Article by Daniel Nodzak
Images provided by Clark Kirkman
”One Minute, One Spot” video used with permission of Be-Mag.com

If you’ve been paying attention to rollerblading groups on social media over the last few years or so you’ve probably seen more than a few pictures popping up of the progress going on in the backyard of Clark Kirkman’s Maryland home affectionately know as The Compound. I’ve been curious about this project for awhile now and wanted to get to know a little more about my former Woodward East instructor. So I caught up with Clark to chat about his history with skating, how The Compound project began, and his latest venture, Faction Skate Company.

Be sure to check out the full 40 images of theCompound’s progress in the gallery at the end of this article!

Let’s kick this off by telling us a little about your personal blading history and connection to the sport.

I wanted to start off by say thank you for the opportunity to chat. Skating for me has been a long journey, just about 30 years. I started skating in 1990-ish, playing hockey, and it quickly turned to aggressive skating. At that point I started building random things in my driveway to skate. Being that I had no clue what I was doing I repurposed a bookcase for a grind box and never looked back.

In the early days my first exposure to larger ramps was NISS. The large contest style ramps were mind blowing, and when I got to skate them I immediately came home and started building my own. Looking back at it the ramps I built were outside the skill level I was skating at that time. However it was a blast skating things like the ramps I saw at contests.

I had built 5ft high drop rails and for some reason I wasn’t scared of them. Soon after I started building my own ramps I found that there was a local backyard ramp in my area that  some BMXers and Skateboarders built. It was amazing that someone built something like that in their backyard. It included a 10ft vert ramp with a 6ft to 4ft spine. So you could say from the beginning I have had the mentality that backyard setups are something you can do.

After some time doing the grom thing a local skatepark opened and I started skating park on a regular basis. At the time it was owned by a skateboard shop and I would literally go every day to the point they stopped charging me entrance. I look back on this and I’m amazed that they let a rollerblader in for free so often.

Later the local rollerblade shop bought the park and I began riding for the shop and managing the park. This was really my first introduction to the industry and how it works both from building ramps and industry.

Managing Spicy skatepark is what made me the skater I am today. We skated a lot and I met so many people. I got to skate with a lot of older skaters and up-and-comers because it was a major stop for most tours that came through Baltimore. While working there I kind of had free rein to build whatever within reason.

Most of the park clips of the below section were from Spicy Skatepark.

In 1999 I got the opportunity to go to Woodward for the first time and  got exposed to large scale ramp building and skate instruction. I started as a counselor and instructor the first week I was there. I was instructing the second highest group and it was great because it was basically a daily session with kids from all over the world. After my first two weeks at camp I went back to Baltimore. At this point I decided that the following summer I would go all summer. So that next summer I was there all 12 weeks and only instructed that summer. At the end of that summer I decided to stay year round and work at camp during the off season.

During the summer I began filming for Colony of Summer and doing jobs that were outside of instructing. Living at camp is a whole different thing, it’s the two extremes- 12 weeks a year its crazy, packed with people everywhere the rest of the time you have the parks completely to yourself.

During my time at Woodward I decided to start competing in ASA contests in 2001. Woodward, PA was perfectly located to travel to most ASA qualifiers and compete with the AMs visiting camp and any pros that were going to the ASA pro comps. During this time I started skating for K2s AM team while traveling to contests.

In 2002 I got 2nd at the ASA AM finals and turned ASA pro. It was great to get the opportunity to skate on the Pro tour in 2003. However a few minutes before my first pro contest started I fell and broke my arm in 3 places. Because I was a rookie I was the first person to skate in the contest. So my first run was trash cause my arm was broken. My second run I was so mad I said screw it and did the run I had planned including the 900 on the huge launch and soul hop soul on a kink ledge. I ended up getting 16th so I was stoked on that, however that season was pretty screwed with recovery. I was able to return near the end of the season but it’s hard to recover in the rankings.

So after all of that I decided to slow down a lot of the traveling and such with skating. I ended up moving to San Diego to complete my undergrad and focus less on skating. Once I finished all that I moved back to the east coast  got my MBA and met my wife.

