Whenever they can Misty Forde and Tania Fonseca of the Board Life Project will hold someone’s hand to drop into a bowl.
Going into its third year, the non profit’s mission is to grow a sense of belonging among people who board.
“It’s a chance for people to just build community, even if you’re not on wheels, or a river surfboard, or a snowboard,” Fonseca said.
The Board Life Project curates meetups, clean ups and events, centered around boarding. They share gear with those who need it and home cooked meals for anyone who shows up.
During high school Forde decided to try snowboarding, a decision that landed her attending college in Steamboat because she fell in love with the sport. During the off season she picked up skateboarding, most of the time being the only woman at the skatepark.
Growing up Fonseca was most comfortable facing the “dude-centric” world of skateboarding with her dad, who owned a skate shop with her mother in the ′80s, she said.
Fonseca and Forde met at a skatepark while both were doing children’s skateboarding programming for a foundation.
Misty Forde and Tania Fonseca created the Board Life Project three years ago to build community through boarding. Photo courtesy of Misty Forde.
“She walked up all cute and just dropped in the back bowl,” Fonseca said.
Fonseca remembers being excited they were the only two grown women at the park and noticing Forde’s ponytail and trucker hat. They exchanged stickers and sunglasses and knew they’d be friends.
“Both of us immediately bonded over how important it was to show up and be part of the community,” Forde said. “That’s when we started to see this disconnect. And we’re like, why aren’t more people involved? Why does this just end for these kids?”
Fonseca and Forde recognized that building community around boarding was also an important contribution in children’s participation in the sport, along with providing programming.
“When I learned how to skateboard, it was so intimidating and scary, especially for a girl, to go to a skate park,” Forde said. “We wanted to take that away and say it’s not scary. And we can all be friends. And we’ll be here the next time you’re here, the next time. And you can learn. And it’s safe.”
Fonseca considers her father, whose family owned a restaurant, as the “community guy,” and an inspiration for when she cooks for the community at meetups, she said.
Fonseca serves Puerto Rican and Cuban food straight off her grill to crowds from along a river bank, to inner city skateparks and even the side of Loveland Pass.
One of Fonseca’s favorite events was last year’s backcountry snowboarding trick contest Love Games, put on by Satellite Boardshop. The event harkens back to a time when snowboarders were banned from ski resorts. Jumps, a quarter pipe and a tree slide are constructed on the side of Loveland Pass, a day before the free contest.
“I was over the posole, so I feel like I won that day,” Fonseca said about feeding participants at the event.
Forde was less warm, garnishing the bowl with only plastic gloves, she said.
“I’ve never heard one person talk poorly of her food,” Forde said. “She puts so much love into our food. I think it makes people feel like it’s home and family. It brings people in. It makes people feel welcome and comfortable. I mean, who doesn’t want food?”
Fonseca remembers a Love Games participant snowboarding away with some of the leftovers after the event.
The Board Life Project fed over 2,000 people last year.
“We’re just trying to be part of every possible community we can and make a presence,” Forde said.
The non-profit partners with crews out of Oceanside California to do cleanup days at Denver Skatepark and Green Block Skatepark in Boulder. The Board Life Project also offers programming to teach kids skateboarding skills.
“We try to make it welcoming to everyone and every skill level,” Forde said. “That’s why we like skateboarding so much because you don’t have to go far. It is accessible to everyone. And you can do it anywhere. If you have a skateboard, you can go skate in the parking lot for hours. You can go find a curb to skate.”
The meetups, which sometimes draw out 100-people crowds, are open to everyone, on and off boards.
“We had parents get on boards that hadn’t been on boards for like 20 years,” Fonseca said. “Anything can happen at the meetup, for real.”
Misty Forde and Tania Fonseca became friends at a skatepark before started their non-profit Board Life Project. Photo courtesy of Misty Forde.
The Board Life Project also partners with board shops who donate boards for riders in need. They look for the kid with the plastic board who has “been skating for the past four hours, falling, trying, sweating, having the best time,” Forde said. “The kid needs a board.”
The Board Life Project hosts an annual fundraising art show featuring local artists who design boards. From the white water river surfing community, to the skateboarding and snowboarding ones, the non-profit plans to continue supporting the boarding communities.
“We have some good humans on all the boards,” Fonseca said
From White Water Wednesdays, put on by the Colorado River Surf School, to Ruby Hill in the winter, offering free gear days, they believe anyone can get involved, even in the city and at an affordable price.
Fonseca and Forde remember a time when they relied on experienced boarders to bring them in and teach them skills and about the culture.
“I think that’s what made us realize how important it is to have someone there who makes you feel comfortable, brings you in and introduces you to the people,” Forde said.
They enjoy being in the cheerleader role, and believe that even if someone makes a mistakes while learning it will only earn them respect in the boarding community.
