have you ever thought about advocating for a snake run??

**skategeezer** · 03-23-2009 05:22 PM

from my blog...

Many of you who read Concrete Wave have probably seen the noteworthy pieces and advertisements from Honey Skateboards. Honey is run by a super nice guy (sorry, no "sweet" puns allowed) called Mike Mahoney. I've known him for a number of years now and he's taken his passion for woodworking and skateboarding and created something quite magical.
Every now and then Mike and I will speak and I find myself agreeing with a lot of what he says. His insights, like many of the people who are involved with CW, are of great value. I spoke with him a few days ago and said - "Mike, this is such a good idea, I am going to blog about it!"
His idea started with the way most ideas start - he was inspired by something he saw. In this case, his jaw dropped when he caught a few minutes of footage at the Kona Skatepark. "Ah, yes, the snake run at Kona" I said. "It's truly amazing" said Mike. "Damn right it is!" I replied.
From here, our conversation really took off!
<em>"Skateparks need to have all kinds of terrain and there should be a real push for more flow. I mean think about how many longboarders are out there who could be riding in parks?"
"Rails and ledges are fine and we can't discount bowls either. But the fact is that a lot of skaters would probably have a great time just charging down a snake run!"</em>
Oddly enough, vert, street and snake run can coexist peacefully.There is a skatepark out in Burnaby (near Vancouver) called Bonsor that has a snake run. It's not huge, but it's freakin' dynamite. Anyone, no matter what level can enjoy this snake run.
I am not going to spend another 5000 words on why we need more skateparks. We do. I also not going to castigate Rob Dyrdyk and his myopic vision - he is providing skaters with something beneficial - but like many in this industry, he refuses to let go of rails and ledges.
So, here is what I'll leave you with: wouldn't it be great if the next 200 skateparks that were in the planning stages HAD a snake run? Can you advocate for this? Well, if you're reading this, chances are you probably could...and it would truly benefit skateboarding...ALL of skateboarding!
Tip o' the hat to you Mike Mahoney!
Want fun?
Get a snake run!

**igotscars** · 03-23-2009 05:26 PM

I would be all over a park if it had a run like that. It looks like it could be super chill and fun or a possible race course(still fun). I've never even seen something lije that. Amazing

**youngblood21** · 03-23-2009 05:32 PM

i wish there was something like this near me, but it was enough of a struggle to convince the city that a skatepark in general was a good idea, but i might try talking to my city about it this spring, see if i cant get something going

**Cirquedaddy** · 03-23-2009 06:05 PM

We are lucky here in Baltimore that Lansdowne survived

But we really need a modern skatepark with some flow.

**Bomb303** · 03-23-2009 06:19 PM

Arvada Co is supposed to be getting a new park soon. Building hasnt been started, but ive seen pics of the proposed park. I wonder if its too late to suggest a snake run to keep longboarders off the street? That may give cops another reason to kick us off streets though... But now that I think about it, Arvada cops havent ever told me to get off the street... Just in neighboring cities.

**oxford** · 03-23-2009 06:24 PM

we have a snake run in sc at derby

**surfdubs** · 03-23-2009 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by oxford

we have a snake run in sc at derby

wheres this?

**oxford** · 03-23-2009 09:02 PM

its at derby which is buy natural bridges its really fun to ride

**Thenowhereman42** · 03-23-2009 10:53 PM

Where I live the city just tore the local skatepark down to build a new one, and its going to have a snake run. I'm not sure how epic it'll be though. Its almost open.

**sk8norcal** · 03-23-2009 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by oxford

its at derby which is buy natural bridges its really fun to ride

derby sucks... bulldoze that thing...

**JerseyJay** · 03-24-2009 08:33 AM

For my peeps in/near jersey, the brigantine snake run -

**Tagsrover** · 03-24-2009 08:52 AM

Snake run at kona was one of the most fun places I've ever skated. If you are ever near Jacksonville florida YOU HAVE TO GO TO KONA. Add a day onto your trip if you have to, it is worth it. And once you ride a snkae run you'll be hooked for life. Sorry for the poor video editing, we just put together our clips. And i almost died at the end, lulz:

YouTube - Kona Skatepark #1

**enemy combatant** · 03-24-2009 10:49 AM

**f.lapper** · 03-24-2009 11:46 AM

BroBowlDoc.com

**Terry Trimble** · 03-24-2009 12:04 PM

Snake runs were in almost every skatepark of the 70's, Their just like ditch skating but faster plus you can race banked slalom on them. I skated a few in the 70's the best for me was the variable Mogul field snake run of Carlsbad skatepark were each run was a different line.

But in the 80's the original Vancouver snake run was fast and awesome to skate.Tijuana was a fun little snake. Bank to giant bowl at Upland was fun for banked slalom racing.

Poway skatepark has great snake run today.

**rawls** · 03-24-2009 09:25 PM

I am tired of talking about snake runs. I have been harping on them every since the new wave of cement parks opened up ~2000. As the cement parks gravitated away from those hideous cement replicas of ramps (talk about counterproductive) and began seeing more and more roundwall, along with all the talk about flow-flow-flow (which was actually a design term coined in 76 by the designer of the Tomoka Moonforest park), the next logical pattern of design is the snake run. Its basically a de-evolution of terrain; which is entirely logical. I dont mean a faux snake run (aka louisville KY, and the like), but a real old style snake run. I submitted several designs that would double as flow area and snakes, depending on the migration of the particular session back around '03. ALso, lets get back to some round lip stuff, to throw that awesome style of terrain back in the mix, while we're at it.

**sk8norcal** · 03-24-2009 10:44 PM

tijuana snakerun...
is that the one in the powell video "public domain"?

**Xgecko** · 03-24-2009 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by sk8norcal

tijuana snakerun...
is that the one in the powell video "public domain"?

yeah I think so, early 90's I skated that park 2-3 weekends a month....soo much fun

**Terry Trimble** · 03-25-2009 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by Xgecko

yeah I think so, early 90's I skated that park 2-3 weekends a month....soo much fun

I skated their almost every weekend back then also. Tijuana snake run was in the Powell Peralta video the skater was Doug Smith. What was cool is it was so compact it basically ended were it started. The cement was old from the 1970's so you need soft orange Kryptonics to skate the place fast. You could bring in your own beer also so it was like a backyard pool session. I have always liked the flow of skateparks snake runs.
I think that why destination street skating took off because it back to the roots of skateboarding just skating along hit a obstacle and keep on going to your destination.

After skating Tijuana we would street skate Tijuana it was blast they had elevated sidewalks were the curbs were 5 foot tall so you could launch over parked cars in to the street. The terrain was quite challenging because it was so ruff compared to the smooth asphalt of San Diego.

**Xgecko** · 03-25-2009 02:37 PM

yeah that would be a very fun park to re-create and its compactness would be both easy and relatively cheap...umm my backyard is too small

Yeah that was rough concrete I seem to remember skating it on 66Bullets