Speaker 1: 0:32

He was the most helpful, kind, supportive human I've ever met. He's real, no bullshit, 100%. What you see is what you get a loving, kind human. We need way more Triggs in the world. My wife and Triggs' wife Caitlin are really good friends from college.

Speaker 1: 1:00

So they came and visited us in Hawaii at our house and that's when we met and you know he was doing his day-to-day 9-to-5 hamster wheel, which he enjoyed, but it wasn't his passion. You know it's really to to go chase after your dreams when you have something solid and he wanted to do something to give back and that he's passionate about and for the community. And now he's doing it. Now I'm so inspired and proud and um in awe that he would even attempt doing what he's doing. It's risky and it's fear, a lot of fear, and he's going for it and it's a really good example of um. You know it's never too early, it's never too late. Follow your dreams, figure out what you're passionate about, make that your life trig is a living example of that right now. It's never too late. Follow your dreams, Figure out what you're passionate about, Make that your life Trig is a living example of that right now. It's going to work. My wife really wants to get in on this. She's feeling left out.

Speaker 2: 2:06

Hello, I just wanted to be really clear that you know, there's a difference between people who dream and then people who do. And I think that's the beauty of this story is that Trigg has a dream and a lot of people do, and they just don't act on it. And he's acting on it, and not only is it his dream, it's also giving back to the community. So it's a selfless dream.

Speaker 2: 2:32

And it's just really amazing that he you know, he put pen to paper and he's making it happen for him, his family and his community. That's all I have to say. Hi, nicole McNamara here, and I just want to say to Trig and Caitlin you are doing it. You are an inspiration to all of us of living your dreams and being of service. It's an honor and a privilege to be your friends and support you along your journey.

Speaker 1: 3:07

Trig, love you like a brother. I'm so proud of you and you know you wrote your plan, made your goal, wrote your plan, made your map. You're following it every day. You will succeed 100%. I've already seen the outcome. I love you. This is Garrett McNamara. All the best, brother.

Speaker 5: 3:52

Thank you episode 62 of bin magazines. The circcling Podcast brings together an inspiring conversation with Caitlin and Trig Bjornstad, the visionary founders of the Board House Society indoor skate park, but also an inclusive multi-use space that goes beyond skating, with plans for a multi-use venue that includes event spaces, community gathering areas and retail offerings. Boardhouse Society aims to foster a welcoming environment where people of all ages, skill levels and backgrounds can connect, skateboard year-round and participate in meaningful community activities. Joining us is Trent Bowman, a key community partner with Boardhouse Society and a Tactic Skate Team member. Trent shares how skateboarding has influenced his life, his involvement with the project and his hopes for the future of this transformative park. Yo Trig, I recently read this idea from author John David Meagher what we have to give in life, we offer least through our words, more through our actions, but most of all through who we are. I'm excited to watch Board House come to life. In fact, in many ways, I believe it already has.

Speaker 5: 5:19

The Circling Podcast can be found on Patreon. Visit our page and learn how a percentage of your financial support will support local nonprofits and the continued growth of local community podcasting. Become a member and learn about this unique opportunity at patreoncom. Forward. Slash the circling podcast. If you enjoy listening to the circling podcast, please subscribe on all major podcast platforms and leave us a review. It really does help. Follow us on Instagram at the circling podcast to learn more about past and upcoming episodes. I'd like to say a special thank you to all of those who participated in the making of this episode. It wouldn't be the same without your contribution and I appreciate your trust.

Speaker 6: 6:09

I think if I was going to go back to the intro and talk about Garrett for just a second and say you know, Garrett was the one that made me look at things a little bit differently. And I had back last July, in 2023, kind of like that's when Boardhouse the idea sparked. That's when Boardhouse the idea sparked I had a life-changing event in my earlier career and decided that if I'm going to head off in a different direction or in any direction, what do I want to do? I have this opportunity now that's been presented to me to do anything that I want to, but it's scary to do that and mostly when you've been in the same field and the same thing for 25 years, you end up getting so comfortable and you're so good at what you're doing and you meet so many amazing people in your community that you know it's just, it's just a little scary.

Speaker 6: 7:18

So while I was going through that whole work thing, I ended up talking to Garrett and he's like well, Trig, don't just, don't just go, get a project manager job somewhere, Don't go. And I don't want to downplay or down talk on any of these things. It's just not for me. Um he, you've got to sit down and you've got to make two lists. You've got to write one list of things you like to do and one list of things you don't like to do, and then you've got to just put time into it and then analyze your two lists and, kind of, create your own career.

Speaker 5: 7:53

And I was like, yeah, Garrett, Well then you're learning from a master, like my kids and I were watching and I had seen it before, but we watched a few episodes of the first series of that 100-foot wave documentary on HBO.

Speaker 6: 8:08

Which is amazing. If anybody hasn't seen that yet, you should definitely watch it, I mean.

Speaker 5: 8:12

Garrett McNamara is like I mean His energy level and his inspiration Definitely watch it. I mean Garrett.

Speaker 6: 8:15

McNamara is like. I mean His energy level and his inspiration, and when you are around an individual like that, they make you feel like you can do anything.

Speaker 5: 8:24

Well, yeah, because he kind of did dude. He recreated himself right. I mean, he went from like a pro surfer doing a job right. He owned a surf shop and then he recreated his surf career around chasing massive waves totally different, but very similar. You know there's a lot of parallels there. It's a it's change, right, it's doing like I can only imagine he was telling you what to do because he had done it and and creating that list yeah, and when you talk to garrett and nicole it's always like you know this.

Speaker 7: 8:54

His hundred foot wave was pretty literal, but everyone has a 100-foot wave. So you just go find yours, you know, maybe it's living on a farm, maybe it's starting a skate park, maybe it's—.

Speaker 6: 9:06

Yeah, being a musician or an artist, we've all got our 100-foot wave.

Speaker 7: 9:09

It's just a matter of going after it.

Speaker 6: 9:10

Diving into whatever it is that you really love to do, so you made your list to whatever it is that you really love to do so.

Speaker 6: 9:15

You made your list, so I made my list and after analyzing my list which was kind of wild to sit in if nobody's ever done that, I recommend it. It's kind of fun. You learn a lot about yourself. And in my two lists I realized that on my one side, when I was the best person that I possibly am, when I am the happiest, when I seem to generate the best energy out to everyone around me, when I'm lifting people and I'm on a board, I'm snowboarding, I'm wakeboarding, I'm surfing, I'm skating, I'm doing something going sideways, heading forward like tactics theme right and on the other side of things, when I've lost myself and when I've found trouble and when I've gotten myself to rock bottom, it has been when I'm bored, and it's a different board, but I had these two boards sitting in front of me.

Speaker 6: 10:08

like man, I got to do something with a board. It seems like this is what it's about, and so there was a bunch of ideas from shaping boards to I don't know. There was all these different things and kept coming to Caitlin and nope, nope, nope.

Speaker 3: 10:22

Head back to the drawing board. Just a dream crusher.

Speaker 6: 10:24

Yeah, I was like ah, one thing, one thing. And when I came back with like okay, really sitting down thinking about what our community needs, that's when the indoor park thing came back, and I had not necessarily been a skateboarder, you know, I just started skating like a year and a half ago.

Speaker 2: 10:42

No way.

Speaker 6: 10:43

And I love it. And it's like you know, I found all those other sports and I'd never been really in any skate scene or connected with anybody that was on a skateboard before, and my kids started skating a little bit and I was like, well, I'm not going to not skate, but also coming up with the idea of this thing that our community needs. It's for the community, it's not for me. And so the indoor park is something that for sure is needed in the community. And then we thought, you know, with that there's so many other things that you can do, and if you center on one thing, then you bring in one type of people or person. And I feel like with this place, it's more of it's trying to bring so many fun, creative people and lifting everyone to their highest potential and just seeing what happens. I mean we're all so different and we can all celebrate each other for our differences. Yeah, be stoked.

Speaker 7: 11:45

When I think you can speak to that too.

