By Lee Berman

When the temperature starts dipping severely and the snow starts dropping in earnest, what’s an East Coast skater to do until the thaw? Man up and hit the streets anyhow? Yeah, but even the most die-hard can only handle that for so long before the freezing slams start to shatter your bones. Some entrepreneurial-spirited and construction-minded skaters have ripped their own loopholes in Old Man Winter, finding warehouse spaces and creating private spots to keep the fires burning indoors while the frost chills outdoors. And come warmer weather, they’ve still got some solace from the multitude of spot-mobbers. Check out what four East Coast warehouse pioneers have to say about getting it done on your own…

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Interview with park treasurer Bill Orsi and constructor Jimmy Day

How many key holders do you have? Would you recommend trying to keep the keys at a low number, or giving out more keys to generate more money to buy more building materials? BO: We have 17 key holders and we don’t need anymore. I built this place to skate with my friends; I don’t want strangers in here having a free for all. This isn’t a public skatepark. To have a "skate space," you should have enough key holders to cover the rent, as well as some excess for building materials and in case a key holder has to drop out.

Where did the inspiration for the current set-up of the space come from? JD: The idea of the space came mostly from its shape and size. It’s a decent amount of room, but it’s shaped like a big "L". After walking around the place and using boards to guess where ramps might go I thought about the basic layout. One part was based on China Banks in San Francisco, other parts were made to get the most amount of speed while still making something interesting. The theme of the space is based on street skating—taking things that aren't designed for a skateboard and making the most of it.

It seems you’re pretty much the go to man for "getting shit done" around the space. What have been the most frustrating parts of this for you? JD: We would have large group meetings to talk about what to build next. The keyholders would often critique the current state of the park. The thought would go through my head, like, "Who the f*#! are you to talk about how the park is being built? I’m the one who’ll end up building it!" I came to realize that although not everyone is working on the park, each person in that meeting has sacrificed a decent amount of their income with the hope that something good will come of this space.

You came into the space a bit later than most of the other members. What were some of the driving factors to get involved for you in what already seemed like such a tight-knit group of people? Beyond that, after getting involved, how was it building all those ramps without even consulting most of the members? Any friction? JD: The big motivation in the beginning was what everyone had—a place to skate in Boston in the winter that's dry and you could come to anytime. After Maximus went down in the late ’90s, the skaters from Boston had to either get a shovel and freeze outside or drive an hour and a half to a park costing money to skate and requiring pads.

Everyone had their idea about how the park should be. I didn’t want to take over anyone's idea initially, but once I had seen little progress in the beginning, I just made one ramp at a time and gauged the reaction from key holders. There was serious debate about the park, but everyone in the group found something they liked to skate in the end. There was a kind of unofficial deal where Bill and I would be the deciding factor on the design, but we would also be the ones to build it. What do you have to say to someone reading this wondering if they can come and skate the Space? JD: If you think you're going to make friends with us by calling or Faceooking saying, "Hey bro, I heard you have a park and I'd love to skate it sometime!," think again. If you add a six-pack to the equation, we might get back to you.

Interview with Steph Murdock

Give me a break down on how Fight Club came to be and what it presently stands as. In 2004, Vans skatepark in Woodbridge, VA closed. The closing of Vans left a need for a replacement and some ramps and materials with which to do so. Two skaters and activists, Ben Ashworth and Tony Smallwood, approached Dan Dezman about storing some of the old Vans ramps in one of the warehouses he was leasing in DC.

I came into the picture from Baltimore in September of 2005, when I had been accepted into graduate school at GWU. I could not afford a place to live in DC. In the beginning I squatted in a warehouse close to Fight Club, but when the cops kicked me out I found myself with no place to go, so I started crashing on the deck of the skatepark. I eventually holed out a room, and over the next two years I lived as a grad school squatter/skater punk in the warehouse above the skatepark. For two years, countless numbers of people surrounded ourselves in the development of the warehouse and the park. We had some awesome times with great people; tuning our crafts, skating, creating, and throwing all-night,skate/art/music parties that served as fund raisers for theproject. Then, In March 2007, we closed it down. Remember the first rule of Fight Club? Yeeeaaaaah. We feared the law, media, regulators, neighbors, landlords… But in June of ’07 we all yelled at each other a lot, and eventually myself, Dan Dezman, Jen Kessler, Ben Ashworth, and Tony Smallwood decided to go legit and sign a three-year lease on the place. Today Fight Club is a private recreational and creative space for skateboarding, art, music, documentation, and construction in the District of Columbia.

How exclusive are the sessions? Almost anyone can show up and shred Wednesday nights and at random party fundraisers, if they are really here to skate,contribute, and not lurk.

Compared to most other private skate facilities, FC has truly been able to withstand time. Do you have any advice for newly-formed facilities that are just getting going?

1. Choose a warehouse that is structurally sound.

2. Choose a bad neighborhood so people have worse things to worry about than skateboarding.

3. Make sure you constantly thank those people that help make the warehouse what it is.

4. Make it weird.

What do you feel FC's contribution to the DC winter skate scene is? Where do you think the scene would be without FC? DC is all about street skating, so I look forward to the winter when all the skaters are forced into hibernation in this rat hole. I really like to see how they apply their street skills and different styles to our ramps.

