ONE Staff / April 18th, 2016 / Blade Life
Tim Schmidt: Building A Dream

What’s a dream worth? Fifty dollars? A hundred? Priceless? Well Tim Schmidt has put a price tag on his dream: $1,500. And what’s more, you can donate to the goal and have yourself a “private” rollerblade paradise to enjoy at your leisure right next to a river in Indiana. Sound too good to be true? Well, then read on to find out more about Tim and his plans to make Indiana the new blade event destination. Read more and get involved today!

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Hey Tim, let’s start with the basics — tell everyone who you are and a brief bit of your background with blading.
I’m just one of those teenagers from the early ‘90s who never quit blading, at least not for any length of time. I have spent most of my blade life simply skating. It wasn’t until 2002 that I failed out of college and got a job at Skatepile, where you began to see me surface a little bit in popular blade media. Most people remember me from my section in Hashassins or my clip with Savannah jumping over a handrail as I grind behind her in the outro section of the ONEvideo.

Tim in action

Now tell us all a little about what is going on out on this land in Indiana — it is in Indiana, right? How did you end up there?
Dreams are coming true out here. Indiana is where I was born and raised. After I left Skatepile in 2004 I came back here to finish my bachelors degree and decided to spend a few years at the family business. Well, it’s now 10 years later and I am still here.

I recently hit the skate-lottery when Muncie Skatepark silently went out of business. With the help of a few friends I tore down and transported home as much as I could. It was a sad race between me and a garbage man.

Tear down crew

Where did the idea to have an event on your property come from?
The event is a natural progression of building a real skate spot.

So… what is the event exactly — tell us exactly what is going to go down.
This event is called the “Spring Spine Invitational & Rail Jam,” and it is just that. The only thing that has a bigger following than a mini-ramp is a perfect grind rail, and luckily we have both. I have some sick grind rails I welded up and put on an empty trailer lot that will be the location of the Rail Jam. The main event will be on a 6-foot spine mini-ramp we built in October 2015.

Build site

So let’s talk specifics — what is going on this April 30th, and then what is the overall plan for the ramps and space?
Well, April 30th is my first official event, the “Spring Spine Invitational & Rail Jam.” As far as the overall plan… that is simple: keep building until I like my ramp more than any other.

Supplies

I saw on the GoFundMe page that you’ll use the money for some new features like maybe bowl corners, or a fly box… we still talking about a mini-ramp setup here, or you building more stuff in general?
More stuff in general, but the main goal is to have it all flow together as one ramp.

Currently, the priorities are:
• bowl corners
• fly-box
• wall-ride

However, I see the fly-box happening first simply because it will be easier.

Doggin’ it

How permanent are the ramps and features going to be? Isn’t it difficult to maintain outdoor ramps in the harsh Indiana winters?
The ramps will stay where they are so long as I keep my job as trailer park supervisor. As for ramp maintenance, the real answer is… I am about to find out!

Since getting this idea off the ground, what are some challenges you hadn’t expected that have popped up?
Haha, the biggest challenge is going to work instead of skating. Honestly, the biggest challenge I face is keeping up with social media. I am barely competent with Facebook and I’ve had an Instagram account for a year that I have never used. It’s kinda embarrassing, actually.

Next Gen Bladers

What kind of turnout are you expecting for the first go-round — and then how long do you plan to wait to have another event?
I would be crazy happy to see 50 people show up. The next big event will be “Camp at the Ramp” and will be the weekend of September 24th. I am hoping for twice as many people at that event. Join the Facebook group “Schmidty’s Ramp & Camp” to keep up with the action.

The Face of Excitement

Anything you want to say directly to anyone out there considering making a donation? Speak up and convince them to through some cash your way!
Here is the deal… I have a ramp in the corner of a big field where we could hold some amazing weekend events. I want to make it more than just a ramp in order to evolve to a next level of skate destination. I have a pile of leftover materials… Ramp Armour, 2×6’s, coping, and more. Help me help blading, both in my community and abroad.

Well good luck, Tim. We can’t wait to come blade it up, and we’ll tell everyone to DONATE HERE to kick some coin into the cause.

Donate HERE to support Tim Schmidt’s Ramp and Camp

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