BUTLER — Jude Studt had been practicing the back side big spin all day, inching closer and closer but never fully landing it.
Stoke Run Action Sports Park held its first Grindhog’s Day skate contest Saturday.
The best trick event had ended, but Studt kept grinding. When he finally succeeded, the gym erupted with cheers.
“I missed it. I watched him fall probably 50 times,” his father Andrew said. “I knew he landed it when his arms were up and everybody was cheering.”
Justin Esterline was among the loudest. The 40-year-old Mansfielder has been skating since he was eight.
“I like to call myself the just the undisputed hype man,” said Esterline, who spent much of the day snapping photos of other skaters.
“I’m old. I just want to pump these young kids up. I just love that part. It’s a blast.”
Esterline and Studt hadn’t met before Saturday, but that didn’t make the older boarder any less enthusiastic.
“We skaters have a way of making a community that way. If you skate, we’re brothers,” he said.
‘It’s one of the best skate parks in Ohio’
Studt, his dad and older brother Brody traveled all the way from their home in North Royalton to check out Stoke Run on Saturday.
They weren’t the only skaters from outside the area.
“We have people from Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit,” said Stoke Run owner Caleb Burns.
“There were at least 50 plus skaters.”
Formerly the Ohio Dreams Action Sports Camp, the Stoke Run re-opened to the public in July 2023.
Renowned ramp builder Nate Wessel designed the 20,000 square foot indoor park, complete with a foam pit, vert wall and box jump.
The facility also includes a 25,000 square foot outdoor skatepark and BMX dirt jumps. Burns said hopes to host national BMX competitions after restoring the track on the west side of the property.
Stoke Run is already set to host a freestyle USA BMX qualifier competition in May and a national scootering qualifier in June.
“It’s one of the Ohio’s best BMX parks for sure,” Burns said.
“It’s a great facility because everything is kind of big and it’s for people have intermediate or expert skills, but there’s also areas that beginners can skate.”
Esterline said he’s glad the site will be preserved for another generation of area boarders.
“It’s absolutely top-of-the-line,” he said. “We used to have to drive to Cleveland to go parks like this. Now I’m 20 minutes away.”
Stoke Run is open Tuesday to Friday from noon to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.