. Skateboarders have been stereotyped as “punk” kids since the 1940’s when Californian surfers started a new sport by creating a simple contraption called the skateboard. Since then, a once considered rebellious pastime has evolved into a more accepted, complex and competitive sport that is practiced worldwide. Skateboarding is not only a recreational activity; it is a difficult sport that incorporates speed, balance and coordination. The subculture of skateboarding has advanced in the past sixty years and has become recognized worldwide by those who do and do not skateboard, yet tension continues to exist between skateboarders and the citizens of their community, thereby creating an atmosphere of discrimination, influenced by the “street rat” stereotype given to skaters. Working with the community of Richmond to design and build a concrete skatepark would not only benefit the community of skateboarders, it would strengthen the bond between community members as a whole.