport he's loved for 25 years while helping young people do something constructive.
More than a year ago, Whitley and a group of adult skateboarders who were rankled over a proposed skateboarding ban downtown began meetings aimed at bringing an extreme skate park to Tacoma.
Now, the committee includes City Councilman Bill Evans, parks planner Lois Stark and others who are "trying to find spaces for kids who are involved in the fastest-growing sport in the country," Evans said.
Whitley and friends have brought a needed perspective and expertise to the quest, Evans and Stark said.
Stark, Metro Parks' chief planner, doesn't know whether an "extreme" skate park is feasible, but officials are examining the possibility, which "depends on scale and timing."
If voters approve a $60 million parks bond Nov. 2, she expects some of that money will go to improving neighborhood skate parks and possibly developing a larger facility.
But Whitley and friends haven't stopped there.
"They're the full package," Stark said. "They're volunteering to help at existing facilities, to keep up the quality and maintenance, to help young kids improve their skills, and they're working with safety issues. They're really looking at the full picture, and that's what's exciting."
Claudia Lengenfelder, a nurse who directs the inpatient acute rehabilitation center at St. Joseph Medical Center, appreciates their work, too.
Whitley recently worked with Lengenfelder for the donation of about 50 high-impact helmets from the national Think First program. He calls it "Shells for Peanuts." She calls it a good-sense way to prevent a devastating brain injury.
"Obviously kids are more likely to listen" to someone like Whitley who actually does the sport than a nurse who doesn't, she said.
Those young men perched on their inline skates at the Milton Park, waiting for Whitley to finish his run, agreed.
"That's cool," agreed 12-year-old Bryce Castleton.
"Those 'aggressive' helmets are really good," added 13-year-old Tani Ghuman, ripping off his headgear to show where the inside "got wrecked" in a bicycle accident.
Last week, Whitley worked alongside 16-year-old skater David Rasmussen to scrub graffiti from the Milton park, Rasmussen said.
"We've got to change the whole image of skate parks," said Seth Ivers, a 27-year-old Parkland skateboarder who volunteers at the skate park run by Elk Plain Community Church.
Most kids who skate or skateboard behave themselves, Ivers said. And it's a good way to give at-risk kids a healthy alternative to trouble.
It's also a good way for adults to exercise their bodies as well as their sense of community, Whitley says.
OK, but what about that old the-bigger-they-are-the-harder-they-fall thing?
"I may not be as gnarly as I used to be, but I still have a good time," said a well-padded Whitley. "It's wonderful. It gets your heart rate up. It's kinetic. It's a great time."