Skating gave me the strength and confidence to always trust myself. At its very core, the culture of skateboarding challenges the world around it. It encourages independent thought, rewards new ideas and welcomes change. I have operated in a similar way throughout my life. Skateboarding is creativity at its most pure. I have recently been reminded of what it means to be purely an individual in the world of skateboarding. The moments of hope and inspiration that skating has always provided have been harder to come by. But recently, events were set in motion that quite frankly, I could not believe. A young man made a decision that I could never have expected. Louie Lopez had a thought that he could skate for Noah. I could have never imagined this would be a real conversation.

We love skateboarding but never thought of ourselves as skate in the traditional way. But once again, a skater went his own way and reminded us that there are no rules. He likes us and what we're doing. Louie's idea was actually the most skate thing you can do. He challenged what being skate even means. I've been transported back to my teenage self, and actually feel understood again, and of course it was a skater who gave me that gift. Welcome to the family Louie.

-Brendon Babenzien