Skatopia
Brewce Martin and his appalachian skatepark
In 1977, Brewce took two closet doors, nailed them to his stepdad’s workbench, and put linoleum on the bottom so he could skate them. That was the first Skatopia, but since then. “It’s gone on to infinity. It hasn’t stopped yet. I’m so excited about skateboarding. I still dream about skateboarding.” Brewce Martin, a now 58-year-old living on, “88 acres of anarchy”, is a pro skateboarder who created the skateboarding paradise, commune, and park called Skatopia. But Skatopia’s prime was in the 2000s, and after Brewce had an accident that led to him receiving intense brain surgery, even his own son, Brandon Martin, has said Brewce isn’t the same person he was.
In 1988 Brewce moved to Florida, and in 1990 he became a pro skater living the professional skateboarding life. He moved back to West Virginia only 5 years later where he began to build a bigger and more permanent Skatopia. Unfortunately, he was evicted from the West Virginian Skatopia site, so he found the land that now homes the current Skatopia. After collecting donations from over fifty friends and signing the contract to purchase the land, he and a few friends moved the entire complex to the new location, a former pot and cattle farm with a farmhouse built in 1919. Since, Brewce has continued to create and expand the 88-acre Skatopia in the middle of Appalachian South Eastern, Ohio.
Now 58 and a survivor of a traumatic brain injury, much has changed with Brewce and Skatopia. But many things still remain the same. My photo story was inspired by Travis Dove’s photos on Skatopia from 2008 covering the annual three-day Bowl Bash and other, more calm, days of life at the park. I wanted to look into Skatopia now, over 15 years later and after Martin endured his life-threatening brain trauma.

Scene of the 88 acre skatepark farm at Skatopia in Rutland, Ohio, April 16, 2024. In 1995, Brewce Martin collected donations from over fifty friends and signed the contract to purchase the land, a former pot and cattle farm with a farmhouse built in 1919. Since, Brewce has continued to create and expand the 88-acre Skatopia in the middle of Appalachian South Eastern, Ohio. According to Brewce, thousands of people have come through Skatopia, and it has been featured in numerous forms of media, from Rolling Stone to Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 video game. From its humble beginnings as a DIY skatepark to its status as a cultural phenomenon, Skatopia remains standing. However, many days the land is empty, with only Brewce and his four dogs. When there are people here, they range from strangers who come once or twice to regulars who have visited for years, like Noah Corona or Petie Brown.

Brewce Martin drinks a Monster Energy drink while sitting on the couch with his dog, Chief, waiting for the North American Solar Eclipse to occur later that day, April 8, 2024. Brewce says he spends a lot of time in this room and with these dogs. When asked what he watches on the TV he says, "I don't know. This shit I guess." He giggles when a Beatles-tribute band is shown singing, "Here Comes the Sun" in reference to the solar eclipse. 

Brewce Martin points with his tattooed arm at the 50 foot slide his daughter built while driving the, "Country Cadillac" across the 88-acre land where Skatopia resides in Rutland, Ohio, April 8, 2024. The car, one of the many rusted and worn down vehicles that litter the land at Skatopia, has a cracked windsheild, a baby-rocker in the trunk, and soda and alcohol cans littering the floor. When asked how many tattoos he has, Brewce responded with, "I have no idea. Count how many are on this arm and multiply it by a million." He says he regrets his finger tattoos most, the ones that read, "LIVE" and "LOVE", but only because of how they came out.

A stuffed toy bear lays in the grass at Skatopia in Rutland, Ohio, April 16, 2024.

Noah Corona raises his Pabst Blue Ribbon while other visitors of Skatopia roll around on wheelchairs during the three day Work Party event at Skatopia in Rutland, Ohio, March 30, 2024. "I've been coming here for over nine years, I help coordinate bands to come and play and shit. We're a family here, it's a community."

Brewce sits at the edge of the Lula Bowl at Skatopia in Rutland, Ohio while waiting for the North American Solar Eclipse with his dog Nala, April 8, 2024. Brewce endured a severe accident in 2009 when a tire at a local tire shot exploded, hit him, and, "sent [him] seven feet into the air!" Due to this accident, he has had numerous brain surgeries to try and repair the injuries. As a result of these multiple brain surgeries and consequental eye issues, he cannot skateboard as well as he once could. "Skating was where I got my self-esteem. I'm a different man now, I can only skate once in a while, not as good." Because of this, he says most of his days are spent with his dogs: Mr. Poop, Mrs. Poop, Nala, and Chief.

Brewce Martin gives a tour of his Skateboard Museum during the three day Work Party event at Skatopia in Rutland, Ohio, March 30, 2024. He. points out multiple merchandise items he has for sale, "Isn't this epic?"

Brewce Martin plays air guitar to in "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica at his home at Skatopia in Rutland, Ohio, March 23, 2024.

Brewce Martin shows the camera his different-sized pupils while in his home at Skatopia, Rutland, Ohio, March 23, 2024. "Look at my eyes, what do you see? This ones three times bigger than this one." In 2009, Brewce suffered a traumatic brain injury, caused by a tire exploding in a tire shop near Skatopia. The accident left him in a coma for six weeks where he had surgery to relieve pressure around his brain caused by the swelling. He explained that many surgeries have happened since, and the enlarged pupil is a side consequence of the surgeries on the left side of his head.

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