Written By: Kevin Harris

The Richmond Skate Ranch started in 1986 and came about because that year was the Expo 86 contest with the big vert ramp that my Dad designed out of steel . We needed a place to put it so it didn’t go to waste after Expo was over and I felt that Vancouver needed an indoor skate park so we decided to build the Skate Ranch. People came from everywhere to skate the Ranch but it was the locals that made it what it was. I did not know it at the time but it turned in to a place where it was so much more than just an indoor skate park . The talent that came out of the ranch was amazing. The Locals were there everyday, and it was a place where long lasting Friendships were made, as well as some of the best skateboarders to come out of Canada. The Ranch was a 2nd home to so many of those kids and I am stoked that I was able to provide that for almost a decade at in an era where skateboarding went through some serious down time. At the end of the 80’s skateboarding really died out and it was places like the Ranch that kept that hype alive, and kept the group of skaters stoked to keep on pushing. Believe it or not we are in a low point for skateboarding again right now and we need to keep working with the people who are out there pushing the sport towards success and trying to keep the hype going in the next generations by getting more young people on skateboards having fun as a group and meeting their future friends. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to join forces with Protest Movement and Hippie Mike. It is so important to have people like Hippie Mike who hold events every year and help grow skateboarding by keeping skaters looking forward to his events and to show the younger kids how much fun skateboarding can be. Mike has been putting on contests through out the lower mainland for 15 years and continues to do so and I wanted to help out his contest series with a % being donated from the sales of Richmond Skate Ranch memorabilia. This being the 30th year anniversary of when the Ranch began operating Ryan Ellan and I came up with a bunch of cool designs for “Legends Never Die” T-shirts, Hats, and a limited edition Deck. So Ryan and I joined up with Mike and Protest Movement and gave them exclusive rights to sell the items we wanted to create and a chunk of that money will be donated towards the operating costs of this year’s Hippie Mike’s Super Tour. Mike wasn’t in BC when the Skate Ranch existed but he was was skateboarding in that era, and the presence he brings to the canadian skate scene today with all his generousity falls hand in hand with what the Ranch was all about. Together we can create more hype for skateboarding and help the industry out by getting more and more new kids on board for life.

So please help out skateboarding by grabbing yourself some gear that not only celebrates a place that paved the way for Canadian Skateboarders but also celebrates the future of skateboard legends to come…

Grab your RSR Memorabilia at

www.protest-movement.org