Skate Ahoy: Floating Skate Park to travel 1,705 miles down Mississippi River - Four Stop Red Bull Mississippi Grind Tour Ends with Ramp Donation to City of New Orleans

After a grand kickoff in Minneapolis this past weekend, five small town skaters (along with a roving cast of pros) will make their dream a reality as they launch a floating skate park down the largest river system in the United States ending their journey in the “Big Easy” where the skate park will find its final resting place. The ramps will be donated to City of New Orleans to help provide a skatepark to the city. “A couple of years ago, we all joked about floating a skate park down the river to New Orleans. A few months passed, and all of the sudden our idea was an actual concept, something on paper. And then our concept became something solid,” stated Benji Meyer, local Minnesotan skater. “It's surreal. It's a total trip to be standing here on something that was just a dream.”

Shredding sail

During the ensuing 28-day adventure, known as Red Bull Mississippi Grind, five skaters and plenty of guests including Luis Tolentino, Joey Brezinski, Ronnie Creager and Converse pro Kenny Anderson will tear up one of the world’s most innovative skate destination as it travels from port to port. The 195-foot-long barge that houses the park departed from the Twin Cities and will make stops in Davenport, Iowa and St Louis, Missouri, dropping anchor for the last time in New Orleans. Each stop will be action-packed with skate demos from world-class Red Bull and Converse athletes, as well as local qualifying competitions.

In each of the four ports, Saturday afternoons will be dedicated “Ticket to Ride” shop sessions open to local skate shops in each market, and Sunday’s are reserved for “Ticket to Grind” competitions, and a final skate demo. Two top skaters from each port will win a ticket to vie for a $3,000 cash prize at the final “Ticket to Grind” competition in New Orleans.

Rail detail

In order to create the most important element of Red Bull Mississippi Grind, Red Bull recruited renowned skate-park builders Spohn Ranch to develop the course which includes a hubba ledge, a bank to many pad and double stair set. In addition, designer Mark Leski aka “the Wizard” is calling on his 20-plus years of skate-park construction experience , as well as his heritage as the son of a Mississippi River towboat captain -- to create additional obstacles along the way.

The journey will also be partnering with another boat – Living Lands and Waters’ barge, which will support harbor and water cleanup projects between Minneapolis and St. Louis alongside the skatepark barge. 

New Orleans provides the obvious final destination for Red Bull Mississippi Grind, both in terms of geography and of supporting skateboard culture. A three day celebration on October 7-9th in New Orleans will mark the climax of Red Bull Mississippi Grind, with the final ceremony dedicated to Red Bull giving the skate structure to the City of New Orleans. “We’re happy that Red Bull is showing a commitment to the people of New Orleans by donating skate ramps that will help us create a skate park,” says Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “This is going to raise the bar of the type of recreational programming that we’re offering, while at the same time help our young people find another way to stay physically active and out of trouble.”

For details on each stop, visit www.redbullusa.com/mississippigrind. Follow the barge talk on twitter with #missgrind