Photostory: Warren Wilson’s Skate Club

Quinn Bonney & Anabelle Puttbach | September 23, 2021

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Jason Kern ollieing a four stair outside of Spidel.

“The whole purpose of the skate club is to have a good time with everyone, have fun,” Kern said. “Everyone is working on their own levels of progression, it's meant to be welcoming; we don’t always have extra boards around, but when we do we like to provide them for new members. The whole goal is to have fun skateboarding and with friends.”

Wyatt Edmondson and Anabelle Puttbach in the Devries parking lot, colloquially known as the Dust Bowl, for Skate Club.

“Skate club wants to be for everybody,” said Kern. “If you’re ever feeling like you want to try something new feel free to come out. Some days it’s less busy than others, but if you try and make an effort. There will be really good days with lots of people and lots of extra boards. We want people to see skateboarding as this exciting beautiful thing and not as a nuisance. A lot of people think of skateboarding and skating as troublemakers.”

Jayden Roberts hitting a kick flip out of a 50-50 grind.

Roberts exiting a nose grind.

“I’ve been skating since sophomore year of high school, so I guess since I was fifteen,” said Roberts on his experience with skateboarding. “It’s the best outlet for me creatively and physically. There is no one telling you how to skateboard, you do it how you want to. In that sense you can take so many different avenues of skateboarding that have already been paved, like street, vert, or bowl. You can just make your own style from all the styles. Sometimes I’ll just go skate at night because I can’t sleep or am stressed.”

Puttbach, an avid skateboarder and photographer, reviewing pictures taken at Skate Club.

She is planning on pursuing a career in skate photography. Her inspiration is Rhino aka Chris Rooney.

“I love skate culture and documenting it,” Puttbach said. “It’s really cool what people can do with enough time and effort.”

Roberts mid tre flip. When asked about Skate Club, he spoke about wanting to help others learn.

“Please come, I love to teach people how to skate,” Roberts said. “I never had a teacher growing up, which is sometimes really good for people, but it’s also really nice to have some tips when trying to ollie or land your first trick. Just talking with people helps you understand and wrap your head around the physics of skateboarding.“

Kern in a manual.

“The most frustrating part about skating is I’m not a very patient person and skateboarding takes a lot of patience, you really have to go at it regularly to see improvement. I’ve been skating for 6 years and I'm constantly thinking of things I could do better and looking forward. I forget the best part is just enjoying it and having a good time.” said Kern.

Puttbach in a boneless 180.

Roberts tormenting the photographer.

Puttbach hitting a nose-stall sex change on the box.