A loud pop resounds as wood hits cement. The skater gracefully keeps his balance as he lands smoothly, rolling away with style. A rush of adrenaline and a sense of accomplishment shoots through his body as he successfully nails the skateboard trick he had been practicing all day.The feeling of adrenaline and accomplishment is Chris Culotta’s passion and the feeling he lives for.Culotta, 28-year-old Baton Rouge native, has been skating for more than 20 years and now wants to give back to the sport and culture.Culotta, a disc jockey at Spanish Moon, started Heartthrob Skateboards in February to begin designing and   producing boards for the skate community he has been a part of most of his life.Culotta decided to start his own company after he lost his job in 2008.”I wanted to be my own man,” Culotta said. “I wanted to take the business experience that I had and fit it in with what I love.”Collaborating with local artists like Brad Jensen, who is known for his work as Icon, to design the graphics for his boards, Culotta began to distribute boards to skate shops open to supporting small companies.As a self-described “local skate legend,” Culotta understands the love skaters have for what they do and works with small skate shops which cater more to the needs of local skaters.Culotta has managed to distribute his boards to skate shops across Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi and plans to build his brand around the South for the “lifer” – or hardcore skater.”I don’t want to be involved with a shop that just wants to make money,” Culotta said. “I want to reach the guy who wants to keep skating until his legs fall off.”Jeffrey Livingston is one of these “lifers.”Skating since he was 7 years old, Livingston has worked with Culotta and Heartthrob Skateboards since the beginning of the company.”For lifers, skating is like an itch,” said Livingston, studio art junior. “You sit in class, and all you think about is being back outside skating.”Skating is more than just going out and landing a trick, Livingston said.”You go out with a group of guys, and you skate for a bit,” Livingston said. “You get tired, and you find your self just hanging out with your friends. It’s a tight-knit community.”The skate community around Baton Rouge has fluctuating throughout the years but has seen more recent growth, Livingston said.But assistant area supervisor for Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge Jason Hoggatt said Baton Rouge has seen a steady rise in skateboarders in recent years.The BREC has one free skate park in service but is currently rebuilding the Velodrome on Perkins Road and has plans for more parks in the future, Hoggatt said.Hoggatt estimates nearly 500 skaters use the free skate parks every month and have seen skaters aged anywhere from 3 to 60 years. He said the majority of these skaters are in their late teens or college age.”What we had was not adequate for the amount of riders in Baton Rouge,” Hoggatt said. “Skateboarding is a steadily growing sport, and we are building to accommodate that.”
The rise in popularity of skateboarding has been attributed to the movement of underground culture, particularly skate culture, into the mainstream because of TV shows like MTV’s “Rob and Big” and “Viva La Bam” and video games like the popular “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” series.With more people coming into skateboarding because of the trends these shows inspire, debate has opened whether these new skaters are as passionate or as committed as the “lifers” that have been skating for years.”No one remembers the original two skaters in their school,” said Daniel Barousse, marketing junior and skater of 10 years. “The same people who messed with us 8 years ago accept it now. It isn’t right.”Some skaters realize it’s just about the love of the sport and aren’t affected by how big the industry or culture gets.”Some people want to keep skating exclusive,” said Ronnie Saurage, owner of Rukus Board Shop. “I feel that the kids that are in it and want to be in it, we should accept them and the longer it will stay and better it gets for everyone.”The sales of Heartthrob Skateboards, which run an average of $49, have reflected this growth with the first two runs selling out and hundreds more sold, but the Culotta is more interested in the rider on his skateboard.”It’s hard to build a skate brand,” Culotta said. “But it’s not about the money, I wouldn’t own a skateboard company if it was. This is my way of giving back to what I love and a way of expressing myself artistically.”————Contact Jake Clapp at [email protected]