Keeping teens happy with play
Its a tough task keeping teenagers happy, but we meet a charity doing just that as youngsters get to create their own skateboards
THE sky’s the limit for skateboarding company FooARage, but it all started with something 18ft long.
While most people have a bench, some interesting shrubs or a gnome in their back garden, Brent and Nicola Lewis opted for a skateboard ramp.
The huge 4ft wide structure, which was built by Brent in 2011 for one of their three sons, still dominates the outdoor space in Brooklands Road, Larkfield. But two years on, it has also inspired much more.
Following the ramp’s construction, the couple decided to start the country’s first professional skateboard building school and now offer tailored workshops to communities throughout the UK.
But the gutsy pair had a fight on their hands to get it off the ground.
Nicola said: “Skateboards have been around since the 1950s but no one’s done this professionally in the UK before.”
But perseverance paid off and the firm now claims to be one of the only DIY board companies in the world.
“A good skateboard costs between £40 and £100 but these young people can make their own, and put their own stamp on them.”
The venture is a real family operation, the couple’s middle son came up with the name – amalgamating band names Foo Fighters and Rage Against the Machine – while both parents run the business. Brent’s teaching and building experience is the perfect partner for Nicola’s business brain and dogged determination.
Carbon footprint
The courses, which were recently offered by Tonbridge and Malling council’s Activate holiday programme, encompass Maths, English, Science, Art, Design and Technology. Young people are shown how to build the Canadian maple wood veneer boards, create their own designs – and then take them home.
Nicola said: “It very exciting. We are in the process of tailoring programs for schools to re-engage those who need it most to build skills. We have a lot of children with extra educational needs and this supports their learning.
“Also, the average skateboard does 1,800 miles a year. That is what you call fitness and green travel. We are saving the carbon footprint by getting people engaged in this sport.
“The young people receive accredited awards at the end of their course and can be peer mentors and pass on the skills they have learnt at other workshops.”
The next step for the company is a program for young business entrepreneurs to start there own skateboard design business.
Also on the horizon, FooARage Skateboard Company has been shortlisted in the Newspaper Society’s Local Business Accelerators competition, the winner of which will receive a year’s mentoring from Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden.
Nicola said: “We are proud of what we’re doing and have clear evidence and know it is making a difference. It is something that will help young people create something of their own.”