DIY skateboard ramps offer change of pace for Regina-area skaters

This piece was originally published on May 29, 2020.

It's not California, but Regina is home to a few skateboard parks and obstacles in the streets for those creative or daring enough to find them.

Some in the area, though, simply wanted to be able to pop out their back doors to do what they love. Forget landscaping with flora — these guys have embraced a different kind of esthetic.

Colin Wiest, a journeyman carpenter by trade, says he's been building obstacles to skate on from the moment he picked up a board at age 12. 

Armed with his work background, and information from books and skateboard magazines, he set out to build his own backyard project with some friends a dozen years ago.

His backyard in Regina has been completely transformed into his own personal skate park, featuring large ramps and bowl-style corners, hallmarks of transition-style skateboarding setups. 

"Transition-wise there was nothing really in the city to skate at all," he said.

Many of Regina's parks are set up to resemble obstacles that could be found in the streets, but that doesn't appeal much to Wiest, and he doesn't see skateboarding trends moving in that direction either.

The closest park that suits his style — and, in his opinion, the best in the province — is found about 300 kilometres north of Regina in Melfort, Sask.

"We kind of had to build something that we could ride and kids could learn and maybe go somewhere with [skateboarding]," he said.

Not only is a backyard skate park convenient, it's also a way for Wiest to embrace the social aspect of the hobby.

"Skateboarding to me has always been a social thing," Wiest said.

"This way I can just have people over here, we can skate for a couple of hours, blow off some steam or whatever, and go back to our lives."

Wiest said the ramp is open to anyone with a good attitude who's willing to wear a helmet.

Salvaging to skate in all seasons

Jesse Clayton may live outside of the heart of the city, east of Regina near Qu'Appelle, but skateboarding is just as much a social activity for him.

When one of Regina's few indoor skate parks was demolished to make room for the new Mosaic Stadium, building an indoor ramp became a top priority — especially given Saskatchewan's harsh winter climate.

"If I know people want to skate and aren't able to skate [in the winter] I try to get the out and give them the opportunity," Clayton said.

"Our winters are long and hard, and people want to skate."

Many of the materials he used to build the ramp inside his garage, and a small wooden runway that features a few obstacles in his spacious backyard, were saved from the dump. 

A construction-worker by trade, he liked that he was preventing waste in the process.

"A lot goes in the garbage … so as much as I can I try to salvage, that's what this is all here," he said as he pointed to the make-shift wooden pathway. 

"I feels good to build something and see it through to completion."