Speaker 8: 11:47

Like I know, you started, you were kind of doing some different things when you were younger and then found skateboarding and yeah, I think through at least my life life, I mean, I've been skating for 20 years now and it's gone through different phases, um, whether it's like competition or working with different companies and stuff, and whatever I've fallen into with skating, there's always been a place for me with it and I've always felt that, um, living in different places or and like moving to Bend, like even with skating being, you know, maybe like half the year here, um, currently, with outdoor parks, it's like there's still this community here that I was able to be a part of and I really appreciate that about skating, as well as the metaphor of it, the persistence of it is so important to my own life.

Speaker 6: 13:05

So, yeah, and I think that's where Trent you know, when thinking about me only skating for like a year and a half and having like an idea to open this, you know, skate park and whatever, at that point you still need to have that raw skate.

Speaker 5: 13:24

Yeah, it's got to where authentic.

Speaker 6: 13:25

Right and you and and I don't necessarily know all the ins and outs of stuff like that and that's when that's when we really needed somebody like that and that's where we we are so blessed to be able to find a guy like Trent. Yeah, he's one of the most raw skaters in all of bend right now and um, I appreciate that.

Speaker 5: 13:42

Yeah Well, I speaks to your kind of I don't know shows me that you're not afraid to realize and admit you know what you don't know, which sometimes can be and oftentimes is more important than what you you know, like someone who wasn't authentic, that tried to build this up, that had been skating for a year and a half. Everybody that knows anything about skateboarding is going to see right through that. In my opinion. You know and and it just kind of first impressions are big right, like you want something like this to be built by people who know what they're talking about and and kind of the culture and the history of skateboarding, but also like the team of people.

Speaker 7: 14:24

Yeah, and I think, just knowing we all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses and that's not saying that can't change. You know you can obviously get stronger and things but having that humility to say, hey, I'm really good at this, but I look over here and I know I'm not great at that, but I know there's someone around me that is.

Speaker 7: 14:42

So, why not? And having this based off of community, you know where. It's only going to help this whole situation to have all these different community members involved from the beginning, and that's you know. Trent has his crew, trig has his crew, I have my crew, and you bring all these people together and it's already just kind of snowballing into this thing, and you guys had a pretty successful event this last weekend downtown.

Speaker 6: 15:05

Oh yeah, it was amazing yeah, really fun.

Speaker 6: 15:08

Tell people about that, like tell, like just paint a picture here what went on and what, what was going on and kind of uh, this last weekend was our first fundraising event and, uh, dan down at the commons was nice enough to let us come and party at his place. Uh, we set up a good skate, uh whole setup feature, uh skate area right out in the front of the commons, brought a dj out, we had a bunch of fire pits and there was a raffle and there was hundreds of people that arrived. It was mind-blowing. Just sitting around and I could not stop smiling the whole day.

Speaker 8: 15:42

It was amazing, yeah I think it really spoke to like showing the bend skate community. It came out um, and I think I mean for me I've been skating Ponderosa, the local park, for six years and it was almost like a little reunion of, like, all those people I've met over those years and that was just so awesome to see and just to like have the skaters you know, have people watching them, seeing that this is the skate community.

Speaker 8: 16:08

That's here, and there's probably probably even a hundred skaters that are here that didn't even pull up, but there were so many that did pull up that like showed out. And it was all ranging too, from kids to adults.

Speaker 7: 16:19

It was so amazing. And, trent, I think you pointed out that you know there's Pondy, and Rockridge are obviously the two biggest ones here, but they're set up so different, so you have skaters that traditionally go to Pawnee or traditionally go to Rockridge, so to have people coming from all over just you know the curb chasers and everyone coming out. It was pretty cool to have them all in one spot, which is obviously what we're hoping for.

Speaker 6: 16:44

How do you get all those guys in one location at the same time Guys and girls and moms and dads? And pops and everybody. Yeah, how do you get them all I?

Speaker 7: 16:53

think something too with skate, which we've kind of seen with our fundraising, is that there is still a lot of speculation and stereotype around it from more so certain generations, and that's just kind of you. You know it was that punk scene that that thrived. You know it helped skateboarding thrive. That's kind of why it became what it was and what it is. But to have those kind of people see this in downtown and then, you know, have this acceptance and seeing like oh, these are rad kids, like look at the and adults out here, women, men, just your neighbors, you know it doesn't, it's not this fit into this mold situation. It's everyone around you never know. And so that was really special too to have people leaving dinner and walking and stopping and watching and videotaping and or not videotaping, dating myself, all of it.

Speaker 5: 17:49

So I think I still call it video dating. You're getting clips, you're stacking footage, yeah, yeah, no sick.

Speaker 7: 17:59

So I think that was cool too. Even you know we had some like our friend's parents come down and to just show them like I know you have this idea in your head of what we're creating, but for them to really witness the community around it, um, and the level of stoke, I think was exceptional.

Speaker 5: 18:16

And that's easy for us to forget that. We, we kind of get it, and there's a lot of people in this town that like a skate park and skateboarding to them. I mean it's more on their radar now that it's done.

Speaker 8: 18:27

An Olympic sport is most things tend to be, but, um, yeah, I mean it's more on their radar now that it's an Olympic sport, as most things tend to be.

Speaker 5: 18:33

But yeah, I mean context is huge right, so to like experience that kind of diversity downtown for a lot of people I bet was a first experience, yeah.

Speaker 7: 18:43

Yeah, it was.

Speaker 8: 18:44

That's rad no-transcript of inclusion and like, whatever level you're at, like everyone starts somewhere in skating. Like you have to figure it out and write a thing, or figure out your first ollie, and like everyone that skates, whether they've been skating for however long or a couple years, it's just like everyone starts in the same spot and we're all got to be in support of like wherever you're at, and I think that was such a good representation of that with everybody there.

Speaker 5: 19:43

So yeah, that is true. That's a lot different mentality too than the old days, you know like. I remember going to like. Burnside when I was probably 13, and just like that wasn't the vibe there. Yeah, it's intimidating.

Speaker 8: 19:58

Yeah, for sure up this little zone and it was like this is what's the skate. And you got to hit that yeah skate it, you're not going to get like shoved to the corner, yeah, like thrown in your little zone, if this is what it is, and like everyone get after it.

Speaker 5: 20:15

So you know what I think has been good for this community. That's kind of shifted that um mentality. Is the river wave? Yeah?

Speaker 5: 20:24

because, because it's it's this take turn approach to it and so many people that have I've either talked to in here or at the wave or just in the community have commented on that over the years versus like ocean surfing, where there's like a limited resource with a bunch of people competing for it. The river wave it's like it's not going anywhere. There's a line, you take your turn and it's just kind of a much more kind of civil approach to this. I think that kind of that and like with younger people, I was talking to my daughter about that and I think it just creates a little bit more I don't know, maybe patient and fair environment.

Speaker 7: 21:05

Yeah, and I think it gives an opportunity for newcomers or people that maybe haven't done it for a while. You know, maybe you did it 10, 15, 20 years ago to get back in there with everyone else, totally You're not just, like Trent said, on push to the side. Okay, it's your turn now.

Speaker 5: 21:22

It's fun skating new stuff.

Speaker 8: 21:24

Totally, that looked like a fun setup.

Speaker 5: 21:26

I was out of town. I wanted to come to that, but yeah, I'm stoked it went well.

Speaker 6: 21:32

Thanks, I am too.

Speaker 7: 21:33

Yeah, I bet it was really nerve wracking, being like are people going to show up? You know you have your parents and your friends are like we're going to be there, which is amazing. We love all you guys. But you know we're trying to get the word out so, little by little, you're kind of like throughout the day, like are you nervous? Yeah, I'm kind of getting a little nervous.

Speaker 5: 21:49

Well, it's a beta test. Yeah, you're totally beta testing.

Speaker 7: 21:52

Yeah, you're trying to build something for a community.

Speaker 5: 21:55

You're trying to build a bigger version of what you're you know this was like a demo Yep. Of what you're trying to do on a big scale, so like to have that validation.

Speaker 7: 22:04

that's why you guys, survey says let's do it, totally yeah.

