But that has not stopped Mid Michigan Community College sophomore freshman Daniel Burkacki-Wilson.

“I could never get a hold of skateboarding, I tried and I tried and I tried,” Burkacki-Wilson said. “Then last summer, I jumped on a long board and was like ‘God damn!’ just cruising.”

Burkacki-Wilson is opening Ruins Board Shop May 7. The shop will stock skateboard merchandise, clothes, decks, trucks, bearings, wheels and hardware, he said.

After a few months the store might expand into snowboard equipment as well, Burkacki-Wilson said. He stumbled into the current location, 120 1/2 E. Broadway St., when Emma’s Basement Boutique decided to move in February.

The boutique, now just Emma’s, is located at 111 S. University St.

“I guess we just kind of free balled it to tell you the truth. The rent wasn’t too much, so I came down here that first day and put the deposit and three or four months rent and I didn’t even think about it,” he said. “I don’t know the future of this store, I just have so many ideas.”

Not all of opening the store was that easy, there was a month and a half of delays while Burkacki-Wilson worked to raise funds, through loans from family members and selling decks in Island Park, 331 N. Main St.

The park was where he met Steve Phillips, a local skateboarder and Mount Pleasant resident, who will be working in the board shop.

Twenty-year-old Phillips and his friend Charley Darnell, 25, of Mount Pleasant have experience competing and doing demonstrations across the U.S.

“I was just a little kid and I thought that it was neat and I started doing it,” Darnell said. “If you can think of a trick you can probably do it if you just practice enough. Different styles, just imagination, is pretty much all there is to it.”

Darnell hopes to work for Burkacki-Wilson as the board shop expands. Since Burkacki-Wilson is going back to school in the fall, Darnell may get the chance.

“I know I’ll be able to handle it,” Burkacki-Wilson said. “By then I think it’ll be calmed down.”

People have already stopped by the store, he said. There are lots of skateboarders in Mount Pleasant and the number grows every year.

The nearest boarding stores are in Lansing and Saginaw said Burkacki-Wilson.

“The population of skaters grows every summer by like 30 percent,” Darnell said.

The Livonia junior has skated for five years and loves being involved in culture and freedom skateboarding brings.

“I like that there isn’t a coach telling me how to skate or when to skate,” Rodemeyer said. “It’s skate and create.”

The local scene is Island Park near downtown Mount Pleasant where, on average, as many as eight to ten skateboarders such as Rodemeyer take the cement at the skate park. Rodemeyer said skateboarding is great because anyone can participate, and skaters can learn at their own pace.

However, Rodemeyer said the skateboarding community is largely misunderstood.

“I feel like people try to put skaters in the ‘only skaters’ category,” he said. “But a lot of skaters are super creative and are the brightest, most creative people.”

Farmington junior Kyle Shernoff, 21 talks skating with Steve Phillps, 20, of Mount Pleasant as Cauy George drops in. (Nathan Kostegian/ Staff Photographer)

No troublemakers

Rodemeyer said he is tired of the negative stereotypes aimed at the skateboarding community. So is Scott Hartzel, his friend from Livonia.

“People look badly upon skaters,” Hartzel said. “A lot of people associate skateboarders with drugs, but there are a lot of skaters that don’t do that stuff. We’re just like anyone else.”

“We do damage property when we’re skating it,” Hartzel said. “But no one wants to see footage of park video, it’s boring.”

Michigan not ideal

Hartzel hopes to one day join the ranks of skateboarding professionals.

He has more than six years of experience and is sponsored by Chiipss Skateshop in Plymouth.

Hartzel wants to move out of Michigan to take skateboarding more seriously.

“L.A.’s where the skateboarding scene is at,” Hartzel said. “Sometimes, it’s not about how good you are — sometimes, it’s about knowing the right people.”

Farmington junior Kyle Shernoff, 21, has skateboarded for around eight years and skates in Mount Pleasant's Skate Park three to four times a week. (Nathan Kostegian/ Staff Photographer)

Michigan weather does not allow for ideal practice conditions, he said.

However, Hartzel skateboards everyday to improve his skills.

“When I first started, after school I’d skate with my friends,” he said. “Instead of hanging out and playing video games, we’d just skate. I skate everyday.”