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Interview with Scott Kmiec

Where did the inspiration and motivation come from to build you facility? I was inspired by the Autumn bowl in Brooklyn. We'd always bitch that we needed to get something like that going in Philly, so we finally did.

How many key holders do you have? Would you recommend trying to keep the keys at a low number, or giving out more keys to generate more money to buy more building materials? We figured that we needed 20 key holders to make it work. We tried to keep the number of keys down to make it as private as possible. Guests are expected to make a $5 donation to help pay the bills. We have a strict “No Lurkers” policy.

What made you decide to build something other than the ordinary "street training facility”? A lot of the guys involved with getting it started are FDR locals. We like the gnarly stuff. It also had to do with the space. It's only 3,000 sq. ft., so building a bowl was a much better way to utilize the size of the space.

What have been the most frustrating parts of running the space for you?
Incorporating to protect myself from liability, opening a business account to flow the money through, getting insurance so the landlord was cool with it, collecting rent from 20 skaters every month, general maintenance of the bowl—do you know how much beer skaters drink? Putting out the recycling every week is no small task. And just the other day the pipes in the bathroom burst because of the cold. Dealing with all of that sucks for sure. But one of the hardest parts is trying to keep it private for the key holders.

What advice would you have for people looking to get a facility going within their local skate scene?
Don't wait for someone else to do it. Grab it by the balls and do it yourself!

What role do you feel your facility plays in the skate scene during the winter?
Man, it’s a lifesaver! Obviously in the winter, but also year round. Most of the guys involved are older skaters—we have jobs, families… Having a place that you can skate any time and not have to worry about it being dark out or raining or too cold means we’re living the dream.

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Interview with Toebee Parkhurst

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Where did the inspiration and motivation come from to build you facility? Desperation. Maine winters, non-skater owned skateparks that take an hour to drive to… It's not a luxury, it's a necessity.

Unlike the exclusiveness of most private skate spaces, yours seems to be open to the community, with the attitude that if you’re respectful and can pay, you’re in. Why? I think that the small scene in Maine helps there. We've got enough room to invite people, and people are happy to donate $5 for wood and heat, so why not? But, it’s not public in any way—there aren't regular hours so you kind of have to be invited. We're not "exclusive" because we don't have to be. If you're cool, you can roll. The kids up here don't feel like they're owed anything from skating. They're happy to contribute. There's no bad attitudes at our park, period.

How many key holders do you have? Would you recommend trying to keep the keys at a low number, or giving out more keys to generate more money to buy more building materials? We've got four key holders—two adult skaters and two are parents with teenage kids. We're lucky that everyone is responsible and has paid rent on time and kicked in to help where it's appropriate. We need this place like fish need water. The sessions are not exclusive, but the advantage to having fewer key holders is that it's easier to control.

Where did the inspiration for the current set up of the space come from? It's nothing too elaborate. We've only had this going since October, so the park is evolving. The plan was to get some stuff in there and see what we felt was needed as time went on. We're about to do a couple new things, a new rail and a bank to curb situation. We're small, only like 50-feet by 50-feet, so I wanted to make sure we had the basics to keep from getting rusty over the winter.

You're pretty much the go to man for "getting shit done" around the space. What have been the most frustrating parts of this for you? Initially I really resisted it, but the fact is it's my name on the lease. I'm not in charge any more than anyone else—I see my role as more of a moderator. When someone has an idea I bounce it off the other key holders and we decide if it's something we want to do. Some stuff like changing lights and stuff I just do because it makes the most sense for me to do it. This thing was my idea, and I'm the guy who pushed for it. To be honest, I don't mind steering the ship a little because I'm thankful that the other key holders are helping to make a dream a reality. That said, I've only swept the floor once,and I don't empty the garbage, so it's not like I'm the only one doing anything. Everyone contributes.

Where did all these materials come from? What advice would you have for someone trying to get their own space going on limited funds? We have a $300 buy-in for key holders. That's just for wood. From there, everyone pays $150 a month for a key. The wood is mostly from local lumberyards but we've got some stuff that was scrounged. I had a mini-ramp at my parents’ house that we tore down. We've got over a grand in wood alone, and I'd say we're two thirds to where we need to be. My advice to someone wanting to make it happen is to keep it simple. You can have a lot of fun with a box and a flatbar.

With a small skate scene to begin with, what are some of the biggest obstacles you have had to overcome in building your facility in central Maine? The biggest problem was finding a space we could afford. When I looked at this place, I knew I found it. Cheap rent, no close neighbors, centrally located. When you're looking for a place, look for storage space—storage is cheap. You need to have the right people involved. Have a dollar amount buy-in so you know people are committed. You don't want to spend your life chasing down 30 key holders for their $50 or whatever. It's too much work, and someone will always end up paying more while others slide by.

What do you feel the future holds for your space? Where are you looking to go with it? We need a public indoor park up here. I feel like I'll probably have to be the person to make that happen, but I want to make sure when I buy a warehouse that I get the right size. This space is sort of a test for me to see if the scene is receptive to it and to gauge the interest. I never wanted to be a skatepark owner, but I see that as I get older I've got a responsibility to skateboarding to give back a little of what it's given me.