Sean McInnis
WE WERE JUST KIDS
Skateboarders Dray Moppins and Lathan Terry meet in social housing after difficult familial circumstances. Setting their sights on adulthood and the rest of their lives, they reflect on where they’ve been.
“I die for this shit,” Dray Moppins said shortly after falling while attempting a trick off a steep ramp during one of his many sessions at his local skatepark.
Dray and Lathan Terry are two skateboarders in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They frequent the local skate park almost every day and both work at Molotov Skate Shop, just a short walk from the park. Both are seniors in high school and on the edge of the rest of their lives.
Dray grew up in Central City, Kentucky a small town with a population of just under 6,000, and said there’s not much to do in such a small place. Members of his family and friends struggled with this fact and saw an increased drug amount of addictions and criminal behavior because of it.
“It’s stuff that you’d only think you’d see in a big city, when in reality, that stuff happens more so in a small town,” Dray said.
Dray and Lathan Terry are two skateboarders in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They frequent the local skate park almost every day and both work at Molotov Skate Shop, just a short walk from the park. Both are seniors in high school and on the edge of the rest of their lives.
Dray grew up in Central City, Kentucky a small town with a population of just under 6,000, and said there’s not much to do in such a small place. Members of his family and friends struggled with this fact and saw an increased drug amount of addictions and criminal behavior because of it.
“It’s stuff that you’d only think you’d see in a big city, when in reality, that stuff happens more so in a small town,” Dray said.
If you drive around his hometown, Dray will tell you how he began skateboarding from a childhood friend. Dray said he thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen. Dray will then start to point out all the random abandoned concrete stare cases that lead to nowhere, cracked patches of pavement, and shrubby overgrown sidewalks that he learned to skate on. While Central City does have a small skatepark, part of skateboarding is finding treasured spots hidden in plain site.
Sander Hölsgens and Brian Glenney write in their book, Skateboarding and the Senses: Skills Surfaces and Spaces, skateboarding is “not merely visual, nor aural, but embodied, pointing toward the uninterrupted reciprocity between the body and its environs.”
Hölsgens and Glenney use the word “equilibrioception” to describe the sensation of skateboarding. What is remarkably correct about this description is that pronouncing equilibrioception is similar in difficulty to the task of skateboarding itself.
Sander Hölsgens and Brian Glenney write in their book, Skateboarding and the Senses: Skills Surfaces and Spaces, skateboarding is “not merely visual, nor aural, but embodied, pointing toward the uninterrupted reciprocity between the body and its environs.”
Hölsgens and Glenney use the word “equilibrioception” to describe the sensation of skateboarding. What is remarkably correct about this description is that pronouncing equilibrioception is similar in difficulty to the task of skateboarding itself.
Dray moved to Bowling Green in 2022, him and his mom fled an abusive relationship, Dray said “arguing, fighting,” built up between his mom and dad, but for the first six months of their arrival in Bowling Green, they sought shelter in a domestic violence shelter.
Dray and his mom "were arguing 24/7,” Dray said, but that it was needed to help repair their relationship. During his time in the shelter, Dray also met Lathan.
“It was like I was living with my best friend,” Lathan said, and Dray helped inspire Lathan to get back into skating.
Lathan’s mother had also been through a difficult relationship, and they had moved to Kentucky from Houston, Texas. Lathan remembered physical fights as well as arguments between his mom and her partner.
“Her moving me away from there was her trying to save me and also to start a new path,” Lathan Said.
After they had both left the shelter, Dray and Lathan kept skating together and began traveling and meeting with other skaters who shared their same passion for fearlessness and growth.
Dray and his mom "were arguing 24/7,” Dray said, but that it was needed to help repair their relationship. During his time in the shelter, Dray also met Lathan.
“It was like I was living with my best friend,” Lathan said, and Dray helped inspire Lathan to get back into skating.
Lathan’s mother had also been through a difficult relationship, and they had moved to Kentucky from Houston, Texas. Lathan remembered physical fights as well as arguments between his mom and her partner.
“Her moving me away from there was her trying to save me and also to start a new path,” Lathan Said.
After they had both left the shelter, Dray and Lathan kept skating together and began traveling and meeting with other skaters who shared their same passion for fearlessness and growth.
“Trauma can have a significant impact on you,” said Dr. Monica Hines, a social work professor at Western Kentucky University.
Dr. Hines said that when young people find others in like-minded settings and have shared experiences, it makes it easier to connect and engage. In her experience working in rural counties in Kentucky, there is a lack of resources for people seeking help for domestic violence, “it was very hard.”
“Domestic violence is a lot, and it can wear down anyone, at any given time,” Dr. Hines said.
Reflecting on his experiences, “I would’ve probably moved back to Houston if I wasn’t tied into the community here,” Lathan said.
During a skating trip with other skaters in Pensacola, Florida, Dray and Lathan watch the sunset and take pictures on the beach.
Dr. Hines said that when young people find others in like-minded settings and have shared experiences, it makes it easier to connect and engage. In her experience working in rural counties in Kentucky, there is a lack of resources for people seeking help for domestic violence, “it was very hard.”
“Domestic violence is a lot, and it can wear down anyone, at any given time,” Dr. Hines said.
Reflecting on his experiences, “I would’ve probably moved back to Houston if I wasn’t tied into the community here,” Lathan said.
During a skating trip with other skaters in Pensacola, Florida, Dray and Lathan watch the sunset and take pictures on the beach.
“My whole life I had to see people go on trips, like Cali, Florida, shit like that, and actually being here and chilling in this environment, like I am literally at bliss,” Dray said.
"The trauma brought us together, but we always had the skating in common," Lathan said.
After going through difficult times with his mother and a bad relationship, Dray plans to move to Nashville and become a social worker himself to help kids, just how he was helped and pointed in the right direction.
"The trauma brought us together, but we always had the skating in common," Lathan said.
After going through difficult times with his mother and a bad relationship, Dray plans to move to Nashville and become a social worker himself to help kids, just how he was helped and pointed in the right direction.
It feels like we were just kids, a couple of days ago