BRATTLEBORO -- Spencer Crispe is an attorney in Brattleboro.
The 31-year-old is the fourth generation in his family to become a Windham County lawyer, choosing to focus his practice on civil rights. He went to high school here and received his college education at universities within the Green Mountain State.
Crispe is also very involved in his community, volunteering with the Brattleboro Boys & Girls Club, Youth Services, the Wilmington Planning Commission and Ancient Roads Committee, as well as other activities throughout the state.
But unlike most attorneys, he also jumped head first into the newly formed Skate Park Committee -- not as legal consultant, but as an avid skateboarder.
Challenging the traditional stereotype of a skateboarder in Brattleboro, Crispe hopes to change a few opinions about his favorite activity. And now that there's a potential skate park within reach for him and his fellow boarders, Crispe is 100 percent committed to promoting the hobby and watching it spread around the town.
Since attending a Sept. 30 Brattleboro School Board meeting with more than 20 other boarders, town officials and community members, Crispe has fought to sway the negative persona of his passion.
This past summer, the community faced a number of challenges downtown, including loiterers, drug deals and even a homicide on Elliot Street, but it was the skateboarders who also took heat because of a major misunderstanding about the sport.
"Skating isn't inherently bad ... it's been wonderful for my life," he said. Skateboarding is a great outlet to keep kids away from drugs and alcohol, he added.
Crispe has skateboarded since he was seven when his older brother introduced him to it, and he has stuck with the activity because it really appealed to him. Unlike competitive sports, he said skateboarding allows people a chance to forget about their problems and find new levels of success on a park bench, set of concrete
"It's about you and your skateboard and what you can create with it," he added. Most afternoons when he leaves his office, Crisp throws on a punk rock T-shirt and takes his board for a spin to let off steam from a long day of the legal grind.
Skate park supporters in town like Crispe currently see their best opportunity in years to establish a space all their own with the proposed site at Crowell Lot off High Street.
Presently, the school district owns the property, but the town maintains it. Supporters have said it is a great location for a skate park between 6,000 and 10,000 square feet.
"We'd be thrilled to get it there," he said. The potential site has many benefits -- the land is flat and off the road so neighbors will not have to worry about noise, but there is enough visibility from High Street that it is unlikely to become a dangerous spot.
Having a location specifically designed for skateboarders would get more young people off the streets and into the park, as well as bring in so many new faces to the sport because there is a place to go, he added.
"How do you get into tennis without a tennis court? How do you get into hockey without a rink?" he asked.
Enter the skate park committee, a growing band of concerned boarders and community members dedicated to raising funds for the project and keeping a stable level of interest throughout the process.
"We're organized now, and we're not going away," he said. While acknowledging skateboarding has its share of "bad apples," Crispe said all recreational activities have a few facets that portray it in a negative light. That does not represent all skateboarders, the vast majority of people interested in the activity are just looking for a place to go, he added.
The recently established skate park committee will meet at 11 a.m. Saturday at Brooks Memorial Library.
Chris Garofolo can be reached at cgarofolo@reformer.com or 802-254-2311 ext. 275.
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