The age gap between Albuquerque residents was bridged Saturday night at Los Altos Skate Park.
People of all ages attended the Down to Grind skateboard event last weekend. The event, hosted by Royalty Life Records and New Mexico Xtreme Sports, brought skaters of all skill levels together for a night of music and skating.
Families looked on as children, grandchildren and siblings skated.
The youngest person on the course was 6-years-old and the oldest was 59.
Tom Malone watched his grandson Steven Sigala skate in the 15-and-over competition.
"It's good to have an event that allows kids to show off in creative ways rather than destructive ones," he said.
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Malone said the closest he came to extreme sports as a child was when he raced soapbox derbies or tore apart his sister's Rollerblades to craft a makeshift scooter.
The age gap didn't stop Doug Gordillo-Paredes from teaching his two sons, Adrian, 9, and Devon, 7, how to drop into the bowl.
"It's pretty sweet for them to have things that expose them to new things," Paredes said. "Daddy can't skate, but Adrian wanted to try it, and of course Devon wanted to do what his brother does."
The older skaters said they see the younger ones as mild inconveniences.
"They are a bit of a hazard since they tend to not look where they are going," Derek Briggs said.
But Briggs, 18, said it is great that the young ones look up to him and his friends.
Age didn't stop Stone Bennett, 11, from skating with his father's friends who were over 40.
His father, Wayne Bennett, said he had been skating since he was a kid in California.
"I've been skating all my life, except for a 20-year break while I was in the Army," Wayne Bennett said. "It motivates us older guys to learn new tricks."
