Wade designs skateparks. Here’s why
Everything Wade Trevean touches turns to concrete. Skate-able concrete.
If you’ve been to a skatepark built in the last decade, there’s a good chance he’s partly to thank for it. Wade runs Eastbywest, a design management company that brings skateparks to life. He’s designed more than 100 skateparks in Australia and about a tenth of that abroad. When he isn’t sketching meticulous blueprints, you’ll find him hard yakker-ing it up on build sites overseas, usually as a volunteer. Among other assignments, he’s currently chatting with Grind Projects and Spinifex Skateboards to deliver parks in remote NT communities. He also just wrapped up volunteering on the build site of Laos’ first skatepark—a park he also designed.
You're probably thinking, what can’t this guy do? My guess is it’s something trivial like licking his elbow. Designing skateparks, volunteering in developing countries, and bringing communities together? These he can do. I chatted with Wade about his beginnings, processes, and observations.
East by West, you started this up in 2015?
Geez, you’re putting me to the test there… Sounds about right, yeah.
What inspired you to get started?
Well, I grew up skating, and once high school finished I was at a bit of a loss with what to do. I had experience building skate ramps in my backyard, which I really liked, but I went to a high school that was University based, like, you wouldn’t do an apprenticeship—you needed to go to Uni. So, I thought, what’s the closest thing possible to building skate ramps? Engineering. So, I studied that while skating and working in a skate shop. But once uni finished, again, I was at a bit of a loss with what to do.
“I thought, what’s the closest thing possible to building skate ramps? Engineering. So, I studied that while skating and working in a skate shop. ”
Then a friend of mine, Darren—who I still work with today—told me about skatepark design. He worked at Convic, which is quite a large skatepark design company here in Australia. I worked there for about seven years. Then I did a bit of a sabbatical and cycled through Africa for four months. I did Cairo to Cape Town with some friends and was hoping I’d have an epiphany of what was next in my life, y’know (laughs), as we all hope for…
No epiphany?
They never eventuate. So, I came home and did my Masters in Construction Management. I was thinking ahead to future job interviews where at the end, they’d ask, ‘Do you have questions for us?’ And I’d have to be like, ‘Yeah, look, I like to travel a fair bit… I don’t really do early starts…’ so I realised, ‘No one’s going to employ you, probably better if you just work for yourself’. So that’s how EBW was formed.
Is it just you, or is there a team?
Nah, just me. I work pretty closely with my friend Darren though; he has a company, Baseplate. We work together on projects, but otherwise, it’s just me. Which allows me to pick and choose projects a bit, the ones that I really see value in.
What does your design process look like?
I suppose it differs. Here in Aus, I work for local governments, so normally a tender or quote will come out. Could be anywhere like the NT or Victoria, and they’ll be like, ‘We want a skatepark and we’ve got this much money.’ Then the first thing is to see the site, but most importantly, to meet the community. I wanna hear what they have to say; whether they want a street park, a bowl, certain heights, or if there’s something unique to their community they’d like to see incorporated. There’s no point in me coming along going, ‘I know best and this is what you want’. It’s not going to create ownership and pride for them over their space.
“There’s no point in me coming along going, ‘I know best and this is what you want’. It’s not going to create ownership and pride for them over their space.”
Since I work by myself, it's really nice to collaborate with Darren. I might come up with a design and think, ‘Yeah, that’s it!’ But when you have a second pair of eyes look at it, they might be like, ‘Did you think of this? Or what about that?’ And that collaboration—and being open to those ideas—is where the design comes from. Then once we’ve got the concept, we go back to the community because, at that point, they can go, ‘Oh yep, that’s good’ or ‘Hang on can we change this, or what about that?’ It’s not set in stone, their involvement is still hugely encouraged at that point.
Is it for the communities that you do what you do?
Skate parks are something I really, really believe in. They’re just such centralized, free generators of activity and social opportunities. For young, old, boy, girl, whoever it may be. In both the active and passive capacity. I know they make a difference. I’m not saying that they’re gonna save a community or anything like that, but they can help to create and sustain one. And that mightn’t be an entire community, it might just be a small part of it. So yeah, that is what drives me. ‘Cause I’ve seen the difference. I’m fortunate enough to see it go from a blank site and me scribbling on some paper, to the 3D renders, to construction plans, to being built, and then seeing those positive outcomes in the community.
It must be rewarding to see people skating a park that was born from your brain… What’s that feel like?
Hugely rewarding. Seeing a kid who’s never skated before and on the day of an opening, they start learning to drop in… That’s pretty powerful. We built a park in Palestine, on the border of Israel, and without going into the politics of it, it’s a pretty hard area to grow up…to put it mildly. So, to just have a space where kids can be kids, that’s pretty alright, that’s for sure.
Often when we do these things—and probably more so overseas on the volunteer projects—locals are so adamant, like, ‘Thanks so much!’ and there's a part of you going, ‘No, thank you’, we’re getting just as much out of it, y’know?
When you volunteer on build sites overseas, is that on skateparks you’ve designed too?
Yeah. So, the ones we do overseas they’re for charities. Whether it’s Make Life Skate Life or other ones around the world. I design them on a volunteer basis and then help build them as a volunteer as well. It’s amazing to be able to put pen to paper and then go and build it; I’ve learnt so much from that. I mean, it's hard work, hey. Kudos to skatepark builders around the world that’re doing this work day-in-day-out.
You design skate parks and travel the world. You’re living what a lot of people would call the dream. Is this what you saw for yourself?
