Bay Area skateboarding coach embraces lifelong passion

Jade Trevizo crouched over her skateboard at Plata Arroyo skatepark in San Jose, trying once more to master a basic maneuver that pops it off the ground and keeps it underfoot as the rider sticks the landing.

With a whack, the 13-year-old who started riding six months ago stomped the board’s wooden tail to the pavement, launching herself and the board upward. But she couldn’t land on the board. Instructor Felipe Franco held out his hand to steady her and offered tips to “ollie” as she gave it another go. Ten minutes later, she and her skateboard were airborne, then she stuck the ollie and smiled widely.

“You’re ollie-ing, you know that, right?” Franco, 46, cried out excitedly.

Franco, based in San Jose, teaches throughout the Bay Area — Gilroy, San Francisco, Union City, Livermore, Sunnyvale, Fremont, Milpitas and Palo Alto — with lessons costing between $60 and $200 depending on location and skill level.

But on Friday — the 20th edition of Go Skate Day, when skaters across the globe come together to celebrate skateboarding — he hosted a free, hour-long skateboarding lesson at Plata Arroyo skatepark on behalf of GOSKATE, a website connecting beginning skaters to teachers.

Jade, who started skating in December, had come to the skatepark on Friday hoping to learn how to “drop in” for the first time on one of the concrete ramps. She learned much more in her hour-long session.

“I wasn’t expecting to learn this much,” she said, “but I’m glad I did.”

A handful of skaters and bikers crisscrossed the park, but Jade was the only skater to show up for the lesson. Franco wasn’t surprised — more advanced skaters typically spend Go Skate Day riding at large events in downtown areas. He was “really stoked to see that Jade showed up,” and spent the hour giving one-on-one coaching to develop her skills.

Franco grew up in Arizona and Southern California and picked up skateboarding at age 10 from his older cousins. He has kept up skating ever since, driven by the ability to constantly learn new things.

“To this day, I still get to learn new stuff and challenge myself,” Franco said.

As an adult, Franco worked in real estate and property management in Seattle until he, his wife and their 5-year-old son temporarily moved to San Jose last year to care for her parents, recently diagnosed with cancer.

When his in-laws’ health worsened, the family had to come up with a more permanent plan for their life in the Bay Area. Franco needed a part-time position with flexible hours and drew upon two of his long-time passions: skating and teaching.

He began coaching through GOSKATE in October 2023, and he now gives four to six lessons per week across the Bay Area. Though his students range from ages 4 to 55, he typically teaches young children.

Through his teaching, Franco hopes to “check out each neighborhood and really get to know this area” as the family considers getting their own place in the area. So far, Franco said, he’s “loving all of the Bay Area.” 

Franco reckoned he’s taught thousands of skaters how to ollie, a foundational skill that serves as the base for more advanced maneuvers. For each trick, Franco starts with an explanation, breaking the movement down into its mechanics. The skaters then progress from holding Franco’s hand, to a “ghost hand” hovering a few inches away, then finally performing the trick on their own, with some encouragement and high fives from him.

A big part of coaching is helping students overcome their fear and “knowing that someone’s got your back,” Franco said.

“It makes me happy to see someone trying something new, because it is a challenging thing,” Franco said. “It’s hard to just stand on a skateboard for some people, to take that leap of faith.”

“I just try to make sure that they feel safe, because it can be scary, and that’s the honest truth. I just enjoy anybody tries it at all. I take the biggest pleasure from that.”

While Jade worked on her drop-ins, a trio of teenage boys descended on the park and attempted the trick alongside her. Franco offered to help, and the boys accepted. After a few tries, one of them nailed the drop-in, too.

Franco often offers advice at the skatepark to kids wanting to master a new trick. He also keeps three or four skateboards in his car “just in case students don’t have any, or someone wants to skate but doesn’t have equipment.”

Go Skate Day was also Franco’s birthday. His wife, Sharol Franco, said he’s been “aging backwards” since he started teaching.

“He’s more active and youthful in the past year from doing skateboarding,” she said.

For Franco, teaching on his birthday hardly felt like spending the day at work.

“This,” he said, “is the dream.”