Great link today via SkateDaily.net: Time Out NY has a spectacular "Making It" profile of Steve Rodriguez, one of my personal skate heroes. The news peg, of course, is next month's Back to the Banks contest, which goes down June 6: In addition to running 5boro, one of the coolest core companies in the history of skateboarding, Rodriguez will go down in the annals of skate history as the spot-saver of the Brooklyn Banks, a brick skate paradise on the Manhattan side of the Brroklyn Bridge (that's Steve hitting the banks in the photo above by David Rosenzweig for Time Out) and for orchestrating the annual Back to the Banks insanity that celebrates the place.

I once had the opportunity, a decade ago, to haul ass through the streets of NYC chasing behind Rodriguez and then-5boro skaters Aaron Suski and Perri Morgan for my first-ever NYC street skating experience (and ending in my first-ever Brooklyn Banks session, btw), a world-changing experience if ever there was one. Ever since, I've watched in awe as he's continued to live up to everything that was inspiring about that day in the way he handles himself, his skateboard, his company, his community, his contests, and even his politicians.

Here's the intro to the Time Out piece:

Most people still think of skateboarding as the pastime of rebellious adolescents. But what if one of those teens grew up to run his own company, foster younger generations and work on city projects—all while jetting around on his board? Meet Steve Rodriguez, a legendary street skateboarder, community activist and the owner of 5Boro, a back-to-basics skateboard company that gets to the core of authentic East Coast style.

The whole article is worth reading, but here's the killer Rodriguez quote RE: the Brooklyn Banks that lets you know he's just getting started:

After months of campaigning, tireless community outreach and multiple meetings with the Parks Department, Rodriguez convinced the city to save the Brooklyn Banks in 2005. It was an arduous process, but his unwavering commitment to the project resulted in a cleaned-up, legal park. “Working with the city, you see that you can really make a difference if you take the time to figure out how to do something right,” he notes. “About 30 percent of our time at 5Boro is spent trying to do stuff for the community.”
Keep it up, Steve!