It’s funny you say that. I find it hard to fully acknowledge the good fortune I’ve had and how it’s come about… I think we all probably have that. Like, if I had a friend that was doing the same thing, I’d probably be like, ‘That’s amazing! How did you do that?’ But if I stop and am honest with myself, I guess I’ve created these opportunities. I’ve always loved traveling the world and designing skateparks, so when I could combine the two, I was just pretty keen on that. Even if it’s in a volunteer capacity. I don’t see it as a sacrifice.
Do you find when non-skateboarders design/build a skatepark, that they make mistakes ‘cause of it?
Yeah definitely. A part of my job is doing assessments on (pre-existing) skate parks so we look at the safety and the functions—they’re meant to be reviewed every year according to the Australian standards—and check out old ones, and yes, there are often mistakes. I mean, it’s in the eye of the beholder because people skate blank concrete and DIY spots… Have done for years and will continue to do so. But when they're meant to be professionally built and you see common mistakes—whether it’s construction or design mistakes—it can be pretty frustrating.
What are the most common mistakes you notice?
As far as design goes, flow would be a big thing. Like elements in the wrong spot or too far apart and not connecting as well as they could. Ideally, in a skatepark, you shouldn’t have to push. I mean, like, yes, you will at times, but you should be able to easily bounce between elements. Also having things that are just WAY too gnarly. At some of these small parks, there’s these 10-foot ramps. If it’s a big skatepark and there’s lower stuff that works your way up to that, then that’s fine. But when there’s something that big, a young kid might come up to it and think, ‘That’s too gnarly—skateboarding is too hard.’ So it can be detrimental. I say young person, but I just mean any person who might feel intimidated at a skatepark. It just needs to have those smaller elements to encourage people to come into the space.
“As far as design goes, flow would be a big thing. Like elements in the wrong spot or too far apart and not connecting as well as they could. Ideally, in a skatepark, you shouldn’t have to push. ”
As far as construction mistakes go, I suppose it would come down to people that don’t know skate. They don’t know the tolerance or specification required, and maybe a bit of a ‘That’ll do’ attitude. Skateparks are very specific, like, very tight tolerances and super smooth surfaces, so it does take a qualified skatepark contractor to be able to do that.
Also, being in the right location. The skateparks of yesteryear—and it still happens now—it’s like, ‘Ahh, skateparks? Just chuck ‘em over there in the back blocks’. And it just can't be that way. Skaters get represented as antisocial and vandals, well that’s gonna happen if you put them in the back blocks where it’s not encouraging people to come to it. Or it might just be some of the older people that skate there, but not the new ones coming up, or not the community members that just want to sit and watch. ‘Cause skateparks aren’t just for skateboarders or bmxers or scooter riders—I think they’re for the entire community. And as far as passive interaction goes, we should encourage mums and dads, kids, and anyone really just to be able to socialise and sit in these spaces. So if you build a skatepark in the centre of town—I’m not gonna say it’ll 100% be a success, but it’s off to a good start.
Shame corners are cut and people have to pay for it… sucks.
Yeah, it does. Especially some of these regional towns that’ve saved and got funding for like five years and finally have the money. In some communities, this is their one shot at a skatepark. And when the council’s just like, ‘We’ll just get the concreter down the road to do it; how hard can it really be?’ That’s frustrating cause the quality’s just not gonna be there.
Do you have one project in particular that's been a stand-out highlight?
That’s a hard one. Really, every project I've done overseas has been unique. I've gotten something out of each of them. Like Mozambique and Iraq… I never thought I’d get to Iraq! But I’ve been there twice now for a project. So that’s hugely rewarding. Palestine as well… that was an incredible experience and so educational. All the ones overseas, I haven't had a bad experience, that’s for sure.
Do you have an ideal location you’d like to build?
I’m pretty excited about the upcoming projects in the NT. I’ve done a bit of work with Spinifex Skateboards recently, they're community is Ltyentye Apurte, just outside of Alice Springs. And then a few other Indigenous communities as well, so hopefully, some further work there. I love going to remote places, and in some of the places I’ve been in the NT, you just couldn't get much more remote. And knowing how underserved they are, I feel pretty fortunate to be able to go there and deliver a skatepark for the local community.
“I love going to remote places, and in some of the places I’ve been in the NT, you just couldn’t get much more remote.”
And overseas, I dunno… There's conversations about the Congo; Timor’s going ahead, and there’s other ones throughout Africa. I'd love to go to all those places, as a traveler but also knowing we’re leaving something behind.
How'd you get into skating in the first place?
A family friend had a skateboard and, as a lot of people do, just started rolling around on it. Had a lot of joy doing that. Then eventually got my own, and in high school found a group of friends who did the same, and we just clicked.
Skateboarding… It’s more than just skateboarding, y’know? It’s a lifestyle, and when I say lifestyle, I don't mean the clothing and that, I mean… Skateboarding taught me a lot of my morals and also the alternatives, just like through conversations and sitting down together. ‘Cause when you go skating, you're not skating 24/7 in a sense, like you have downtime as well, so you have those opportunities. Whereas, like football finishes… skateboarding isn’t like that as much; there’s no siren, there’s no time slot, so it allows you plenty of those informal casual moments. That’s the lifestyle I'm talking about. It definitely shaped the person I am. There’s that cliche thing like, once a skateboarder, always a skateboarder… You wouldn't say that if you played tennis, y’know? (laughs). Like, ‘I’m still a tennis player!’ And that just goes to show it’s so much more than the tricks and that. That (lifestyle) reinforced why I was skateboarding; being with a bunch of friends with similar morals… yeah, that just spurred me on to do what I do.
Wade’s also volunteering with a youth organization to build a skatepark in Timor-Leste. The build’s scheduled for October. See here if you’d like to donate toward it.
You can follow EastbyWest at @eastbywest
