Whatup foolz,
Our one and only Rafael Antonio Dominguez III, AKA Raffie D, has been published in 826 Valencia's Valencia Bay-Farer Issue #37.
They spelled my name wrong so I changed it but here is a reprint of his article:
Do you think skateboarding is for hoodlums or misfits? If yes, then you are either a cranky old person or you need to learn more about skateboarding. Luckily for students at Mission Dolores School, there is a club that teaches kids all about it.
Shred Francisco is a group started by a guy named Diptesh Soni, who has been skateboarding for ten years. The story goes, Soni brought his board to school and some seventh graders thought it looked cool.
"I told them I was thinking of starting a skateboard club and they were very enthusiastic," said Soni, who had been skateboarding for ten years. Soni likes Shred Francisco because he likes to teach kids what he enjoys most. There are a lot of different kids in the club. One of the kids, named Sergio, is a beginner. Even though he's a beginner, he is still having fun. "it's fun and I like to feel the air," said Sergio.
Soni likes to teach the students about tricks and safety tips. There are different tricks like an ollie, kickflip, 360, 360 flip, manual, nollie, revert, heelflip, and many others. When you do tricks it's good to be safe. Soni teaches people how to be safe. Some tips are to wear safety gear and being cautious is important because you learn by falling. "Don't be afraid to fall," says Soni.
Even though it sometimes has a bad reputation, skateboarding is not for bad people. For example, people like Tony Hawk and other famous skateboarders have gone very far in life. Hawk took a sport that was not very well known and made it much more popular. "I love the fact that there is now a skatepark in almost every city, but it will always have a rebellious/underground edge to it because it is based on individuality." says Hawk.
Nobody knows where skateboarding might go in the future, but luckily kids at Mission Dolores School have a club about skateboarding that helps kids enjoy their life!
If you guys want to learn more about 826 Valencia. Check out their website here: http://826valencia.org/. "826 Valencia is dedicated to supporting students aged 6-18 with their writing skills, and to helping teachers get their students excited about their literary arts." AND it's down the road from us.
826 is run by a writer and all-round-awesome dude named Dave Eggers. Check out his most recent book Zeitoun. It was San Francisco Public Library's choice for One Book One City for September/October.
Raffie D, you da man. Keep doing your thing.
Skate the Gate
Mr. Diptesh
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