It’s obviously every rollerblader’s dream to have their own private skatepark in the backyard when they grow up. But even if you have the means to do it having the skills and motivation to tackle a project of that scope is another matter entirely. Do you have a background in carpentry, construction, and building ramps? If so can you walk us through your experience?

It all started with an idea and a willing wife to support the dream. My wife has been the Rockstar of The Compound. She lets me build what I want and doesn’t give me too much of a hard time.

Since I have a long background of building ramps and being around ramps, it wasn’t difficult starting the building process. I started building The Compound based on the idea that I wanted a mini ramp. This was mainly because it was what was the most fun for me to skate on a regular basis. Realistically everything I build is something that I skated one time and really enjoyed. The process as a whole wasn’t too bad, it really just started with a 24’ wide section of the mini. From there it was really just a little bit at a time, when time and money allowed. I had a gofundme up for a while which helped with portions of the ramp. Also locals that skate it regularly have donated to the cause. It’s one of those things that brings a community together.

Let’s talk more about your inspiration then. When you settled down to draft up a proper plan did you take elements from any private or public skateparks in particular? And if so, which ones?

So I had a rough plan of what I wanted it to include. A lot of the ramps are specifically built to replicate ramps I skated in the past. The mini was built like Morton Mini at Woodward. The big down ledges are built like Spicy Skatepark, the launch will be like Lot 8 box at Woodward and the smaller boxes are like old cloud 9 short ledges. Then other pieces are just connecting the dots. Like the bowl corner and the Big transition bank. Throughout the years I have skated so many great ramps that I wanted some of them in my backyard.

The Compound is absolutely incredible and every week it seems like you’ve gone and broken ground on some new element that takes things to another level. What’s the ultimate vision? Will The Compound ever truly be finished or are you going to be tinkering away with new ideas and changes for the foreseeable future?

It’s hard to stop building but the goal is to have 4 basic sections. A mini ramp, big down ledges, launch and mini street. That in itself is a lot to build. However knowing how I am, it will never stop.

Once COVID-19 is behind us and construction is completed do you think you’d ever consider hosting a fully fledged contest at The Compound?

In the future I hope to host a larger cookout (50-75 people) that will have some contests but the main focus is around building community and getting kids involved in the sport. After being in the industry for so long I felt it was time to give back. I’m hoping that the event will become a must-go in the industry on a yearly basis.

What advice would you give to someone looking to build some modest ramps or p-rails? 

Honestly the biggest advice I can give is dream big and take it one step at a time. Start with small boxes and grow it to be whatever you want it to be.

Before I let you go here, you recently launched Faction Skate Company which made its official debut with a tent at WYII & Schmidy’s Ramp and Camp over the weekend of September 25th. For anyone out of the loop, what’s the elevator pitch for Faction?

Yea it’s a super exciting time. I wanted to start a company that focused on equipment that catered to the different way people skate. Building an eco-system of skates and skate parts that can be assembled to make the perfect skate for how you skate.

Boots, Cuff, Liners and Soulplates all interchangeable to build the perfect skate for you.

It is an ambitious goal, but I’m work diligently to make it happen. We are currently on schedule for presale to start April 2021. It will be a carbon fiber boot with leather wrap and insertable liner.

Wow that’s a whole lot to digest! But at the moment you’ve got a Faction wheel available for pre-order which serves as a fundraising effort for the community who use The Compound. What are the details here.

These wheels are sold in a pack of four 58mm 88A round profile SHR-PU wheels with four 8mm bearing spacers.
 They’re currently in production with an estimated delivery in December 2020
. This wheel project came to life as a fundraising effort to build and support the community that uses theCompound. Ramps don't build themselves, and you should get something in return as well. 

All proceeds of this wheel go to building new things at theCompound.
 theCompound has been a passion project of mine for the past 5 years. We have random visitors and new builds regularly. Be a part of theCompound and support the dream, and get some wheels out of it too!

Thanks so much for your time Clark, we’re looking forward to seeing what’s next for theCompound and Faction Skate Company. If you’re interested in supporting The Compound by pre-ordering this new wheel you can do so at factionskatecompany.com