Grit to Grind: Shaping Montana Communities One Skatepark at a Time

The inspirational story of the inception, growth, and continued work of the Montana Skatepark Association and their ongoing efforts to build skateparks for communities across Montana. Packed with 100+ vibrant color photographs. Long before skateboard culture entered mainstream consciousness, for a group of teens growing up in Montana, skateboarding represented the ultimate expression of freedom and creativity. With no dedicated skatepark nearby, skaters sought opportunities several hours or hundreds of miles away—until a core group of childhood friends decided to band together and change the status quo. This is the remarkable true story of how long-time Missoula residents Chris Bacon, Andy Kemmis, Ross Peterson, and a small army of other volunteers overcame, with perseverance and determination, obstacles like lack of funding, bureaucratic red tape, geographic limitations, and more to create a non-profit organization that has assisted in the funding and creation of nearly fifty skateparks in the state to date. The book features: Interviews and testimonials from the people who built the MSA from the ground up Profiles of real skaters who have been have been impacted by the skateparks A foreword by Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament Over 100 full-color insider photographs