Speaker 5: 22:06

Survey says go, yeah well, I mean I'm hyped, I'm super, I'm a fan, I'm I'm excited to watch you guys succeed in this. I agree with garrett. I mean I I think that, um, for a lot of different reasons, you guys will be successful with with achieving these goals. I have no doubt I, like we were talking about before we started recording, I, I, when I meet people and kind of sharing the story of like a brand or a nonprofit or whatever, I think there's a lot of value in kind of the story that leads you up to where you are now. I kind of want to start and hear your story Trig the impact that that season of life had during your teenage years at Spring Creek Lodge. I mean that school, that boarding school style which was part of that worldwide association of specialty programs and schools. Yes, especially, I graduated high school in 97.

Speaker 5: 23:02

So, like I remember hearing about some of those schools because I grew up in North Idaho and my dad lived in Whitefish. So I would drive through Thompson Falls man like at least times a year.

Speaker 3: 23:13

That's a nice little quaint town, isn't it, Dude?

Speaker 4: 23:15

I'm sorry that they ruined that part of the country for you, because it is gorgeous country, yeah.

Speaker 5: 23:21

But like you know I asked you about before we were recorded in that survey like a personal experience that kind of left a pretty significant impact on you and you shared with that. So you know, to the level of your comfort I thought we you could kind of share that part of your story because in ways that experiences is, as you've shared with me, has influenced part of the why behind what you want to do with board.

Speaker 6: 23:47

Oh yeah, definitely I think, um, my definitely I think my history and trying to think about how to create the most happy and joyful life for me and my family, and moving forward and doing everything and hoping that not only my family but other families that I can help, other families either stay together or children that can save and we can create and be those families for them. I think that's a large part that comes into creating Board House. But to go back to the history, I guess when I was in high school, 16-ish, I had fallen off of the rails, I had lost my way. I had an amazing supportive family, my family. They supported me 100% financially. I was well taken care of. I believe they did everything they possibly could in their capacity but unfortunately left me kind of on my own.

Speaker 6: 24:53

And when I was out and about I found a group of friends or people that kind of ended up being the family, the everyday relationship kind of you know my connections with people, and they were just all into the wrong stuff. I ended up on you know 13 different drugs and dropping out of all into the wrong stuff. Um, I ended up on you know 13 different drugs and dropping out of school and doing some stuff and and my fam, my real family, had no clue how to handle that situation or how to deal with me at the time and I can't blame them for that, you know.

Speaker 5: 25:22

And you grew up in in Washington, Olympia, Olympia, Washington, Some establishments were good for kids and things like that. Yeah, I mean they were advertised as like expert, like professionally run institutions where troubled teenagers could come and work on like behavior issues, and I mean there were hundreds of them across the country.

Speaker 6: 26:06

Yeah, across the world. It's kind of crazy.

Speaker 7: 26:07

Yeah, and none of them actually were certified teachers or certified therapists. Like kids graduated thinking that they had their diplomas and then would apply to college and then the colleges would be like. This is not legit at all. And so they took advantage of families that were just trying at their last straw, trying to figure out what to do.

Speaker 6: 26:27

Yeah, there's actually a Netflix docuseries, a three-episode thing that shows the whole thing. It's called the Program and kind of shows people which actually when that came out I actually still talk to two friends from that, my brothers from the Courage family and they and myself when that came out it was just like a huge relief. It gave us, made us not sound crazy, it gave people kind of a glimpse of what it was like in those places and those things.

Speaker 5: 27:03

And I think you know I went through that that time I was in solitary confinement for almost a month at one point during the whole place, which will make you kind of go a little crazy went back to that campus in New York was talking about, um, they actually had to go to jail for something and being in jail felt like you were living a free life compared to the school that that person was at, and I was, like it kind of put it, I was you know, and people should watch that, I mean, it is it is it's pretty wild.

Speaker 6: 27:45

I mean, even one of my family fathers supposedly like it's pretty wild. I mean, even one of my family fathers supposedly like I guess that's what they called them he's in prison right now for having, you know, inappropriate relationships with young people and you know that's the kind of stuff and you're like, oh, my gosh, and you know, to make it out to come, I'm sorry man.

Speaker 6: 28:31

Oh it's, you know it's part of life, I know, but I'm sorry, man. Oh it's, you know it's part of life, I know, but I'm sorry you had to go through that shit Because that's heavy and like I don't know.

Speaker 5: 28:41

It's such a bummer Like where this is humans at their worst, right. There's such a real need and then there's this ability to kind of like, monetize and be deceptful to a bunch of people. It's just so gross right I mean those schools were making millions. Yeah I, I mean, I went down the rabbit hole.

Speaker 7: 29:02

Yeah, it's wild and it's really. I mean, you see, in that documentary, a lot of these kids that came out of there now adults are not okay, you know, because they went back to families and they were supposed to be fixed. They obviously were not quote unquote fixed. And then what do you do?

Speaker 5: 29:19

So I watched this, uh, this 2010 PBS show today. It was called who's watching our kids. It was done by the Montana PBS in 2010, which is right around the time when um spring creek lodge closed down, and it was. It was a locally done piece in montana. Um, that was like insane, it was insane.

Speaker 7: 29:45

Did they talk about, like, the schools and stuff?

Speaker 5: 29:47

oh yeah, it was all about the schools and it was um just the story of kind of how they worked. It didn't go in depth as the documentary on Netflix does, but just the whole system.

Speaker 7: 30:00

Yeah, and there's no governance on it, which is what kind of gets taken advantage of is like sure I could open a school, you know.

Speaker 5: 30:07

Well, yeah, I mean they were finding they were, you know, in a really sick and twisted way, using like religious exemption to like justify uh not having you know licensure yep, um, which is just gross, man, I don't know how to say that, but yeah, I mean they were charging. It was like in 2007, I think they were. It costs more to go to one of those schools as it would have for, like, the tuition at Harvard.

Speaker 7: 30:39

Yeah, yeah, I mean they were doing well. It shows them, like you know, going on vacations and doing all this stuff and again, just to the fault of taking advantage of these families that actually needed something.

Speaker 5: 30:52

Totally. I mean we're parents here, except I don't know, trin, are you?

Speaker 8: 30:56

a parent, not a parent.

Speaker 5: 30:59

I mean, yeah, dude, having kids is like jumping off a cliff, you know, because as soon as you have them, you're just along for the ride, trying to figure it out as you go. Yeah, and I mean I'm kind of a believer that you can play life on hard mode or easy mode. You're kind of going to play it one way or the other, but the choices you make kind of determine that. I think that our kids are going up in a time that was different than the 80s and 90s, where, you know, I mean just we've learned a lot about developmental psychology.

Speaker 5: 31:32

But yeah, I mean it's tough. Having kids can be tough. Oh, for sure. So your parents found themselves in that spot and somehow they learned about this school.

Speaker 6: 31:43

Yeah, and you know the school for me I wasn't a fan when I got there.

Speaker 5: 31:50

Well, tell people how you got there.

Speaker 6: 31:54

I was a runaway for about three and a half months so I didn't think my family knew where I was, but they ended up kind of figuring out through a group of friends and things like that.

Speaker 6: 32:05

I was living at the time with like nine guys in some apartment really probably a positive place for any young adult to be or young kid could be, positive place for any young adult to be or young kid could be, Um, and we got a knock at the door one day and it was um, it was my dad and I had recently been arrested for shoplifting and he said I needed to go to court and at the time I had just gone to bed after like a few days of being awake and on a whatever, and I was like, oh, okay, so I didn't really have a clue what was happening or going on. He gave me a hug and he had tears in his eyes and introduced me to his two friends that were going to give me a ride to court and I said okay and I hopped in the back. It was interesting because one of the guys hopped in the back with me as well.

Speaker 5: 33:00

And this is in Olympia.

Speaker 6: 33:02

Yeah, it was in Olympia and come to find out it was two guys that had flown up from Utah and they illegally kidnapped me and brought me to Montana, and so that was an interesting trip. As a 15-year year old, I didn't know where I was going, I didn't have a clue what was up, no one to answer questions, I just literally was stuck in a car and on my way to who knows where, and that's not like.

Speaker 5: 33:26

That's not like driving to like the east side of Bend, I mean that's like you're going. That's like a 12 hour ride from like Olympia yeah.

