When I was growing up, I had a launch ramp and a waxed curb in front of my house. This ramp/curb combo was the "go to" place where my friends and I used to hold skate sessions every dry day of the year. Fast-forward to present time and today's kids have the option to go to the local skatepark and learn tricks on perfect transitions, ledges and handrail set-ups - it's a big step up from curbs and homemade launch ramps

The parks are getting better, the kids are getting better, and the level of tricks and progression is through the roof. Could it be true, then, that we owe the progression of skateboarding to those companies and people that build skateboard parks?  It's a bold statement, but not far from the truth in my opinion. Looking back at my launch ramp days, I can't help but wonder what it would have been like to grow up with a legit neighborhood park just like the ones that are now commonplace in communities across Canada.

New Line Skateparks is one of Canada's leading park designers, but have a global scope, developing parks world-wide. They've also worked with the likes of Rob Dyrdek, creating both the epic set-up for his Fantasy Factory MTV series, and his "safe skate spots" built in various locations in Los Angeles, California. I spoke with New Line's president of skatepark development, Kyle Dion, to get some insight into how New Line has grown and what's coming next. After reading this interview (which is broken into two parts), I'm sure you'll agree that today's skateboarders are in very good hands.

When was New Line started and how did the whole idea come about?
New Line was incorporated in 2001 after we finished our first park, the Ben Lee skatepark in Kelowna, BC. At first we were just a few independent guys who owned an indoor skatepark at a curling rink. That didn't end up working out because the rent was too high and it was hard to keep it going throughout the summer. Luckily we ended up getting an opportunity to sub-consult in designing the original Port Coquitlem skatepark out here in Vancouver. After doing that project we thought: this is the time to do the parks right. We needed to design and build them, because the contractors end up messing up the finished project, and it just ends up being all bad.

What are some of the notable projects that you've been involved with?
Right now we are working projects in Seattle, Texas, Portland, Oregan, Georgia, San Francisco, London, Ontario, and right now we are doing big things in Alberta, in Canmore, Airdrie and Edmonton. As far as the rest of the world, we have projects going on in Santiago, Chile, and in Greece -- they will be Skate Plaza's with the Dyrdek foundation -- and Sweden has three projects on the go. In terms of parks that have been completed by New Line, skaters should go check out the Vancouver Plaza, the Forks park in Winnipeg, Vic West on Vancouver Island, and the Ed Benedict park in Portland, Oregon. We even designed The Fantasy Factory park and the LA Safe Spot skate spots across downtown, working with Rob Dyrdek.

That's an impressive list... Who is involved in the day-to-day operations?
All in all, we have about 25 guys that are with us on a full-time basis. The key people are broken down as follows: Trevor Morgan handles all the client communications and business development, I manage all the construction elements, RJ Dueck and Dwayne Mazereeuw are project managers, Nick Dion and Colin Dion manage the concrete team, and finally Bryant Diachuck, who is the fabrication specialist, ends up supporting all the construction guys by making all the molds.

In addition to building skateparks, what other services do you offer?
We offer consulting and design, which is basically the whole office side of things. There is a team of eight guys that we use for these types of services.  We actually have a partnership with landscape design firm, and we are always working on planning on and designing the upfront process; the idea comes first, then the design, and then the finished product. The consulting process involves meeting with the community, and then coming back with some design options. Once that is complete, we really try to bring in the public process, which involves bringing in clippings from magazines and meeting with the skaters themselves. We feel that the process ends up being successful because of the amount of people that we involve. Our parks are made with real research. That's actually why most skateparks now-a-days are more street-influenced and end up looking like a plaza-type park. There aren't many bowl and pool aspects these days because everything's trending towards transition being incorporated into normal street features.

The Forks, Winnipeg, MB.

In terms of getting things started, who initiates the idea for the park to be built in the first place?
We always end up getting contacted by one of two groups: the city or the skate community itself. Groups within the community end up getting together to lobby for a park and once that happens, the city usually ends up coming to us. We then end up getting hired by the city to go through a design process for the park. If the process is separated, the city ends up having to hire someone to design the park, while the rest of the contract goes out for bid. This is usually where the second part ends up getting messed up, and the park goes to shit! For example, we've learned a lot throughout the years with parks like the Mississauga park. It was designed by us, but not built by us, and that's why the transition is all messed up and there are gaps in the coping. So New Line has a system in place that goes from start to finish. We design differently based on what options people choose to get the park going.

Continue reading in part two.

To find a New Line (or any) skatepark near you, check out our Skatepark Directory. Just search for any of the parks mentioned here, or find your hometown on the map and go from there.

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Related:
Push.ca Skatepark Directory
Building A Better Skatepark With Jim Barnum of Spectrum
In The Park: Vancouver Plaza and Beyond
In The Park: The Schoolyard Park, Mapleridge BC
In The Park: The Michael Komenda Memorial Skatepark (Winnipeg, MB)