Building Community
Orange County houses over 70 skateparks, but Bridge Community Skatepark in Orange brings a DIY attitude to their approach, in turn helping local skateboarders find their identity and grip on what local community can look like.
Codey Levesque and his students posing for the parents. After giving this photo opportunity, they immediately sprinted away to begin hunting for Easter eggs hidden around the park. April 11, 2022.
What started as just a beat-up half-pipe, has now been transformed into a complete D.I.Y skatepark all spearheaded by the man who is currently running it, 34-year-old Orange County Native Codey Levesque. Levesque teaches about 15 skate lessons per week at the park and opens it up to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.
Codey Levesque giving some pointers to nine-year-old twins Grayson (left) and Asher (right). The twins come all the way from Mission Viejo, Calif. just to take lessons with Levesque and have both been skating for about a year. April 11. 2022
Levesque has been giving skate lessons to kids for seven years, first at the Hurley Skatepark and then the Volcom Skatepark both in Costa Mesa But after COVID-19 left him with no place to teach, he came to the Bridge Community Church to ask if he could take over the halfpipe.
Codey Levesque doing maintenance on the halfpipe before his group lesson. A leaf blower is a mandatory piece of equipment for ramp management. April 11, 2022
The calm before a group lesson. When Codey Levesque first started at the Bridge Skatepark about a year ago, there was only the halfpipe. Since then, he has built many different obstacles to fill out the rest of the space. April 11, 2022
Codey Levesque helping nine-year-old Jay air over a quarterpipe. Jay has a tenacity on the board that is not often seen in young skaters, never afraid to go full speed towards obstacles that are twice his size. April 11, 2022
The pastor agreed, and then it was only a few months until the park became what we see today. Levesque owes a great deal to the members of the church and his faith for allowing him to run the Bridge Skatepark.
“Danny the pastor is the man, without God and him, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. And his son Daniel, he helped me a do a bunch of stuff around the park.”
— Cody Levesque
The parents of the skaters enjoying the time off from the kids with a few adult beverages. Mellisa, the mother of Asher and Grayson, caught me in the act of snapping this moment. April 11th, 2022
Levesque has been skating for 19 years and can not imagine where his life would be without it. The space that has been created has enabled children of all ages to explore passions that may not be as widely accepted as others.
“Not every kid wants to play football and basketball,” Levesque adds.
Seven-year-old Nolan taking a water break. Nolan was just as interested in the camera as he was skating, and without fail would yell out, "Take a picture of me!" every time he rolled by. April 11, 2022
Ultimately, Levesque loves being a part of the Bridge Church Community and plans to continue running the park for many years to come.
“They’re just one big family, it’s really cool,” he said.