Speaker 6: 33:35

It all kind of started clicking when we started passing the exits and I was like wait a second. You probably drove through Coeur d'Alene, we're not going to court, and so there was a couple of escape attempts. As I tried to get out, I ended up in size 15 parachute boots and shackles Holy.

Speaker 7: 33:52

Moses.

Speaker 6: 33:52

Eventually I made it to Montana where at the time I had long hair um, it was negative 25 degrees, I believe and they shaved my head and Told me I was there for a while. That was kind of that day.

Speaker 5: 34:10

First impressions.

Speaker 6: 34:14

Trying to figure out how I was going to get out.

Speaker 3: 34:16

Yeah.

Speaker 6: 34:16

Trying to figure out how I could talk my family back into like I'm sorry, you know all whatever, but they had rules about how I didn't get to talk to my family. You ended up getting a phone call every once in a while, depending on how your behavior and what you were up to and was doing. Uh, I went through and there's they were. They based those programs on like a level system and so you had to build and earn points every day by different things that you wrote in your reflections, which were therapy type driven questions every day, that day that you built and earned points on, and then your behavior as well, and if your behavior did stuff then it'd take points away from you and so on. And so I worked that program and I was the best program worker ever that anybody had ever seen.

Speaker 6: 35:03

In three months I had made it through the first three levels. I was on my way. I had been voted to a level three all-star. I was on my way to level four, and level four was when your parents could come and visit you and that's when I was going to be able to talk them into bringing me back. And that was my plan. But it was a 100% vote-up situation and I had one vote away from level four and when that happened, my case manager said it was too fast and that she didn't think I was ready, and so she took half of my points away. And I said well, well, if you're going to do that, you might as well just take all of them. And she said okay, and so she brought me back to the level zero. Level one zero points again. I was right back at the very beginning and at that point I was like this is, this is not. This is not good.

Speaker 7: 35:52

Well, the system was set up. As you see again that I was set up for you to fail she probably got a bonus for the whole thing happening, or.

Speaker 6: 35:59

Whatever um, and at that point I said, okay, well, I'm just gonna sit here, I'm gonna do the best I can until I'm 18, I'll sign myself out of this place. And you were how old at the time? I was 16. I turned 17 in the program and then I just kept sitting and I sat for another like five months, but during that time I wouldn't write anything in those reflections. I wasn't trying to earn any points, but I wasn't doing anything wrong. So I but I had already made it past all the different seminars that I had to go through. So I was at this point where they couldn't make me do anything and I couldn't. And the directors that were in charge of that entire Spring Creek Lodge pulled me to the side and were like you're the kind of kid that's going to bring this thing down.

Speaker 6: 36:47

Good and I was like well, I'm not going to freaking, drink your Kool-Aid. And that's when they put me in that solitary confinement spot for a month and I was in there for refusal of working the program and I sat there and almost got two assault charges that they were thinking about putting on me when I was in there and I've never been a violent or angry person at all and so I just started going a little nutty. I was in a box that was smaller than this room, probably not even half the size. I slept on a hard piece of plywood and there was one small one-by-two window that had a cage over it, and there was a small like one by two window that had a cage over it, and there was a staff member sitting at the front door the whole time and they watched me 24 7 and then they'd bring me in some like shitty food to eat every once in a while. But yeah, that was, that was one month.

Speaker 6: 38:12

And then I came out of that place and and they they put me on a thing called black cloud where I wasn't allowed to talk and people weren't allowed to look at me or talk to me and I just did school and I killed it. I went through so much school and it's all self-paced. So as a freshman in high school that was behind, I ended up going all the way through like and coming out with only like one class to take at a community college to graduate high school with like a three, five accumulative. But who knows if any of that was real. How smart do I really think?

Speaker 5: 38:46

I am. How did the staff interact with students, like because I mean I kind of know the answer to this, but I don't I want, like listeners to this to like I mean I kind of know the answer to this, but I don't. I want like listeners to this. To like, I mean you couldn't even look in the wrong direction without getting points taken away.

Speaker 7: 39:03

We have a list Like he still has the list, and there's things like you couldn't fart, like if you farted you would get in trouble, and we have this whole. We actually were joking with the kids and put it on the fridge. We're like don't mess this up, but yeah.

Speaker 5: 39:16

I mean the level of abuse and like emotional and physical, that went on in those places. Is it's man? I mean, like I said, I'm sorry, thank you for sharing about it.

Speaker 6: 39:29

And you know, I think I think unfortunately I had to go through something like that. I look back at it and try to figure out, like, what went wrong. Where did we go wrong? Where did I go wrong? Um, where did my family go wrong? You know, I don't blame anything on anyone. I don't hold anything, um, against my family, um. I just I hope it doesn't have to happen to any other families. And that's kind of a whole reason why Boardhouse was developed was if I had a spot like this, I would have thrived. And if I had people like Trent that I could look up to and have as my people, then I would hope that Trent wouldn't steer me in the direction that.

Speaker 6: 40:21

I went in Um and so I think that this is just an amazing opportunity to to save so many kids that were just lost and just needed some sort of guidance at a very fragile part of life. Guidance at a very fragile part of life.

Speaker 5: 40:38

Yeah, man, Fragile and also like influential, um, you know, like impressionable. There's so many. So much happens during development in those years. You know, Um, yeah, it's crazy, I mean it's, it's crazy, People need to watch that movie. I mean I'm so glad that.

Speaker 6: 41:00

I'm so happy she took the time to do that. Thank you so much. If you're listening to this, out there. You made it, so you gave people a little bit of a reality check and it made all of us feel less crazy. So thank you. That's crazy. So thank you, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 7: 41:16

Then we were sitting on the couch and like found it and we started watching it and Trigg. It was really interesting because at first we didn't know it was his program, that his program was involved.

Speaker 7: 41:26

And we just, yeah, we were watching it with the kids too, and you know we're pretty open in our family, like they don't know all the details about his past, but they know what he went through and you know kind of how we ended up there and blah, blah. So we're watching it and she's like God, this is crazy, this is so much like my program. And then a little bit he'd be like we did that in my program. And then it on the screen it flashes up the whole umbrella of programs and he's like stopped and the kids, you know, had a lot of questions and it was actually kind of a beautiful moment to be like hey, this is a, like you said, this is a pivotal moment in your dad's life and we're gonna dive in and we're gonna see it firsthand.

Speaker 7: 42:05

Um, but, and it was interesting too to watch kind of his process of emotions. You know, first it was surprise and then kind of went through this anger and then there was this sadness and then he went down in the garage and found all his old notebooks and the things. Like it really would be like hey, mom and dad, like can I come home? I'm going to start crying now. Like can I come home now? Or like what do I need to do to come home? Am I good enough now?

Speaker 6: 42:29

Um and yeah, so it was wild and we did reach out to her just to say thank you, and I think a lot of people did mention just to say you validated this because the parents did not get to see get sent to the one in Samoa, thank God because it looked like they were on beaches and it was too much fun and so my parents sent me to the Montana one and I had friends transferred from the Samoa one and the Jamaica one and all the other ones and those guys came back with the nastiest health issues boils. It was really, really gnarly. Guys had big scars and things from being beaten and it was next level being out of the country.

Speaker 7: 43:27

I mean they weren't looked at In my mind. I don't think they were looked at as humans. They were looked at as people. That should not be allowed in society, and it wasn't really fixing them.

Speaker 8: 43:37

It was like get them out and make money off of them, exactly I'll say, like when I first met you and you told me about the program like the whole docuseries I was like this is the first thing I'm gonna go watch like just to get an understanding and then, once I watched it was like okay, like I don't know.

Speaker 8: 43:51

Now I like it gave me like a very good, just like understanding of, like the, the movement of now, the indoor skate park, and like what the reasoning for this is? Um, and it really connected for me too, because my family has been like embedded in skating for a very long time and I felt like it really held us together through all that time.

Speaker 6: 44:08

So um, just yeah hearing your story he had at the indoor park down in southern california shout out Vans With everything. Kind of like what we're trying to create here, you know.

Speaker 8: 44:20

Yeah, and that was yeah. That was like every day after school go to the park, rain or shine, but yeah, it helped me. It just like made me believe in it so much too, with your story, and then just like realizing like my childhood and skating, I'm like this is so necessary for so many other people.

