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 Bros 2009: The Day We Distribute

Monday, December 21, 2009

By Rob Meronek

Boards for Bros is Skatepark of Tampa's charity. We collect used skate stuff all year long, plus have our friends at skate companies donate things to build complete skateboards. Special thanks to Girl, Element, Royal, Ocean Avenue, Sole Tech, Indy, and Adio. Each year on the Saturday morning before the Ghetto Christmas Party, we pile them all in a truck and drive around looking for kids who could use a hook up.

Thanks to Girl, Element, Royal, Ocean Avenue, Sole Tech, Indy, and Adio for hooking it up gear. Rick Howard even sent a bunch of his shoes.

It's not just companies that contribute. We collect all your used and donated items in the Shop all year long, so if your stuff is in here, thanks so much for helping us create a ton of new skaters today.

It's takes a full assembly line to load up all those boards. Don't carry too many, Giles.

Girl sent full completes and it wasn't last year's rejects, either.
Skater Profile: Brian Schaefer

Our stops included random homes where families were just hanging out in the front yard having a fun Saturday afternoon. Rich, uptight neighborhoods put huge walls in their front yards. We're staying away from there.

This kid in the video was an instant manny champ.

Another random house stop where a new skate family is created.
Skater Profile: Brian Schaefer

A random distribution at a stop sign.

The pickup trucks in these neighborhoods are a little different.

This random new skate dad threw his new skateboard right into the stroller.

The distribution crew.

Another new skate family.

Another new skate family.
Skater Profile: Brian Schaefer

A new skate mom with a baby in one hand and smoke in another.

This is how our front yards look in Florida. Camaro on blocks.

The older dudes took a minute to warm up to us, but after they let their cool guard down, they were all rolling and busting their asses like the kids.
Skater Profile: Ryan Clements

I've had my car for eight years and have never seen the engine or opened the hood, but for some reason I want my next car to be something old and classic like this Impala. Might be time to learn how to open the hood soon.