LOS ANGELES – Music and laughter fill the former tennis courts of Col. Leon H. Washington Park in Watts as children skate around orange cones and painted tracks.
On Fridays and Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m., the South Central Blade Club is in full swing.
“We’re from the community,” said Yoshawn Smith, 35, the club’s founder, “and we’re striving to make the community better in ways that the city or the district can’t provide.”
The idea for free weekly roller skating sessions began in 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Smith saw an opportunity. He’d taught his family to skate and decided to share his passion for the sport by teaching others.
SCBC lessons are open to all ages, and no sign-up is required. An average of 5 to 10 kids attend each day, most of whom are 3 to 16 years old.
Smith aims to create accessibility by removing costs typically associated with sports. “Skating is really a one-time purchase,” he said.
Smith used COVID-19 stimulus checks to buy extra skates, and now bins of community-donated skates, knee and elbow pads, and helmets in all sizes are available for use during skate sessions. Classes include mini skate repair lessons.
“I’ve been skating for a few days, and it’s really fun. I didn’t want to at first…but now I like it,” said 6-year-old Giselle Martinez, while holding onto her father’s hand to keep her balance. She began skating after her friend and classmate urged her to try it out.
With her house less than a block away, Giselle and her father, Alejandro Martinez, 57, frequent the park three times a week. Through skating, they find connection and time to slow down in a busy world.
“It’s good to be here for a while. The truth is that it’s important for everyone. The kids are entertained. I also get entertained because I come here to see the kids playing. It’s important, it’s very important,” Martinez said, speaking in Spanish.
Referring to his daughter, he said, “She meets all her friends here.”
Smith’s own children, Dahlia, 6, and Dario, 14, have both been skating since they were 2 years old, and often join Smith on days when he hosts park sessions. It’s a stark contrast to his own introduction to the sport at 10 years old.
In 2001, Smith saw what skating could offer through a video titled “What Do You Believe In?” featuring skaters of color from all around Los Angeles, to a soundtrack of hip-hop, EDM, and metal.
At Kmart, his grandmother bought him his first pair of roller blades, and soon after, Smith discovered skate parks and a new way to experience Los Angeles.
“It allowed me to go see this city that I cherish so much in a whole different way than other people, you know, and it got me out, out and about, kept me out of trouble, kept me active,” he said.
Amid his work with The Pour Up L.A., a drink development and barista consulting company, Smith spends weekends focusing on South Central, investing in the health and safety of younger generations.
He said, “It just keeps everything going, keeps all the kids in one spot. Even if the kids aren’t skating, they now have a spot to just hang out at, chill, stay hydrated, eat something healthy and just be good kids.”
Leon H. Washington Park is located next to the Firestone Metro Station. Since the first class in 2020, the South Central Blade Club has been pivotal to the park’s upgrades.
“This park has been neglected for over a decade. I think about the entire time I’ve been living around here,” said Smith.
There’s been a “lack of staff, lack of maintenance, lack of amenities,” according to Smith. “We set out like, all right, we’re going to be here to show that this park is still a very good park to be at, and we can make it different,” he said.
A new playground was built, and the tattered tennis courts were converted into a painted skate track, illuminated by new streetlights, with blue benches and fences to help skaters learn balance.
SCBC operates primarily out of the Watts neighborhood, a community whose population is largely made up of Black and brown families. According to a 2024 census, roughly 83% of the community identifies as Hispanic or Latino and 14% identifies as Black, with 72% identifying as persons who speak a language other than English at home.
Smith tries to make skating understandable through classes tailored to each kid’s needs.
“We work with a lot of immigrant families, a lot of non-English-speaking parents, and a lot of kids that barely speak English themselves,” he said. “You got kids who grew up at the park that are usually just left to fend for themselves. It’s created something different where we know the kids now, and the parents know us.”
“Parents are excited because now the kids are doing something other than causing trouble, or them having to guess where the kids are because they know exactly where they are.”
SCBC does not take city grants and is not a registered 501(c)(3) charity. Instead, Smith chooses to continue operating in the existing public spaces.
“There’s nothing stopping you from gathering in a public space to do an activity there,” he said. “It’s not harming anything.”
“We never saw people just go outside to do stuff like that, you know. You’ll see it in other areas outside of South Central. Now I want more people to just do it themselves.”
With the school year approaching, Smith wants to host more skate tournaments and eventually create a team of competitive skaters to give youth a safe space outside of the classroom.
Throughout the summer, SCBC collaborated with other organizations to help host themed events in the Los Angeles area, including the first edition of Go Skateboarding Day x Father’s Day Event in Compton alongside the Pushing Compton Project and other skating organizations.
The club posts daily updates on class schedules and events on its Instagram page.
“I want to see more kids from the area participate in it, because I know they can actually progress more,” he said.
“We’re out there for the people, and not just for ourselves.”
Edited by Omar Mejia and Emma Kahn.