Moses Lake teen Ulises Aguirre finding sanctuary on his board

MOSES LAKE — Headphones in ear, shirttails waving behind him, Ulises Aguirre coasts across the pavement on his board at the skate park in Moses Lake on Wednesday afternoon. Aguirre, a skater since middle school, is in his sanctuary.

“I’d always liked the subject of skating, I just never had a board,” Aguirre said. “Then my cousin gave me his old board. It was really worn down, like on the verge of breaking. That’s what really set me off, and that’s where I had my first ollie.”

Aguirre, a junior this year at Moses Lake High School, said coming to the park to skateboard offers an escape, an oasis. Being stuck at home the last two months, he said, heading to the park offers a chance to get away for a moment.

“Home can be a bit stressful at times, especially with what’s going on,” Aguirre said. “When there’s not people, I just plug my headphones in. It’s almost like dozing off, or a good dream. It feels almost too good to be true, and then you realize it gets better.”

After closing to the public on April 6 due to COVID-19 concerns, the skate park reopened at the end of last month. Aguirre said the park being closed didn’t bother him at first, but got tougher as the weeks went on, not being able to really go anywhere.

“It’s all these warnings, and it’s about self-control, knowing you can’t go out,” Aguirre said. “Yeah, it was compelling to go, but I knew I couldn’t for my own safety and whatnot.”

After getting his first board from his cousin, landing his first few tricks, Aguirre said he quickly realized it was like nothing else he’d experienced.

“It’s a treat, it’s something you can’t achieve,” Aguirre said. “It’s almost like a high.”

With time, Aguirre said he’s gotten better. When he got to high school, Aguirre said he saw other skaters with their boards, much better than his. New to skateboarding, Aguirre said he looked at this as a moment to grow and learn. “I’d hang out with them, learn how to do tricks, how to ride better,” Aguirre said. “It’s gotten me to this point that I think it would be worth it to spend time on a board.”

Aguirre wasn’t riding his cousin’s old board anymore on Wednesday, but rather sporting the new board he got less than two weeks ago.

“I’m so into skating that I haven’t even had it for 10 days and I’ve already got a lot of marks on it,” he said. “It almost symbolizes progress to me.”

Aguirre said he’s never really lived in a neighborhood where he could skate, always living out in the country where a skate park wasn’t even an option.

“When we could come, it’d be like 10 minutes,” Aguirre said. “For me, 10 minutes is plenty of time. I’d just hit a ramp or something.”

Aguirre said he doesn’t have sidewalks near his family’s house, only gravel. What he does have is a five-foot-by-five-foot concrete spot that he’s able to practice a few tricks in.

“That’s what adds to the gratefulness of being able to come to the skate park is just being able to unwind,” he said.

Aguirre said there’s definitely a skating community in Moses Lake, but added it’s smaller than he would have expected. While it may be small, he said, he witnesses a ton of dedication and is always seeing things that inspire him, even from younger skaters.

“They’ve put in hard work, which motivates you to do it too, because if they can do it, you can do it too,” Aguirre said.

Aguirre said he often feels the “skater kids” carry stereotypes and negative opinions with them that aren’t necessarily accurate.

“I feel like, at the skate park, you might start off shy if there’s people you don’t know, but in the end, it’s almost like having a family you’re not close with,” Aguirre said. “But you can trust them. That’s what I feel like skating is.”

Aguirre was joined by his younger sister, Lesly, on just her third day skating. Lesly Aguirre said her brother was a big influence in her coming to try it out.

“There’s really nothing to do at home, so I thought skating might be fun to give a try,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed it actually.”

Lesly Aguirre said it’s the thrill of almost falling over that she enjoys about skating. And, she said, it feels good doing the tricks, too.