Ride It Sculpture Park, Detroit

Photo: Joe Gall Photography

Relatively speaking, I am not too far from Detroit. It is only a couple of hours away. Whenever I have gone to Detroit, I've always been quite amazed by the sight of the abandoned homes, commercial buildings, even multi-story buildings that have no windows. I have a friend who is from there -- born and raised -- and so he's taken me through some of these areas more than once. It's quite a surreal thing admittedly, and yet at the same time, you can also witness some absolutely glorious pieces of architecture peeking out from behind some of that -- the classic example perhaps being Michigan Central Station. When you see that, you both get an echo of what Detroit was, and also a sense of what it can once again become.

I mention all of this in relation to an initiative that has recently come to my attention by way of the @TonyHawkFoundation and the @RideChannel. It details a skatepark success story in Detroit, one which the Tony Hawk Foundation has been a part of, and which Tony Hawk himself has visited. Take a watch. Be inspired.