Speaker 6: 44:39

And how can we come together, with our two completely different stories, to help each other and help create something so unique and different than others? You know, like most, I feel like most indoor parks have been created by skaters kind of for skaters parks and that have been created by skaters kind of for skaters. And this, this is a. This is an attempt at bringing something at a next level, a little bit different, to create a space for, for amazing people and creative people all to come together, yeah, and have a foundation of a fun place to grow, as you know, if you want to get into skating, but if you'd like to hang out in, just like the craft spot, or use the graffiti wall or do you know?

Speaker 6: 45:23

just go hang in the lounge and like play board games with your buddies or whatever it is to bring people together, to connect and just to spend more time with each other, all different generations and everything to like.

Speaker 7: 45:34

Really make that happen and I think, I think right now and just with our society, we need that, um, you know, and technology has really kind of, in a way, brought people together, but as we know, a lot of ways it has not and it's you need that authentic, genuine connection, not just a like or a follow or a snapchat, you know, like people behave differently in their life.

Speaker 7: 46:00

Yeah, they behave differently there's more consequence all the across the board like we weren't, we weren't designed, in my opinion, for whatever it's worth to, to have relationship through a device, I sure hope not apologize, or you, you know you say something mean, we've all said things that we didn't realize as it was coming out what we were saying. And to see a reaction on an actual human face and know, fuck, I messed up, like I'm sorry, and to feel that like you grow so much from that and you can't do that on an iphone or through whatever, and so expect for these generations.

Speaker 7: 46:56

I know it sounds preachy, but I just think it's needed so much to get these kids together to interact, to support each other, genuinely wear whatever you want to wear. You don't have to wear a certain thing. You don't have to buy a certain thing.

Speaker 6: 47:09

You know, drink a certain drink, like just come here and push each other, lift each other, do things that are them and celebrate who they are, for you know, and it's just be you, be you, you're cool.

Speaker 5: 47:24

Where did you two meet?

Speaker 3: 47:27

Kaitlyn and I Middle school.

Speaker 8: 47:28

I just went through this with them actually.

Speaker 3: 47:30

Fell in love in middle school? Is that true?

Speaker 6: 47:34

Yeah, middle school that is true, we were what? Seventh, eighth grade, seventh grade, we met in seventh grade.

Speaker 7: 47:40

He had Trevin Williams ask me out in seventh grade. Yes, but then he had Steven Jackson break up with me in seventh grade.

Speaker 6: 47:47

I was very mature at the time.

Speaker 7: 47:49

So it wasn't an iPhone, but it was still but.

Speaker 6: 47:52

I got the ladies.

Speaker 7: 47:55

And then I moved back east. So I was on the east coast for a long time, and then you grew up in Massachusetts. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, cape Cod.

Speaker 5: 48:04

I want to hear about some of those fishing boat stories. Oh, it's such an amazing place, yeah it was pretty special.

Speaker 7: 48:11

I don't, you know, as a teenager. I don't know that I necessarily realized it at the time that my life was on a launch, going to sailboats and on the beach every day, but I'm grateful.

Speaker 7: 48:22

And then I went to school in Florida and got a job actually in Colorado, at Keystone, and drove out and kind of had this quarter life crisis of like just these emotions saying this is not where you're supposed to be. And it was my first big marketing job. I was super pumped and my mom had driven out with me and she kind of said, well, I can't, I don't know what to do. I just took off work. You know, you're here, what are we doing? So she had to leave and I was in Denver. My dad called and he had since moved back to Washington and was like, just come here, we'll figure this out. So I stayed in Denver for a few weeks by myself and then my stepmom drove out um, and which was awesome, thank you. Uh. We went back to washington and then I was out one night with some friends that I'd stayed in touch with and they were like, hey, triggs having a party, and you know your mind's well, there can't be many triggs.

Speaker 5: 49:13

I bet it was a good party it was. Yeah, I bet you threw some good parties you did.

Speaker 7: 49:19

Yeah, I'm great yeah, I remember rolling up and it was in his garage, at his parents house actually, and his it was him and his mom playing uh lcr, and I got in on it and then, um, they, some people had to go on a beer run and he was leaving and and then I, just while that was happening, I took off.

Speaker 6: 49:39

Um, and actually I came back and I was like where did she go? And they're like she left, and I was so bummed and I was like, oh man, and first thing in the morning I called my buddy that she had come with and he gave me her number and I called her and we went out for ice cream and where I he forgot, and he gave me her number and I called her and we went out for ice cream and when I he forgot his wallet.

Speaker 7: 49:59

I forgot my wallet. So we pull up and I'm like no fucking way Like this is a joke. This is not Ha ha. And he's like no, I really did.

Speaker 6: 50:07

No, so that's how you know she loves you when she buys you ice cream for the first time Seventh grade yeah in seventh grade.

Speaker 7: 50:18

Yeah, it's kind of wild though, because really until I had kids I was really good at keeping a journal. So we do have, from my perspective, kind of a play-by-play of this middle school drama relationship and saying like I love him and then he was over and like I hate him and well, I kind of like him again, but I can't tell my friends because they don't like him now because he was mean or whatever then there was this amazing part that we got to that we got to when we're over, and it was when we went over to talk to them about our engagement we used all our like.

Speaker 7: 50:47

A lot of my wedding I'm not sorry a lot of my journal entries on our um wedding invitations, like we tore out little quotes and stuff.

Speaker 6: 50:56

But some of the stuff was like from her high school years and at at that point my life I she had moved to the east coast. I'd completely for you know, but she had things in there where she's like I just can't find a boyfriend. That gives me that feeling that trig had.

Speaker 4: 51:12

He had this amazing power and I was like I still got that power.

Speaker 7: 51:22

It is weird, I mean. I think as we've gotten older, we've definitely been more trusting in the universe and its powers and what it puts in your path. Um, but that's one of those things I never thought. And here we are just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. Yeah, we joke with our kids, though, because they're that age now. I'm like you never know. You could be walking by her in the hallway true they love that were you?

Speaker 5: 51:51

were you guys staying in touch when you were in montana?

Speaker 7: 51:53

probably not no no, as soon as no.

Speaker 6: 51:56

I also think every day that she skipped all those years of my life. Yeah, I went through crazy Like when I came out of Montana. I was not fixed and yeah, talk about that.

Speaker 5: 52:07

So you got. Did you end up graduating?

Speaker 6: 52:10

No, cause I sat for so long. I sat for another five months and I was really going to sit and not, I was just signing myself out. And then one day, when, I when you say sat, that means, that means just I did my school, I kept to myself, I didn't break rules, I didn't do but you weren't, you weren't, you didn't?

Speaker 5: 52:31

you lost that drive to work the program. Oh yeah, I was done.

Speaker 6: 52:35

I knew it was like a joke. When I got there, totally I just was trying to make my way out of there for sure and uh, and I was never gonna drink that kool-aid. Like well, you should have been in some of those seminars. They were wild. Oh dude, it's nuts. People like tackling each other. It was some crazy act.

Speaker 6: 52:52

You had to really put on a show to make it happen yeah, I believe it um, but yeah, when I came out, I came out, I signed this contract with my parents about, like, how I was going to be and follow all these rules, and I didn't follow any of them.

Speaker 5: 53:06

Was that something you came up with, or them, or the program?

Speaker 6: 53:10

No, they decided to come and pull me early because they're like he is just going to sit.

Speaker 5: 53:15

Yeah.

Speaker 6: 53:16

And so they pulled me in August. I would have sat till the next June, when my birthday was, but they finally pulled me out and, uh, I like I came out. Uh, I was arrested that in four days, um, for walking down the road in the middle of the road, intoxicated, um, so it didn't help me much. I fell right off the same wagon. I went deeper than I ever had, almost relapsed a couple times and finally, at that point I don't know what it was, but I had a time with a needle in front of me, and that was one thing that I said I'd never do. The whole needle thing was something that.

