Spohn Ranch

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Spohn Ranch is a skatepark design and construction firm based in Industry, California. The firm specializes in the construction and design of concrete skateparks and skate plazas, skateable art sculptures, several styles of ramps, and courses for skateboarding, BMX and motocross events. [1]

Skatepark place that was built for skating

A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scooter, wheelchair, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs, stairsets, and any number of other objects.

Sculpture Artworks that are three dimensional objects

Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sculptural processes originally used carving and modelling, in stone, metal, ceramics, wood and other materials but, since Modernism, there has been an almost complete freedom of materials and process. A wide variety of materials may be worked by removal such as carving, assembled by welding or modelling, or molded or cast.

Skateboarding action sport on skateboards

Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding will be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Contents

History

The company began in the 1980s when founder and president, Aaron Spohn, was living in Venice Beach, California. He and his friends would skate the streets of Venice and occasionally build makeshift ramps on the boardwalk. The City would tolerate these ramps for a few weeks at a time before tearing them out. [2] Spohn lobbied for several years for the City of Venice Beach to build a skatepark where he and other skaters could safely and legally skate. Spohn eventually built a half-pipe in his backyard, which he named "Spohn Ranch". [2]

Half-pipe structure used in sports

A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating and scooter riding.

Contest organizers began approaching Spohn about building ramps for their events. [3] In the early 1990s, the ESPN television network developed the X Games annual sports event, and in 1995 Spohn designed and built courses for the inaugural event. [4]

ESPN is a U.S.-based pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen along with his son Scott Rasmussen and Ed Egan.

X Games extreme sports tournament

The X Games is an annual extreme sports event hosted, produced, and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, as well as prize money.

After a few years of working with the X-Games and the Gravity Games and Vans Triple Crown, municipalities began approaching Spohn Ranch for help with building permanent outdoor facilities. [5] Spohn asked friends and family members to join his company to develop it into a full-time job. [2]

The Gravity Games was a multi-sport competition originating in Providence, Rhode Island that was broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations. The competition featured a variety of extreme sports such as aggressive inline skating, skateboarding, freestyle motocross, BMX freestyle and snowboarding.

Working with municipalities and groups of volunteers, Spohn Ranch worked primarily in the municipal sector, helping design and build skateparks. [5]

The company's work presently focuses primarily on the development of concrete facilities for skateboarding, BMX bike riding and inline skating. Ramp lines make up about 10% of the company's business, while special events and commercial shoots have been reduced to about 5% of yearly revenue. [6]

Concrete Composite construction material

Concrete, usually Portland cement concrete, is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement that hardens over time—most frequently in the past a lime-based cement binder, such as lime putty, but sometimes with other hydraulic cements, such as a calcium aluminate cement or Portland cement. It is distinguished from other, non-cementitious types of concrete all binding some form of aggregate together, including asphalt concrete with a bitumen binder, which is frequently used for road surfaces, and polymer concretes that use polymers as a binder.

Inline skating multi-disciplinary sport

Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using Inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels, arranged in a single line by a metal or plastic frame on the underside of a boot. The in-line design allows for greater speed and maneuverability than traditional roller skates. Following this basic design principle, inline skates can be modified to varying degrees to accommodate niche disciplines.

The company has also developed pre-cast concrete skate features for skatepark construction., [7] and designed skateparks as community spaces, or "skateable art" in 2008. [8]

Notable parks

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Funbox

A funbox is a standard element of a skatepark. It generally consists of a box shape with a flat top and a ramp on two or more sides. A funbox may also include other elements that allow for more complicated skateboarding tricks.

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References

  1. ↑ "Officials balance skate park designs, cost". Ephrata Review. 2014-08-06. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  2. 1 2 3 "History". Spohn Ranch.
  3. ↑ North, Wren Propp | For Journal. "Thrills for 'wheeled' community promised at new skateboard park". www.abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  4. ↑ "Two skatepark companies compete for SL job, planning costs less that [sic] expected". Storm Lake Pilot Tribune. 9 June 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Strickland Park Skate Park". www.stillwater.org. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  6. ↑ "Our Process". Spohn Ranch.
  7. 1 2 "18,000-square-foot Possum Creek Skatepark ready". The Gainesville Sun. 7 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "Spohn Ranch skateparks". Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Portfolio". Spohn Ranch.
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