Boards for Bros is a group of skateboarders working together to collect and refurbish skateboards so they can be redistributed back into the community for children who cannot afford their own.

By helping the skateboard community give skateboards to those without the opportunity to ride one otherwise, Boards for Bros works to show that skateboarding can help children learn discipline, respect, and perseverance that will assist them throughout their entire lives, while having fun and exercising.

Boards for Bros is the natural extension of an idea that formed one day in 2006 at the historic Bro Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Some skateboarders, their families, and their friends were skating and the usual crowd of local kids stood by, watching excitedly. Since the park had been built in 1979, the locals never seemed to have their own skateboards, but were always stoked to borrow one of the visiting skaters' boards.

This original group of skaters was Paul Schmitt, Ed Womble, and Ryan Clements. Realizing they could be the ones to make a change in these kids’ lives, this group of skaters, and by extension, the entire family at Skatepark of Tampa, organized the collection of used skateboards, refurbished them, and gave them out to kids in some of the sketchier areas of Tampa around the holidays. Boards for Bros was born.

Since that first year, Boards for Bros has been collecting and refurbishing hardgoods for the kids in Tampa, and many folks in the skateboarding industry have noticed, taking up their own collections and even donating complete boards.

In 2010, Emerica’s Wild in the Streets in Tampa was held to benefit Boards for Bros, raising money, awareness, and a bunch of gear to give to kids. That event led to the formation of a long-term partnership between Emerica and Boards for Bros. Wild in the Streets is about empowering kids, and by aligning with worthy causes Emerica encourages kids to be part of something bigger than themselves, and even bigger than skateboarding. All Emerica events will benefit Boards for Bros, and the 2011 Wild in the Streets event in Los Angeles will be the launch of the first Boards for Bros donation outside of Florida.

Boards for Bros Mission Statement: To inspire kids to use skateboarding as a gateway to a healthy life by giving them refurbished skateboards through a joint industry effort.

Participating Shops

The shops below are giving 10% off Emerica gear on the day you donate hardgood to Boards for Bros.

Active Ride Shop - all locations
Ambush, Kennsaw, GA
BC Surf & Sport, Littleton, CO
Billy's, Newhall, CA
Blue Tile Skateshop, Columbia, SC
Church of Skatan, Santa Barbara, CA
Clockwork Skateboards, Macon, GA
Epidemic Ride Shop, Cathedral City, CA
Escapist, Kansas City, MO
Fifty-50, Azusa, CA
Furnace, Cypress, CA
Goodtime Boardstore, Grass Valley, CA
Homebase Skateshop, Bethlehem, PA
Huntington Surf & Sport, Huntington Beach, CA
Identity, Anaheim, CA
IDS Boardshop, Los Angeles, CA
Index Skateboarding, Dallas, TX
K-5 Surf & Sport, Encinitas, CA
Kinetic, Wilmington, DE
Krudco, Rochester, NY
One Way Boardshop, Santa Maria, CA
Pacific Drive, San Diego, CA
Pharmacy Boardshop, Las Vegas, NV
Pharmacy Boardshop, Palmdale, CA
Pit Crew, Frederick, MD
Plus Skateshop, Fort Walton Beach, FL
Pride Surf and Skate, San Diego, CA
Rukus Boardsports, Baton Rouge, LA
Society Ride Shop, San Carlos, CA
Solstice, New Bedford, MA
Subsect, Des Moines, IA
Surfride, Costa Mesa, CA
Uprise, Chicago, IL
Vertical Urge, Raleigh, NC
Westside Skateshop, Tarpon Springs, FL

Boards for Bro’s 2007: Assembly

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Words by Ryan Clements
Photos and Captions by Angel Carela

If you have no idea what Boards for Bro's is all about, let me give you a quick break-down...

In late November of 2006 Paul Schmitt came to Tampa to skate in Binky's Beer Belly Bowl Jam. We took some time away from Skatepark and headed over to the Bro Bowl. I'm sure you're aware of the usual antics that go down at that place. Keep in mind that this is while the projects were still there. There must have been 10 little kids that were asking to borrow our boards and basically annoying us while we were trying to have a session.

Those kids needed something. They needed their own skateboards. Paul came up with the idea of collecting used skate gear, putting it back together, and giving the boards to the kids at the Bro Bowl. We immediately started collecting used product at SPoT and a few weeks later we had about 30 completes. Signs were posted at the Bro Bowl that "Santa" was giving out skateboards the Saturday before Christmas. Here's how it turned out:

http://www.skateparkoftampa.com/spot/article.aspx?id=687

We continued the collecting throughout 2007 and now it's time to give some more completes away. The photos are of our "assembly party" that we had last week. I know, it's nothing spectacular, but we're doing what we can. The bottom line is this though...we have about 35 completes at the moment, but we have enough decks, wheels, and bearings to make about 100. We desperately need trucks and hardware though.

If you can donate an old pair of trucks, please drop them off at Skatepark when you get the chance. If you can't make it, please ship them. And if you're an industry person and have access to a few pair of extra trucks that are sitting on the shelves, please take a moment to send us a few pair to:

Skatepark of Tampa
Attn: Boards for Bro's
4215 East Columbus Drive
Tampa, Florida 33605

Thanks to everyone that has been helping out with this project.

Ryan