Speaker 6: 54:02

I always told myself I would never do, and even in the state that I was in, which was not a good state, it was my turn and I said no, and I got up and I just started walking and I walked out of the place and I was just walking and I just kept walking and I was crying and I was walking down the road and I had somebody from my past pick me up, got a shower, and that was when I kind of became a loner and started my journey to being a better person.

Speaker 6: 54:45

Mad respect, bro, For multiple reasons yeah and since 19, I haven't touched a hard drug. I haven't done any of that stuff. I struggled with alcohol for a really long time. I haven't drank in seven years. Nice job, and yeah, it's a new life when your head's clear and you really start to appreciate everything so much more.

Speaker 5: 55:13

Yeah, who is kind of other than Caitlin, who I'm sure has played the biggest role, but who else has kind of walked by your side through, like maybe in the early days when, like after you made that decision, like, and you, you know you were you said a loner.

Speaker 6: 55:32

Yeah, Like I mean, like you, you have your friends and then you have you have the people that, like my friends, weren't friends.

Speaker 5: 55:40

We were all just do, using and doing whatever, and um, I think I guess maybe what I'm asking is like who that first person was other than caitlin that what felt like you could lean into and like would help you, like I had a.

Speaker 6: 55:55

I had a friend named todd his name is grandpa todd. He's actually or, I call him grandpa todd, but he's only like 50 or something like that um, he, he was in our wedding actually, um, and he's just uh, uh, I met him on a construction site when I was 19. And we hung out and drank beer together and smoked weed, whatever, and I would go and hang out with him and his family at his house and we would just hang out, we would play video games with his little kids. We'd make birdhouses. We made some really crazy, amazing birdhouses and we just did stuff. I made igloos with the kids when they were little, like so many fun stories and it was kind of like that family that you know you could lean on, and so I'd say that's the guy. Yeah, that's rad.

Speaker 5: 56:51

This is heavy stuff, bro. Like I really appreciate your trust and, like that doesn't go unnoticed. So, um, this is what I. This is why I wanted to like be involved in helping people learn about board house, because if I'm listening to this when I'm driving to work and I skate and I hear this story, like you know, I'm showing up yeah, right, I mean it's like it's not even an option no judgment.

Speaker 7: 57:17

Yeah, it's just like come here you want to share. You have questions? Comments concerns you know, it's just a place to be you and feel safe and accepted and and and I think the skate community is such a force within that as a foundation.

Speaker 6: 57:38

And man, you know how growing up it's so intimidating. Like back in the day, just go to a park or anything like that, and for me to come up with this idea or this thought and then be like, even as a 42-year-old guy, like oh no, now I have to try to come into the skate community what am I gonna do?

Speaker 6: 57:59

but honestly, like you're leading by an example, skating the last like year and a half, oh my gosh, not a more welcoming community. I I have so much respect for all of the amazing skaters in the bend area that I've met and in all of the areas that I've gone, because we're hitting skate parks on every road trip nowadays you sure are, and pnw in general just has like such an awesome, just like stronghold for skating, and I've I've needed that my whole life. You know, I wish I found that back then.

Speaker 5: 58:37

It's your tribe man.

Speaker 6: 58:38

Maybe it would have been a little different.

Speaker 5: 58:42

Yeah, that's why skating is so rad. That's why I, you know, I was the same thing Like I was at the park in my town growing up. Every day after high school, my mom was on the city council to try to get the first skate park in Coeur d'Alene.

Speaker 5: 59:01

And like our first skate park was like this old fly ramp or launch ramp and like a like really bad metal mini half pipe, but I mean every day there was 40 kids there and like you create like a spot and I remember there would just be organic groups of other people that didn't even skate, that would just show up there for the same reasons they will at the board, at board house, but you're just going to have resources for them to do it quicker yeah, you know like yeah it's super rad that's a huge goal.

Speaker 6: 59:27

With it is providing a year-round space year-round space and you know, and it really is going to take just finding that space and getting that space and and once the space is there, like all the different amazing things that, like I'm just so excited to think about what our amazing team can help come up with- and our community. You know it's not just us. So what are all of us going to come up with and do at this place together? It's I don't know. It's exciting when there is no like and like. It has to look this way yeah, you're kind of letting it.

Speaker 5: 1:00:00

I mean, you have a vision and you're taking just kind of this I call it like a stepwise approach towards something you don't really know what is yet, but you trust the process that it's going to define itself, you know.

Speaker 6: 1:00:11

Oh, yeah, and the people around.

Speaker 6: 1:00:12

it will help define that and I feel like one other wise thing that this old guy, garrett, told me about five, six years ago, and it changed the way that I've tried. I still am growing and I still make mistakes and I still sometimes don't, don't, but I, he said, you know, as long as you make all of your moves, all of your decisions, all of your reactions, everything that you have, that's what you have control of. If, if you do all of those things and and all of them, there's three things that you kind of like stand by. It's that it doesn't hurt you, it doesn't hurt anyone else and it doesn't hurt you, it doesn't hurt anyone else and it doesn't hurt the earth or the environment or community, then it's good. If it hurts one of those things, there's another route, we can do something different, and so to always stick by that, and if we're living by that, then we're going to do some really cool things and hopefully it benefits everything I like that dude um, and I think trent's really valuable in this.

Speaker 7: 1:01:22

we kind of were talking at commons the other day about his background and strength and I think so much sustainability stuff gets greenwashed now. But as part of that, you know, we also have an opportunity to show that and to show that you can have these cool things happening while you're still protecting this place that gives us everything we have and so making those small changes and Trent has a strong background in that, so that's been cool for him to be able to.

Speaker 5: 1:01:52

Tell me more.

Speaker 8: 1:01:53

Talk more about what's your background you can tell me more, talk more about your background. Well, it's the whole. Reason I moved to Bend, honestly, was to go to OSU Cascades and then did four years there studying natural resources. So that's my environmental background. But first love skateboarding, so I've had a huge value of the environment, my entire actually. I'd say like really started developing, developing in high school, working with a non-profit elemental awareness now called skate wild, um, basically connecting kids to nature through skating, and that was like my first introduction and that's how I got into that um. But yeah, with that background, um, I definitely like love to have an emphasis on that connected to skating. However I can um, and I got a really good introduction through that nonprofit working with them. That's cool, yeah, quickly put, yeah.

Speaker 5: 1:02:43

Yeah, I mean, you're a carpenter by training.

Speaker 6: 1:02:46

Yeah, yeah, I was in the trades for like 25 years. When we moved to Bend, I did not want to be anymore, I was working. I ended up. We needed to get jobs two weeks after moving here?

Speaker 7: 1:02:59

Yeah, we moved here, with no jobs and a little baby.

Speaker 6: 1:03:01

Yes, and so I ended up back in the trades. I didn't want to open up my own company again. I was just going to kind of do that. I went back to school. I was going to be a nurse on a helicopter. I ended up getting my national certification. Dude, I'm so glad you didn't do that.

Speaker 5: 1:03:15

Oh yeah, me too. I'm so glad. I shouldn't say that, but I'm going to say that I'm glad you didn't.

Speaker 6: 1:03:21

I mean, it was fun, exciting for a little bit, but honestly not what I was up for. I was working for a large commercial company in town and doing really well, made my way up the ladder director of operations and got to really help change a culture and lift a lot of people, set goals, do things and and knew that I was that's kind of what I was heading for. So when when that whole life changing event at work happened for me and I knew I couldn't make the same impact that I was making just going to any other company and so I needed to figure out how I could still do that and help, and this is my idea.

Speaker 5: 1:04:07

Yeah, yeah. What was that life-changing event? What is that?

Speaker 6: 1:04:11

It was a job offer of just a remote, 100% remote position for the same company, making about the same amount of money, but just doing a very minuscule part of my job. That was like boring and I'm not, you know, I'm such a people person and now I'm by myself in my garage ordering material not what I'm supposed to be doing and I went through like huge depression back, like up, down, lots of naps, um, and I just I had laughing, I had I mean it was.

Speaker 7: 1:04:46

I work from home and so it was a it. It was a really interesting year yeah, I bet dude adapted.

Speaker 5: 1:04:52

Oh, man and you guys are a good team. I bet dude, we adapted, oh man.

