Fresno
Written by Mike Greenwald
Photography by Jeff Walls

At the bottom of what was once a gigantic bay in central California lies a big flat city named Fresno. The Spanish translation of the word Fresno is “ash.” It is arguable whether or not the name is referring to the ash tree or the remains of a fire. The latter is more probable, being that the place feels like a smoldering fire pit in the summer.
It is rough trying to get to the real core flavor of Fresno. It’s somewhere between a homemade tamale and a big shrimp cocktail on a burning Sunday. Flat and hot, Fresno could pass for a predominantly English speaking province of Mexico. Agriculture sprawls as far as the eye can see and vatos in old primed low-riders abound. There is gambling and drinking. Lots of drinking. Luckily the heat helps the drunkards sweat out the alcohol, otherwise there might be more than one “Fat Hog” hanging around. Sweat rules the lives of Fresnonians.
Fresno is the epitome of swamp cooler culture. Any place with a nice air conditioner is a popular place to be. Perhaps it’s the heat that makes such warriors out of the skaters who live or have lived in Fresno. They’re a wiry bunch that are down to skate anything under any conditions.
Think Alan Petersen.
What did these warriors grow up rolling on? Well, a bunch of interesting spots. One important place which has significance that exceeds the borders of Fresno is The Ark. This was one of the first incarnations of what is known today as the modern halfpipe. Erected around ‘82-’83, the first version of the ramp included flat-bottom, extensions, a roll-in, escalator, deathbox and sections of both steel and pool coping. Four different versions of The Ark were built and heavily sessioned until the old beast was laid to rest in 1998. Skate celebrities who had a habit of skating there over the years included Mark Gonzales, Neil Blender, Joe Lopes, Lee Ralph, Gator, Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, and on and on.
Fresno yielded a jackpot a couple of years ago when an old motel near downtown was closed and boarded up. Home to one of the most fun pools of the last decade, the Vagabond Inn has become famous among pool skaters. Somehow this abandoned hotel pool has been sessioned for over two years without any major shutdowns by the law. Lately, people have been driving from all over to sweat it out at the Vagabond.
Currently there are two great skateparks open in the Fresno area. Hanford is a small, middle-of-nowhere town with a free outdoor cement park that holds the potential for major fun and high speed. Slightly northwest of Fresno lies Madera, where a really fun indoor park can be ridden for a reasonable fee. Both of these places are worth stopping for if you live within 4 hours or are passing through.
If you ever make it to Fresno, you must visit one of the hundreds of world class Mexican restaurants. They cook it up as well as anybody! Cool down with a few Pacificos and then check one of the multitudes of yard sales that are always going on. The rent is so cheap in Fresno and the skating is so good, you just might want to stay awhile. Then you’ll be the next one having a yard sale. Fresno may seem like a big fire pit, but there are a lot of little pockets in the pit and you’ll be able to find what you need and even what you want in one of them. So come hither, sweat and skate.