KENNEWICK, Wash. – A group of men meet at the Kennewick skatepark by Kennewick High School every morning to have fun and most importantly to get healthy.
If you’ve gone to work in the morning and have driven past the skatepark in Kennewick, no your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, but those old skaters are practicing their tricks.
Back when I was a teenager I used to skateboard, well tried to skateboard. After a few injuries, I gave up but not these guys.
They are using skateboarding to get healthy and stay in shape.
Christian Amacker, is a partner at a digital marketing firm.
Amacker wanted to get healthier and after skateboarding when he was younger, he decided he wanted to get back into it. Amacker says he went to a skateboarding store the employee there put him in touch with some of those his age that also skateboards.
“High forties and upper fifties,” said Amacker.
Amacker and a bunch of friends meet every morning before the daily “grind” of work to skateboard. Their age is something that might make you think, “Wait what?”
Amacker has had some health-related issues in the past and this is helping him with that.
“I’ve had three heart attacks,” said Amacker. “I had my first one at 42. I had my second one at 49 and I had my most recent one at 50.”
Frank Ward is another member of the group. He is a business owner by day and an old skater in the morning. He said he got into skateboarding because of his son.
“Every day for about 45 minutes before school we skated right here,” said Ward.
According to Ward, on one of those days, he first met an over-50-year-old skateboarder.
Ward says skateboarding gets him out of the house and helps him stay active. He says his doctor told him he needed to work on his core and after skating for two years, he’s seen improvement.
“My core is very strong now,” said Ward. “I don’t have those lower back issues that I used to have. From a health perspective, I get about 45 minutes to an hour of cardio every day just coming out here and pushing around.”
According to Amacker, he will keep doing this until he can’t get up and can’t roll around anymore.
If you see these guys skating around in the morning, either on your way to work or just out on a walk, feel free to stop by and say hi.
They are always looking to add members to their group.