Speaker 6: 1:04:56

And just no energy to whatever. And then you know, and then in June that happened in like a March-ish. And then in June is when I had my conversation with Garrett and made my lists, and in July was when I started like came up with Knot. It was called Knot Board originally. Not it was called not bored originally.

Speaker 7: 1:05:17

We'll have to show you the old logo sometime. It has gone through phases.

Speaker 6: 1:05:21

It was a place where you could go, where you would not be bored, but then it was too confusing and I got voted out on the word. Like said, some of us are good at some things and I'm not good at a lot of stuff.

Speaker 5: 1:05:36

Well, you're married to someone who does marketing for a living right, yes.

Speaker 7: 1:05:42

And we do have another co-founder too, mitch, who it was kind of. He's been in our life for a while. He's married to one of our best friends and he's now one of our best friends too. But having this conversation and sharing with him and he grew up here and just all of a sudden, as Triggs, sharing this kind of, so I'm thinking about doing this.

Speaker 6: 1:06:00

He was the first person I shared it with.

Speaker 7: 1:06:02

Yeah.

Speaker 6: 1:06:02

And it was when we went out to dinner. But I was ready to say something to somebody and I knew Mitch wouldn't say anything to anybody, but he's kind of an angel investor and he looks into things and I'm like I wonder, if I just told him my idea, if he might be a person that'd be interested like who knows. And so I told him and then his excitement level was outrageous and I was like, oh and so every, you know, every single person that I've that I've told this to, has been amazing, stoked about it, besides my mother. But that's whatever, right. I mean, it's a little too risky for some people.

Speaker 5: 1:06:46

Hey man, what's that? Don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody, right? So? There's always going to be, and that's all right. You know, that's all right.

Speaker 7: 1:06:58

Yeah, it's when I um, I worked for a local business here for a long time and kind of started some projects of my own and wanted to go off on my own and wasn't sure how, and I talked to someone here.

Speaker 5: 1:07:13

Was that at rebound? Yeah, I worked at rebound.

Speaker 7: 1:07:17

You I talked to someone here Was that at Rebound? Yeah, I worked at Rebound, you did. Yeah, it's a good spot. I had so much fun. That's actually how I met. So Mitch's wife, jackie, was an aid when I worked there and that's so. Yeah, I mean, I feel like actually when we first moved to Bend I was looking at companies that I wanted to work for and at the time that was Rebound, you know, like their involvement in the community and the humans.

Speaker 7: 1:07:36

And so eventually I did end up working there and made some phenomenal connections and still talk to a lot of the people. But I was kind of ready to switch things up and one friend of mine just said you know, you just have to start telling people, which is so scary when you have this thing that you think is cool and you want to do and you just are not quite sure how everyone else is going to receive it. And so she said, you just start telling people, it'll be fine. And I was like all right, and I did, and it really it spiraled in a good way and it just kind of manifested itself and really took it to the next level.

Speaker 7: 1:08:14

So I think it is really interesting how these certain conversations and you never know who it's going to be you know, you never know. And I think as long as you're saying it authentically and you're really doing it for the right reasons, people, people get that Um, and if they're the right people, then they support it and if they don't, then that's okay and they move on and you talk to the next person. Um, so again, just that, community and conversations, and it's powerful yeah, 100.

Speaker 5: 1:08:42

The worst people can say is no, um, which is but like the deeper, like theme there, it's just it's vulnerability right it's it's getting, it's being okay with being uncomfortable and the most uncomfortable outcome.

Speaker 7: 1:08:58

You know what I mean. Yeah, and realizing a lot of times I mean it's the majority of the time. It's not personal. It's personal to you because it's your vision and you want to bring it to life, but their answer has nothing to do with you and even in Trigg's case, the one non-enthusiastic person. That's not about Trigg non-enthusiastic person.

Speaker 6: 1:09:19

That's not about trig, that's you know. So it is fun to see, like the, the building the more, the more people here, the more that we continue to tell them throughout this year of, just like learning things and going from being a prophet to a non-profit and all these different things as we're growing and changing. And then seeing, like as the community builds and after this new, like our first event, and seeing how how much is built. It's like the building of the wave right and and when the the wave just starts going.

Speaker 6: 1:09:48

You got to catch it and then, once you catch it, you just ride that thing and you never pull out momentum right.

Speaker 8: 1:09:55

Yeah, it's funny this, like the thought, like that I just cornered you in that store, in the store one day and it just this is now right yeah, it's like a uh, I don't know.

Speaker 7: 1:10:06

A demonstration of like that for sure is like well, trigg came home after that he said caitlin, I don't know how he knew, but he knew. And then, but I mean, tactics has been amazing. They've been super supportive, like we work with their marketing gal and, um, you know, we got to do first friday with them.

Speaker 6: 1:10:24

There's a lot of stuff that has just been skate day and summer fast and they've been a huge part.

Speaker 7: 1:10:29

They've totally embraced it amazing it's excited to see that partnership we want to see it.

Speaker 8: 1:10:33

I mean, I'm like I've worked there for three years, that's. We probably talked about having indoor skate trance, the only tactics band skate skate team member. Oh yeah, he is the team bend yeah um, but yeah, I mean, for us it's so important how to have a space like that um to keep? I don, I don't know. We have our, we've have such a community around the shop, which is amazing.

Speaker 5: 1:10:59

Um, you know, it's still a retail store, so we try to make it as a nexus as much as we can, but growing upon that is like going to be awesome, Um yeah, tactics is a good experience in there, like every time I and I in there, like every time I and I I mean, I grew up working in a snowboarding skate shop and and like I've been in a lot, of them that like you're like you know, but, like I always, it's always a good time walking in there.

Speaker 5: 1:11:24

It's it's super good product good vibe.

Speaker 6: 1:11:27

All the guys yeah guys and gals like who, who does the hiring? Because, man, they do a great job. Yeah, um about Tim.

Speaker 8: 1:11:33

Yeah, yeah. For me too, it's like the third shop I've worked at. Yeah. I mean, I've made like my lifelong friends through that shop. Yeah Well, that's what a skate shop.

Speaker 5: 1:11:44

Exactly, yeah, exactly. It's really not about the thing per se, right. It's about something that people have common interest in and what develops from that? And. I mean, that's why I name your thing and there's a community of people around it. So where are you guys at? Like when your goals like what do you need to? Like get a location? Do you have one in mind? Like is there a number you need to reach? Like all that kind of?

Speaker 6: 1:12:13

stuff. Originally, at the very beginning, our goal in finding a leasing a spot, the goal was to raise 1.5 million. We you know we're right at the beginning of that, so we haven't raised much, but we are just starting to get out there. So that's. It's exciting in the beginning With our friend that we've met through Garrett Reggie Barnes, who was the number 3 skater back in 1987 and part of the Dogtown crew which Ninja Turtle was he?

Speaker 6: 1:12:48

he was Donatello, the stunt double in the first movie back in the 90's so that's a fun fact but yeah, reggie, he owns uh eastern skate supply and bought out most of his competitors, so he owns most of the skateboarding distribution in the nation. Um, and I went out and chatted with reggie and hung out with him and, um, he loves the project, loves everything about it kind of the reason why I've we decided to make the shift from a profit to a non-profit, um and at, and has, as voiced you know, that he's been interested in, in um a real estate investment, not a hundred percent, nothing. So right, just said, send stuff my way, showing interest.

Speaker 6: 1:13:32

Yes, and send stuff my way, see what happens. So, um, we're just kind of putting the universe out there. We've been looking at spots. There's not much available that we've seen in Bend. We are looking for like a 15,000 square foot place. It would be nice if it was just wide, open, square, high ceilings, whatever, and you've got to start from scratch.

Speaker 7: 1:13:53

They looked at like the old Cascadeascade vehicle tents and the Earth Cruiser, the Earth Cruiser building, which is still for lease.

Speaker 6: 1:14:00

We've reached out and asked about those. Now that we have that other person that's interested, now we can look for things for sale or lease-to-sale options which has kind of widened our vision.

Speaker 7: 1:14:14

I think it's going to be really important to keep it centralized too, you know, especially with the after school stuff and kids being able to get there. You know, with working parents or parents that can't get them there whatever, to sort of keep it accessible, to make it a place that they can get a ride, ride their bike, skate over to.

