The mountains of Western North Carolina are carved with steep and twisty roads, many of which overlook rocky cliffs, tree canopies and narrow switchbacks.
While these passages may stress out the average driver, they’re enticing for a growing class of local athletes, who see these roads as the perfect race course for skateboarding.
It feels like “having a super power,” explained Griffen Adams, who regularly flies down mountain roads on his longboard at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour.
“It's almost like controlling your own ride at Six Flags,” he said. “When you're taking tight turns, you actually feel the G-force pressing down on you, which is a very satisfying, very addicting feeling.”
Over the last decade, Asheville has emerged as a hub for downhill skating, attracting waves of athletes like Adams, who fearlessly cruise down the winding roads with just their longboards and a few pieces of protective gear.
“It’s really been cool to be here the whole time and see the growth of it and witness, you know, what people are willing to do for their passion,” he reflected. “These are probably some of the most talented downhill skaters in the U.S., if not the world.”
A short film premiering this Thursday at Eulogy in downtown Asheville offers a look inside the sport’s culture, as well as the sacrifices, personal stories and athletic feats that have helped turn the region into a destination for downhill skaters.
Thomas Richmond, 30, is the film’s director. He’s been skating in Asheville since he was a teenager and has been excited to see new waves of skaters arrive, and the talent in the region proliferate.
“Right now, it's probably the biggest it's ever been,” he said. “All it really takes is one visit and then people are hooked and they're going to uproot their life and move here for the community and the road.”
There are about 100 skaters in the area, according to Richmond’s count. People come in waves of 10, 20 and sometimes 30, he said.
“It’s really been cool to be here the whole time and see the growth of it and witness, you know, what people are willing to do for their passion,” he reflected. “These are probably some of the most talented downhill skaters in the U.S., if not the world.”
“There’s a high caliber of skill”
While the thrills of downhill skating can feel boundless, there are a lot of harsh realities that skaters must contend with. The injuries can be brutal, ranging from broken bones and road rash to long-term muscular issues. There have even been fatalities associated with the sport.
After more than a decade of skating, Richmond said he is missing cartilage from his shoulder which will probably require a surgery.
“It’s pretty classic, 'cause our hands are breaking mechanisms,” he explained. “So, when you're sliding or you fall, it's basically like doing a 40 mile an hour push-up and your shoulder just shoots back out of socket.”
To stave off as much hurt as possible, skaters wear helmets and pads. They also don special gloves with built-in, plastic discs, called pucks, on the palms and fingers to help them slow down on curves.
Adams, who describes himself as a “papa bear” for the younger skaters, told BPR he takes his safety and the safety of his fellow skaters very seriously. He’s diligent about staying in the proper traffic lanes and communicating about ongoing vehicles, he said. During a skate session, athletes typically station a lookout at each end of the road and have a walkie-talkie or cell phone warning system in case there are any cars or other traffic threats.
“I know that on the surface, it could look reckless,” Adams acknowledged. “It could look like folks are out of control but there's a lot of accountability in our community and there's a high caliber of skill you need to get to in order to be able to control yourself down a mountain road like this.”
Still, skaters often face hazards he said, including drivers who don’t always appreciate seeing skaters dart down the road.
“I've had people swerve at me before, believe it or not,” Adams said. “And I think that the perception is that, ‘You're not allowed to do this here. What you're doing is illegal. What you're doing is unsafe and that's not how the road should be used.’”
Is road skating legal?
The legality of road skating is a bit murky. There are no laws that specifically ban the practice in North Carolina. There are some municipalities, however, including Marion and Polk County, that have banned it. Asheville, however, has moved in the other direction.
City Council recently adopted a “micro-mobility” ordinance that permits the use of skateboards on local streets with a posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour or less, so long as they follow the regular rules of the road.
Adams hopes that, over time, perceptions will evolve on the sport. In Asheville, skaters have organized regular clean ups of roads where they skate, as part of a larger effort to strengthen relationships with non-skaters in the neighborhood.
“We have great appreciation and respect for the area and we do try to give back,” he said.
“Asheville was always the goal”
Despite some controversies over road use, downhill skating has been growing in popularity. Seven years ago, it debuted at the World Skate Games in Barcelona. And in North Carolina, the organization North Carolina Downhill Skateboarding promotes the sport with local events, merchandise and a podcast.
Adams said he hopes one day it will be an Olympic sport.
“Chasing hills, it takes a lot of dedication. You're not in it for the glory or the money because there is none of it,” he said. “So, you end up getting the most dedicated people who are specifically down here wanting to just be amongst other people that have the same passion as they do.”
Marcella Delgado is one of the many skaters who moved here to chase hills.
“Asheville was always the goal,” she said. “As soon as I found out what it was like, the roads that they were skating on here, I moved here as soon as I could.”
Delgado is from Southern California, a downhill skating hub in its own right. But, she said, Western North Carolina, even more than California, is a mecca for the sport.
“There’s nothing like it. We have the most — in my opinion and a lot of people's opinions — the most dense population of people and roads to skate.”
Richmond agrees that the local skate scene is hard to compete with.
“I couldn't even begin to tell you how many hundreds and thousands of roads we've collectively found and skated,” he said. “And there's still new roads being found every year. That's why this place is so amazing as we'll probably never uncover all of it.”
