My name is Josh and I work with Skate Laramie. Skate Laramie is a nonprofit organization based out of Laramie Wyoming. Our mission began out of a necessity for upkeep on our local skatepark. While fostering an amazing group of athletes, the parks dated design also limited athlete progression and the amount of safe users. We started planning for an update in 2014, the same year we started our free learn-to-skate programming. We have been working to build and support our athletic community through programming and infrastructure ever since.

Wyoming is the best state for outdoor recreation. Many of this state's resources are limited to those with access and knowledge. Skateparks offer a gateway to all citizens to not only enjoy a safe controlled environment to recreate outdoors but to learn the etiquette of shared use space and be a part of a the outdoor athletic community. We hope that our athletes will fall in love with outdoor recreation and that this most accessible space will give them the foot in the door needed to confidently access all the resources this state has to offer.

Personally, skateboarding was an early creative influence for me and it taught me a different way of seeing the world. It has been very rewarding to foster those skills in my community and to create spaces that foster personal and community growth for our athletes. That's exactly what being an American is to me. Building a community and seeing it have outreach that is bigger than me.