Written by Shannon Driscoll
Photos taken at the Berrics by Erin Blinn & Josh Russell

Special thanks to UPRISE, the Berrics, Erin Blinn & Josh Russell

“i thought, that’s the most stupidest idea i ever heard.  but fuck it, i’m down.”

was the first thought of 18 year old angel alvarado when he heard the plan.  the plan was to get out of the city, as far out as they could, across the country… by skate board.

..determination.

it started with a literal run in with the cops.  a smashed leg and a new metal rod.  alex got smoked by thecop.  but as life often goes, this set back made a great thing possible.  the settlement that ensued gave alex the opportunity to set sail across the country with a group of pals.  fresh out of high school.  on the fifteenth of june, 2010 six kids set out from chicago fueled with determination on their skate boards.

they skated from chicago to san diego.  literally, and when they weren’t skating they walked.  mostly along route 66.  walking up the mountains, skating down them (crashes were plenty), skating across deserts and plains towards san diego.

but before the courageous boys had even escaped chicagoland, mike was struck by an oncoming car. (getting hit by cars seems to be a bit of a theme in this story).  don’t worry though, they’re both up and skating towards san diego at this very moment.  but this blow leaves mike back in chicago for a couple of months.  another one of the boys took the opportunity to catch a ride back to town in mike’s rescue car, leaving four for the trip.  angel, pawel, alex and andy redistributed the 90 pounds of equipment between themselves and set out again, undaunted and determined.

..motivation.

it was an escape. in one form or another for each person on the mission.  an escape from what life as they knew it had to offer to them.  and a chance to see what else might exist.  each skated away from perpetuating misery in some fashion.  some of them skated away from the unrestful ideals of the city; “the coffee, ties, suits and hating life”.  others had used skateboarding as an escape from gang life.  “if it weren’t for skateboarding, i’d probably be gangbanging.”  skateboarding was not only angel’s first love, chances are good that it was his saving grace.  Having the support of his older sister and a few friends he continued doing what he wanted, facing heavy opposition.

so standing opposed to what they knew to be true, the young men set about to do something bigger. their weapons of choice included 16  63mm. wheels, 4 decks, 1 set of new bearings each (reds will apparently last 18,000+ miles), a portable grill, a crappy hand held GPS and some camping gear. they skated for the most part straight across route 66 and on a good day they would get about 60 miles.  when it was raining, or they were climbing up a pass, they walked.  as the daylight hours decreased with the onset of winter they made about 40 miles a day, avoiding anymore car accidents.

by the time they made it to colorado mike had healed enough from his run-in to jump on a board again.  he set out in his pick up truck and met up with everyone.  another friend was acquired for the trip in colorado.  ryan joins the crew, catching a train and escaping his own troubles at home.

to overcome life with the vigor and determination of an 18 year old involves much.… countless crashes,  snake holes,  lots of canned food,  walks up mountains,  police run-ins,  a yellow ball,  a grandma in the desert,  turning 19,  meeting heros, and most of all continuing to do what you want, no matter who’s telling you, you cannot.  this is precisely the ingredients these young men mixed for the adventure.  they stopped together in the deserts of Arizona and visit a friend’s grandma.  the vortexes of sedona are a more spiritual stop on the journey… maybe not as spiritual though as the berrics.

the berrics is a small private skate park, owned by and for the most part reserved to skate board professionals.  the guys at the berrics opened their widely reputed, and highly exclusive doors for the boys.  giovanni reda even said that these kids deserved to be skating there more than any pro and skating the berrics “felt like a dream” angel and mike tell me while holding their heads in disbelief.  they got to meet skaters they had donned their heros as children.  they were invited to come back and skate the next day.  and beyond that they welcomed the guys to camp out that night.  not much sleep was had.

they are hoping to make it home before christmas & surprise their families.  this trip is something that angel and alex are planning on doing again. they are working on getting some sort of sponsorship in order to raise money for a cause.  no one had taken much interest in the group to begin with, not believing they would actually skate across the country.  (now impossible to deny though with proof of daily footage), the skaters are hoping to be able to attract more attention next time around.  the cause is to be determined but may possibly be to create a skate park specifically for troubled youth of chicago.  chicago is one of the most violent cities in the u.s. for children and students with much of this violence stemming from gangs.  skate parks are located scarcely through the city to date.  most of those that do exist are a luxury and few cater in any way to kids who cannot pay a fairly hefty price to skate.  angel and his brother-in-law are also in the process of starting up their own skateboard company.  keep an eye out for ‘first love’ boards in the future.