By Mason Vargas
Dozens of skaters visit a courtyard on the edge of the city daily. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about the courtyard; in fact, the courtyard construction was never finished. The fountain destined for the center was never installed. The original plans for the fountain were astonishing. A beautiful structure that would have trumped other water spewers. There now lay a smooth quartz bowl that wheels love. Consequently, a group of teenage skaters exploring the town decided to attempt to skate inside the bowl. The bowl was similar to those of a skatepark. As more and more people tested the spot’s boundaries, people attempted unexpected moves off the lip of the bowl. Kickflips are involved in hardflips—an advanced skateboarding trick— and small exits are turned into crazy big airs—when one achieves long airtime after a ramp or jump. More and more began visiting the courtyard, and for decades, skaters of the town met up, practicing flat tricks—skateboard tricks that you perform without a ramp of any sort—listening to music, and creating urban legends. Scobi’s formulate across cities and towns across the country. Many in different forms, a series of rails that boards glide across, a large hill of concrete leading into a star set; regardless of origin, Scobis are pieces of local histories, bringing people together and feeding memories.