DUTY NOW FOR THE FUTURE

interview with MARK "RED" SCOTT

interview by Scott Lambright

I began skating with Red in the late '80s. This was prior to any parks in Oregon except Cannon Beach, which was the first public skate park. It was fun if you were already hitting the coast near Seaside, but not worth the two-hour drive. However, back then we did make the drive on occasion. When I met Red, he had built a gnarly ramp at his parent's house. One side was an 8' wall that stuck out a foot from the wall with four feet of vert, making it 12' on one side. Red would do airs from the 8' to layback grinds on the 4' vert extension. Red's style is nothing less than burly, like his ramp back then and everything he has built since. His ramp was outdoors in the winter of '89.

We would also drive three hours south to Myrtle Creek, Oregon to skate a mini spine ramp. It was outdoors and was public, but still a long drive. Red, Osage and some Portland locals took matters into their own hands. They found a dry location with a banked wal and began mixing cement, making transition up to the bank. The dry location is now known as Burnside. In 1991, Red, Jeff Taylor, Tait Roloff and myself took a skate trip to Daytona Beach, FL which had the first concrete park built since the downfall of the late '70s to early '80s. The two months or so that we skated and travelled, Red would say “I'm going to build a park when I get back.” He studied different terrain, from the Glory Hole and pools, to skate parks and ramps. He came back to Oregon and began doing what he said he would: “build a park”. Burnside got better and smoother with each new pour and finished section. The smooth cement transitions were down to a science. Red has never cared about recognition, always giving it to his bros and doing it for the cause, to have something quality to skate for everyone. Several towns in Oregon recognized Dreamland's talent and hired Red and his crew to design and build public skate parks, putting Oregon on the map with the best public skate parks to date; at least the ones done by Dreamland. His actions speak louder than his words. I sat down with Red and his roommate and Dreamland crew member, Tavita, for a few words.

Who's on the crew?
Munk Hubbard, Sage Bolyard, Mike Swim, Stephen Hauser, Tavita Scanlan, Jeff Kinebrough, and Mark Scott.

Who came up with the Dreamland name?
The particular name I came up with. Grindline is Marty's (Munk Hubbard) website, Grindline.com, for Dreamland. Someone already had a patent on the name so we called the site Grindline.

Which parks has Dreamland done?
Lincoln City was the first Dreamland park besides Burnside.

Burnside, Lincoln City, Newberg and Aumsville, is that pretty much it?
Also the Butter Bowl in West Seattle.

What inspired the “wheel of fortune” at Newberg–the revolving volcano top?
Well, my wife got in a car wreck and we had this extra axle laying around. I thought it would be cool to stick it in a volcano and rotate the top.

It worked pretty rad, huh?
Yeah, it's a good conversation piece.

Do you see any other advancements in future skate parks?
Yeah.

Like what?
It's top secret.

How did these cities in Oregon get a hold of you guys to build these parks?
Word of mouth.

I heard that your crew takes total control over designs. Is that true?
Yeah.

What if they try to give you restrictions?
We don't build it unless we are in control of the design.

Where is the next Dreamland park scheduled?
Redmond, Oregon.

What do you think about some of these other parks in Oregon coming out bogus, like Corvallis?
Just a bunch of morons designing them, there's no heart or soul.

Is there much of a break between projects? Has it been consistent?
No, put this in the mag; we need a warm place in the winter to build a sick park. We need somewhere warm to go. Come up here and check our shit and give us jobs in the winter and pay us. We'll go off and make something sick!

Do you have plans for pool coping?
We already have and we will again.

I know you put it on the Butter Bowl, but as far as the public scale . . .
Yeah, Burnside has pool coping. Lincoln City has some.

What about the new ones?
Yeah, we're going to put some in all the parks. Down in Aumsville we were limited on time and budget. We're going to make a variety of coping edges.
Brewce Martin poured cement coping right on his ramp. Yeah, that coping looked pretty good.

Do you feel private parks affect the public parks scene? And is there any competition?
No. I don't know of any around here.

What do you think of the Vans Parks?
Uh, they're great. Better not charge me to go there.

How long do you see yourself building skate parks. How long will this last?
I don't know. I'll keep doing it for a while 'cause it's good to drive somewhere and have other options to skate.

What about the early days of building Burnside?
Everybody and their mom writes me and calls me and asks about Burnside. It's embarrassing. Know what I mean?

Yeah, I can see that.
I'll write the damn book!

Who has influenced your skateboarding?
Brewce Martin, the Ox, Munk, Sage and everyone who has ever showed up and brought the energy for the high adrenaline session.

To contact Red and the Dreamland crew, go to wwwdreamlandskateparks.com