Grit to Grind : Shaping Montana Communities One Skatepark at a Time

The inspirational story of the inception, growth, and continued work of the Montana Skatepark Association and their ongoing efforts to build skateparks for communities across Montana.Packed with 100+ vibrant color photographs. Long before skateboard culture entered mainstream consciousness, for a group of teens growing up in Montana, skateboarding represented the ultimate expression of freedom and creativity.With no dedicated skatepark nearby, skaters sought opportunities several hours or hundreds of miles away—until a core group of childhood friends decided to band together and change the status quo. This is the remarkable true story of how long-time Missoula residents Chris Bacon, Andy Kemmis, Ross Peterson, and a small army of other volunteers overcame, with perseverance and determination, obstacles like lack of funding, bureaucratic red tape, geographic limitations, and more to create a non-profit organization that has assisted in the funding and creation of nearly fifty skateparks in the state to date. The book features: Interviews and testimonials from the people who built the MSA from the ground up Profiles of real skaters who have been have been impacted by the skateparks A foreword by Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament Over 100 full-color insider photographs