by Graham Smith

 

  • The Fight Club is an underground skate park, located in a downtown warehouse. Local skaters get together for regular sessions on Wednesday nights, and occasionally for weekend rent parties.
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    The Fight Club is an underground skate park, located in a downtown warehouse. Local skaters get together for regular sessions on Wednesday nights, and occasionally for weekend rent parties.
  • The bowl is build of scrap plywood, and other materials abandoned when a DC skate park shut down a few years ago.
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    The bowl is build of scrap plywood, and other materials abandoned when a DC skate park shut down a few years ago.
  • Skaters of all ability levels mix it up, taking turns in the bowl.
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    Skaters of all ability levels mix it up, taking turns in the bowl.
  • Meanwhile, the other skaters and fans watch from the rim.
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    Meanwhile, the other skaters and fans watch from the rim.
  • The bowl is a patchwork of plywood and brick walls - fifteen feet high in places. Skaters speed along the perimeter, jumping over windows and grinding along metal pipes.
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    The bowl is a patchwork of plywood and brick walls - fifteen feet high in places. Skaters speed along the perimeter, jumping over windows and grinding along metal pipes.
  • Local skaters call Brian Tucci a giant. According to Ben Ashworth, who runs Fight Club, Tucci set the bar for DC skating, and stuck with the scene while other top local skaters moved west and sought sponsorships.
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    Local skaters call Brian Tucci a giant. According to Ben Ashworth, who runs Fight Club, Tucci set the bar for DC skating, and stuck with the scene while other top local skaters moved west and sought sponsorships.
  • Brian Tucci picking up speed by working the walls.
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    Brian Tucci picking up speed by working the walls.
  • A 360 degree spin at the top of a wall can spell splinters, bruises or momentary glory.
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    A 360 degree spin at the top of a wall can spell splinters, bruises or momentary glory.
  • A skater's turn often ends with a spill, but after a couple of minutes schooling the room, Brian Tucci turns the bowl over to the next up.
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    A skater's turn often ends with a spill, but after a couple of minutes schooling the room, Brian Tucci turns the bowl over to the next up.
  • Ben Ashworth runs the Fight Club along with an impromptu board of directors. They make sure the rent is paid, and that neighbors' complaints are addressed.
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    Ben Ashworth runs the Fight Club along with an impromptu board of directors. They make sure the rent is paid, and that neighbors' complaints are addressed.
  • Skaters line up along the rim of the bowl, ready to step forward on their boards and drop in when their turn comes.
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    Skaters line up along the rim of the bowl, ready to step forward on their boards and drop in when their turn comes.
  • Fight Club's leader Ben Ashworth picks up the pace when he hits the bowl. At 34 years old, he says he can't match some skaters on tricks, "Speed is about all I've got these days, but I give it all I can."
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    Fight Club's leader Ben Ashworth picks up the pace when he hits the bowl. At 34 years old, he says he can't match some skaters on tricks, "Speed is about all I've got these days, but I give it all I can."
  • A well-worn skatebord, ready for the bowl.
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    A well-worn skatebord, ready for the bowl.
  • Stephanie Murdoch is a member of Fight Club's board. Though the sport is dominated by teenage boys, Fight Club is an older and more diverse scene. About a fourth of the skaters this Wednesday night were women.
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    Stephanie Murdoch is a member of Fight Club's board. Though the sport is dominated by teenage boys, Fight Club is an older and more diverse scene. About a fourth of the skaters this Wednesday night were women.
  • Stephanie Murdoch ten feet up on the wall.
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    Stephanie Murdoch ten feet up on the wall.
  • Stephanie Murdoch at Fight Club.
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    Stephanie Murdoch at Fight Club.
  • For some skaters, if you're not falling, you're not trying.
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    For some skaters, if you're not falling, you're not trying.
  • After an especially good trick, or a spectacular fall, skaters will slap their boards against the bowl in appreciation.
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    After an especially good trick, or a spectacular fall, skaters will slap their boards against the bowl in appreciation.
  • Shawn Gregoire is an up an coming skater in the DC scene, and a recent graduate of the photography program at George Mason University.
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    Shawn Gregoire is an up an coming skater in the DC scene, and a recent graduate of the photography program at George Mason University.
  • Most of the people are here skate just for fun, but Shaun Gregoire is sponsored by Birdhouse Skateboards. He hopes to make a living skating and taking photos on the pro circuit.
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    Most of the people are here skate just for fun, but Shaun Gregoire is sponsored by Birdhouse Skateboards. He hopes to make a living skating and taking photos on the pro circuit.
  • Shaun Gregoire drops into the bowl at the Fight Club.
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    Shaun Gregoire drops into the bowl at the Fight Club.
  • Sean Gregoire's jumps and tricks dominate the session.
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    Sean Gregoire's jumps and tricks dominate the session.
  • Skaters awaiting their turn at the Fight Club. Someday, skaters say, the Fight Club will shut down due to development pressures or the police.
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    Skaters awaiting their turn at the Fight Club. Someday, skaters say, the Fight Club will shut down due to development pressures or the police.
  • Falls and hard-landings can mean broken bones and broken boards. So far, nobody has been seriously hurt.
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    Falls and hard-landings can mean broken bones and broken boards. So far, nobody has been seriously hurt.

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