Speaker 6: 1:14:33

And so this is really it's going to take the right owner. It's going to take the right place. That really kind of changes what the place will eventually look like. A lot of people are like what's it going to look like, what are you going to have, and like when we know what the building looks like then, we have Trent and all of his friends and everybody in the skate community make an amazing place out of whatever's been delivered, right.

Speaker 8: 1:14:57

That was the whole initial conversation. I like heard trig was, do you gonna do it or trying to do it, and I was like I just want to help yes, design the park like please like, just let me be part of that, it'll be rad in like 20 years, when there's like the whatever annual, like bend am you know like?

Speaker 6: 1:15:14

our version of tampa am yeah, yeah for sure, that's the kind of fun spot where you like. I know that Summit High School has like a skate team, surf team, yeah, and they take kids out to Rockridge and stuff. Currently, and with a place like this, could you, could you get it involved with all the schools?

Speaker 5: 1:15:32

Could all schools have skate teams and then they have a place to train and they have a place to compete and it's an Olympic sport. Man, it's trickle. That's the only place where trickle down works. Yeah, Like whatever kind of gets Olympic sport, you start seeing this like it trickles down, whether it's swimming or skating or different, different, yeah.

Speaker 6: 1:15:52

I mean we've had in the reach out from the community, not only like with the different media type situations, but like the other nonprofits. So yes, we had a conversation with like being able to deal and like work with and help with adaptive and help with all different organizations.

Speaker 5: 1:16:13

You know it's like really, once you have the place, how many fun things can you do.

Speaker 6: 1:16:16

Once you build it, we can do whatever.

Speaker 5: 1:16:18

Yeah, I mean I think the truck stop and the old like Ben just wasn't at the point where it could like those and they were really rad parks and super fun, but there just wasn't. It was a hard business model to sustain, you know partly because of the population limitations or the opportunity through population limitations. So, um yeah, it's the timing's great.

Speaker 7: 1:16:44

Well, and we had a guy, a friend of ours, that we met in Hawaii that um has started a few parks in various areas and he has one that's doing really well in Brooklyn and he did say you know, it can't, it's hard to have it just. And he did say you know it can't, it's hard to have it, just skate long-term you know, like there's so much opportunity here. So if you can bring in these other things and then that's kind of when we start training.

Speaker 6: 1:17:05

I don't know what our rave community is like, but I know he rents his out for raves like every night.

Speaker 7: 1:17:15

I don't know. I feel like and we've had so many kids too that like want to be involved, and I just have this vision of once we get that key of having people come and, like you know, write things on the sub floor and make tiles for the bathroom and really physically get hands on so they know they are part of this.

Speaker 6: 1:17:33

They built this.

Speaker 5: 1:17:34

This is their park and there's a whole pipeline of young kids coming up skating. A lot more like with, with. I mean like Gabe and what he does.

Speaker 7: 1:17:42

I mean it's just yeah, you know it's, it's yeah.

Speaker 5: 1:17:47

There's opportunity, like if you can't make it to the park or parents can't get, I mean like what Gabe does. I don't think people realize how epic, that is.

Speaker 7: 1:17:58

No, he's definitely set a foundation for the skate community here.

Speaker 5: 1:18:02

I feel like you guys worked with him a fair amount this year, didn't you? We did a little bit of stuff, I feel like I saw a bunch of content of the board house and the tour.

Speaker 6: 1:18:13

We approached Gabe originally and tried to make something happen. I think our visions just were a little different, and I'm not sure why, but we just let the universe deliver and send us in the directions and we had a great time with Gabe. He's an amazing coach and, like you said, his impact on the community and you can see it in Gabe. He's an amazing coach, um, and, like you said, his impact on the community and you can see it in in certain people that he's worked with.

Speaker 6: 1:18:42

Uh, we just had different visions and uh and yeah, it didn't work out the way that that I originally planned, but I think that it's cause it'll work out in a way better that you didn't originally, and that's how I felt like right after that, you know, right after that, like the way that it naturally just zoomed right into with like finding Trent and all of that and then other friends that we have Brian also is, you know, part of kind of coming together and helping like make this really kind of cool, new thing, young, fresh, alright thank you, thank you so much kind of cool new thing Young, fresh.

Speaker 6: 1:19:21

Alright, thank you. Thank you so much and honestly, we totally appreciate you and every single other person out there that's been supportive and excited about this.

Speaker 7: 1:19:30

Oh here you go, here's your moment.

Speaker 3: 1:19:32

Smoke some Danko.

Speaker 5: 1:19:36

Dude, this isn't live. I want to hear you rap. I can always edit it out.

Speaker 6: 1:19:40

You're like the first, the first verse I got.

Speaker 3: 1:19:46

Well, it's the MI Gregoletta. Ain't no one better? And when I'm on the microphone, you're best the way you sweat it, cause I'm cooler than a polar bear's toenails. So hell, there you go again Talking that shit Been corners, like I was a curve. I struck a nerve and now you're about to see the southern player serve. I heard it's not where you're from, but where you pay your rent. And I heard it's not what you make, but how much you spend. You got me fit like elbows, amongst other things, but I'm not worried, cause when we step up in the bar they, like our mother, shine box in your sack of nickels it tickles to see you talk to me like mr pickles daddy, fast sex, b-i-g-b-o-i-s-s-a motherfucker that took them knuckles to your eye and I try to warn you not to test.

Speaker 3: 1:20:22

But you're gonna listen. Give it a shot at tomorrow. Don't know, I got this part and wave, just don't care the chorus I mean what are you all?

Speaker 5: 1:20:32

that pimp shit like that was so good, but also think about how, that When's the last time you sang that song?

Speaker 6: 1:20:42

I don't know. I mean straight up, More than five years, I mean within the last five years. I've heard it. When. I hear it. I'm kind of like.

Speaker 5: 1:20:55

I don't know If I'm by myself, I'll turn it up and like hang out. Music just fascinates me. I love it. Yeah, the way that you lay down memory associated with music, especially lyrics.

Speaker 6: 1:21:05

It's amazing. It's one of those things that, like I love music. It's so influential, it's like never been musically gifted or talented.

Speaker 3: 1:21:13

I don't know, you sounded pretty good, musically gifted or talented, I don't know, but I mean also to bring that community in and be able to do events with them too.

Speaker 5: 1:21:20

Oh, yeah, shows.

Speaker 6: 1:21:22

Like that would be amazing.

Speaker 7: 1:21:24

Yeah, like there's some really rad logic if you're out there and you want to. That's what we want. We want logic. There's like a really cool youth band called Hello Shy too that we always talk about, like the drummer sisters on our daughter's soccer team. Like let's bring them in. Like just get these kids going too.

Speaker 5: 1:21:44

I mean nothing, good happens, quick right. People like to think it does, but most things are 10 year overnight successes. I'm learning and you know like you got to start your journey somewhere you guys are on it. There's definitely a need. You have a rad vision, you have an amazing group and team forming, so just it's just a matter of time.

Speaker 4: 1:22:06

Yeah, yes, proud of you, dudes. Thanks for coming in. This is a fun one. Proud of you, fun.

Speaker 5: 1:22:36

Hey, thanks for listening to Ben Magazine's the Circling Podcast. Make sure to visit benmagazinecom and learn about all the outdoor adventures in our area, as well as upcoming featured community events, local artist profiles, our dining guide and more. Remember, enter promo code PODCAST at checkout for your $5 annual subscription. Our theme song was written by Carl Perkins and performed by Aaron Colbaker and Aaron Zerflu of the Aries. We love mail, so please send us comments, questions or art to thecirclingpodcast at benmagazinecom. Support the Circling Podcast by becoming a member on Patreon at patreoncom. Forward, slash the Circling Podcast and learn how your financial contribution will help support local nonprofits while also supporting local podcasting. Learn more about Boardhouse Society at boardhousessocietyorg and learn how your support will help fund more than just a skate park. Lastly, if you know someone who you think would enjoy today's episode, please share it with them today. Hey, thanks for your time. Central Oregon get outside. We'll see you out there and remember, the health of our community relies on us.