High-Flying Funks
While most boys have a passion for wheels, three brothers from Cranberry Township have taken that passion to the world of extreme sports.
It all started with a willing set of parents, some boards and creativity.
"Initially, we started skating because some friends introduced it to us. It wasn't until we started looking at skateboarding magazines and watching professional skate videos that all of us really understood what could be done on a skateboard," said 18-year-old Justin Funk, a freshman at Robert Morris University.
Skating has taken Justin and his brothers, Zach, 17, and Addison, 15, from local streets, to city hall and across the country. Since taking up the sport five years ago, the boys have performed successfully in various competitions, with Justin and Zach competing recently on a national level.
"In May, the skate shop that sponsors us, Blank Skate Supply, took our team to Minneapolis, Minn., for the annual Top Shop Competition," explained Zach."After a weekend of skating at the 3rd and Lair Park, our shop managed to place fifth out of 40 teams across the country. I also won Best Style of the competition out of 200 skateboarders," he said.Blank Skate Supply is owned by Jeff Revilla, who picked the boys three years ago to help represent his business and skate park in Natrona Heights. Nine youths comprise the team."They are incredible talents at skateboarding. They are young and have a great positive attitude toward skateboarding and other skaters," said Revilla, adding he turns down kids who are great skaters but lack the character desired to represent his store."They have a future and mindset that spans beyond skateboarding," Revilla added."Their talents and personality help make a great skateboard team."Although the Funk brothers have gained visibility as skateboarders, Justin said they are nowhere near professional status."Turning pro is decided by the board companies that each skater rides for," he explained."Professionals will get their own pro model skateboard as well as getting a shoe model by their shoe sponsor. A step below pro is amateur, which has all the perks of a professional — just no model products."Right now, we are not even considered amateur but are trying to get recognized by larger companies."The Funks say they try to go on a road trip at least once a month to participate mainly in street skating events or competitions.Competitions, however, are not the best way to connect with big companies, Justin said."What they are looking for are your talents in the streets, so it is very common to send videos in displaying your street skating in order to be noticed," he said.But acquiring that skill requires motivations, the Funks say — since the skill must be learned from doing rather than from books."There are no textbooks or guidelines when you step onto your board. This freedom allows our thoughts to be put into action on a daily basis," Justin said."A professional skateboarder said 'It's not like a video game where you beat it and it's over, it never stops' — and that's so true."The perseverance and sense of accomplishment with every trick keeps us going. You can never stop learning tricks or trying them in a different way," Zach added."The great thing about skateboarding is that there is no correct way to ride a skateboard; it is up to the individual," Justin said."Because of this, each person who skateboards rides it unique to themselves. This diversity is what makes the sport so distinctive.""So when a competition comes along, the judges are seeing a different skating style from each person. They will judge on creativity, difficulty and mostly consistency," he added.For Zach, taking to the road and making friends is definitely one of the best things about the sport."Every road trip turns out to be memorable. The Minneapolis trip was definitely a great time and we can't wait to go back," he said."It is just cool meeting kids from all over who enjoy the same thing we do. The friends we make through skateboarding seem always to be very strong," he added.
Not many parents could embrace or encourage skating and all that comes with it — the fads, the hair, the music or the stigma of skateboarding — but for Mark and Cheryl Funk, it was a way to connect with their sons."When the boys started out, they asked if they could build a ramp at our house," Cheryl said."We live in a housing plan, and while we were leery about it, we really wanted to encourage them."The ramp was built and the Funk house became a popular hangout in the neighborhood. "It could have driven many parents crazy and it wasn't always easy, but it was great to know where the boys were and watch them improve their skills," she added."They also spent time with Mark building, purchasing and planning it all out.""Our parents have always supported us in everything that we do," Addison said."Even though they were kind of skeptical of this activity at first, they understood we enjoyed doing it. Before Justin had his license, they would put in some serious miles each year taking us all across Western Pennsylvania to skate," he said."The biggest challenge for their dad and I was that the sport was so independent, unlike the baseball they had played," said Cheryl."We used to spend time on the ballfields together as a family and then they were out skating on the streets with kids we didn't know. Initially, we felt disconnected — which is why the ramp in our backyard was not an issue for us," she added.Cheryl said the fads that went along with it were just that, fads, and she didn't get stressed about it."If the fad, like the hair or the clothes, would have been accompanied by a moral or spiritual issue like disrespect or rebelliousness, we would have dealt with it, but that never happened," she said.Having three sons involved in the same sport might make competition an issue, but for the Funks it has been a blessing."The boys skate together and they shoot the videos together, so I know they are in good company," said Cheryl."All of us find it awesome that every time we skate, we have someone to do it with," Justin added."There is zero stress or competition because skateboarding is not like traditional sports. It isn't about who is better than who," he explained."All skateboarders are on the same side rooting for each other. This mindset allows all of us to enjoy skating together and helps us to encourage progress in one another."
The Funks have also spent time seeing their sport progress in the county. When the boys heard a skate park was going to be built in Cranberry Township, they were delighted but wanted to be sure it was going to be suitable for skateboarders."Local skate parks are notorious for being built not suitable for skaters," said Justin.Often, municipalities will build these parks to keep kids off the streets and public property but rarely consult skaters in the process, he said."As experienced skateboarders, we know what makes a good skate park, and we wanted to have some input," said Justin."We approached the council and they gave us some meetings where we were able to give our input along with many other skaters from the area," he explained."On June 11 (2005), the build day, the community was able to build the entire skate park that day — which is an incredible feat coordinating hundreds of people," Justin said."In the end, we realized that the design mostly was out of our control and the park turned into another statistic, but it was definitely a learning experience where we all want to get involved with again," he said.The Funks say public perception also influences their behavior as skateboarders.The industry and sport has faced its share of criticism, they say — but much of the criticism is unwarranted.
"Skateboarding has always been slapped with the stereotype of troublemakers since its existence," said Justin."Society believes that we are out to destroy their buildings and cause havoc. As street skateboarders, we are going to want to skate obstacles that are naturally found in suburban areas," he explained, noting that is where the two worlds collide."When the police see us at a place grinding some ledges, they think it is our intent to inflict damage on the property where in fact this is just the nature of our sport."This is why we try and skate at places where we are allowed or get permission in order to stay away from conflict," he said."If a conflict does arise, we try to be as polite as possible to let them know that skateboarders are not all jerks," he added."The boys used to come home and say how skateboarding always got such a bad rap and wondered why people thought so negatively toward it," their mother added."We told them, 'This is your chance to make a difference. Do what you can do to change that stereotype,'" Cheryl said."You don't have to dress weird, swear or do drugs to skateboard," said Zach."We just focus on the boarding and learning out tricks and hone our skills and hang out with friends and have a good time," he said.And while their wheels have taken them places, they may have also steered their direction for the future."I believe that it was what they learned through this sport that is focusing them on their futures," said Cheryl.Justin honed his graphic arts and video skills promoting the sport and is pursuing a graphics arts degree at Robert Morris.Addison, who is currently on a mission trip in Bolivia where he is on a construction crew, continues to explore building since that first ramp constructed in the backyard.Zach is still focusing on his boarding, and with one national title under his belt, it is anybody's guess how far his wheels will take him.
