Enloe students start skate club as an effort to reach out to underserved community

The growing sport of skateboarding is all about balance, foot work and friendly competition.

For 16-year-old Adrian Mangano and his skateboard friends, the sport is a way to reach out to this underserved community on the edge of Raleigh’s downtown.

Mangano said, "Just kind of got involved with this with starting out in the community skateboarding. We just thought it would be a great idea to involve the skate community to do this by starting a skate club."

"Because there’s not really a skate park here and we’re trying to kind of get one," explained 14 year old Enloe student Max Culbreth.

They believe if you build it, skaters will come. "This is where we group up a lot of times, probably just come here to hang out," Mangano said.

Culbreth is a skate club member, but this particular day, an ankle injury keeps him on the sidelines. It’s a common injury for skaters. He knows the mission is bigger than the sport. Culbreath said, "I think the point of the club is to like volunteer out here, clean up, build ramps."

He added, "We might be doing volunteering stuff out here, kind of cleaning up and that sort of stuff, to kind of help out in the community over here."

The key is building trust through friendships, Mangano said.

"It’s going to really bring the community together and it’s going to help us create a stronger and more involved community," Mangano said.

The skate club members also plan to raise money so they can buy things like skateboards and helmets for those who can’t afford the equipment.