A close family

Ryan Macdonald just started skateboarding again after a four-year hiatus.

The Livonia sophomore described the local skateboarding community as a family.

“The skate community here is just so close,” Macdonald said. “I’ve made a lot of great friends.”

He started skating when he was in fifth grade. He and his friends were inspired by the Tony Hawk skateboarding video games that became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“I love landing tricks,” he said. “There’s no better satisfaction.”

Hartzel said skateboarding is one of the most difficult sports to get good at and become a professional in.

“We’re just skating and having a (expletive) good time.”

Her brown hair struggles to catch up to her body curving to each bend on a skateboard that she taught herself to ride.
Look even closer at the Adrian junior and you will see the silver lip ring and tattoos.

They aren’t just a fashion statement, but signs of a story to be told.

After battling through multiple episodes of depression earlier this year, Lewis is often ready to discuss her struggles so others can be helped. There are other times when she needs more courage just to speak.

“What I went through is incredibly tough,” Lewis said.

Her beginning

In high school, Lewis often felt depressed, but did not know what the symptoms were.

As a freshman in college, the physical symptoms of losing weight, sleep and her interest in activities forced her to realize what was going on.

Adrian junior Aimee Lewis displays her tattoo Thursday near Charles V. Park Library. The art reads “Courage” on the inside of her wrist and “Wisdom” on the back, connected by a green vine to represent growth. “When I looked at my arm (before this tattoo), there were only negative things to see; I wanted to look at something positive. The scars remind me how I messed up; the tattoo reminds me how hard I have fought and all that I have been through,” Lewis said. (Libby March/Staff Photographer)

“Depression was really hard to bounce back from,” Lewis said. “It took a lot out of me and changed my perspective on life a lot.”

After realizing she needed help, Lewis started seeking treatment in October 2008. One of the hardest things with her depression was not knowing the cause, she said.

Sometimes, she contributes the depression to genetics and stress.

After realizing she needed hospitalization, she was checked into a mental hospital for six days in March and April.

“I was thinking straitjackets and, in reality, there are people there in sweat pants and T-shirts,” she said. “Everyone is supportive of each other. I don’t have to pretend.”

Lewis did not tell her parents until the last couple days there.

“(My parents) were terrified and upset, naturally. After they talked to me, it turned out to be really good for my family,” she said.

Through the process, Lewis missed school because of stress and not being able to concentrate.

Knowledge gained

Inside the hospital, Lewis felt a sense of community.

“Every time I was in there, I met beautiful people. You are not divided by class or race or anything like that, because you are in the hospital together. Everybody is rooting for each other,” Lewis said.

At the time of her depression, Lewis did not know anyone who was hospitalized.

“I thought I was absolutely crazy because no one talked about this and, if I can help someone, that would be awesome,” she said.

Lewis is passionate about social justice and writing. With a major in English and minor in religion, Lewis plans on becoming a creative writing teacher.

Her passion for writing and determination to talk about what she went through makes her unique, Lewis said.

Lewis’ mother, Cathie Bachman, said her daughter has grown from her experiences and is a stronger person.

“She has inspired me with her determination to fight her depression and with her willingness to share her story,” Bachman said.

Advocacy through writing

Lewis started sharing her experience by writing her message on her body.

On her left wrist is a self-inflicted scar she once was ashamed of, often hiding it with bracelets. A few weeks ago, Lewis decided to get tattoos of the words “courage” and “wisdom,” along with a green vine representing growth that circles her wrist.

As of now, Lewis still deals with depression. She took up skateboarding after getting out of the hospital.

“Sometimes, I feel like I am flying when I am going downhill. It actually makes me feel good,” she said. “I know when I have my skateboard, lip ring and tattoos, people feel I must be this cocky, rebellious, maybe even angry person.”

In reality, she is not that way.

Shepherd resident and CMU alumna Laura Schmidt said Lewis has taught her about resilience, and is an exhibit of growth and is proud to call her a friend. Fighting depressive episodes is a battle Lewis plans to win, she said.

“I’ve seen her struggle, but I’ve also seen her courage and her strength, and that is motivation to continue fighting for a better life for myself,” Schmidt said.