photo by: Kim Callahan

A skater rides on the now-complete Corey Lawrence Memorial Vert Ramp on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Centennial Skate Park.

For members of the group behind a successful crowdfunding campaign for a $50,000 vertical ramp dedicated to their late friend and fellow avid skateboarder, it’s still hard to believe that the work is complete.

But construction on the Corey Lawrence Memorial Vert Ramp at Centennial Skate Park wrapped up earlier this month, and skaters from near and far are now able to drop in on the roughly 11.5-foot-tall and 30-foot-wide ramp.

The campaign was spearheaded by Lawrence’s friends — Sean Ingram, a co-founder of Lawrence-based MerchTable and co-owner of Blue Collar Press; Dan Askew, co-owner of Kansas City-based Escapist Skateboarding; and Justin Shiney, the owner of River Rat Print and Skate — the year after Lawrence died in a skateboarding accident. They’re now gearing up to host a ribbon cutting and dedication for the ramp Saturday, May 6, at noon.

Ingram told the Journal-World this past week that the group had hoped for plenty of community excitement about the ramp right away. But just how much interest there’d be was hard to predict, given that it’s a new and possibly daunting obstacle for the many skaters who haven’t gotten the chance to tackle a ramp of this size before.

So it’s been a surprise, he said, to see how quickly their expectations were exceeded. In just the month or so since construction on the ramp was completed, Ingram said he’s seen plenty of folks he’s never seen before — including seasoned veterans, kids and even rollerbladers — dropping in on the ramp. Kansas City pro BMX rider Dennis McCoy even stopped by earlier this month for a session on the ramp.

It’s obvious that there’s actually been excitement building about the ramp for some time, Ingram said, even though it may have been hard to notice while the work was underway to make it a reality.

“From our end of it, we didn’t exactly ever see that — we just saw the deficit in cash and the problems it took to get to it,” Ingram said. “It’s great now to see that while we were doing that, everyone else was quietly saying, ‘I can’t wait until this thing exists.’ And now that it’s there, they’re coming.”

Though Ingram and plenty of others are still processing it, taking a first slam of his own — Ingram, now 47, said he last skated a vert ramp about three decades ago — also really helped bring things into perspective. It’s also brought plenty of nostalgic feelings for him and Askew, who have been friends since the second grade.

“It’s slowly becoming real, but it’s definitely not like one of those ‘It’s here!’ type of things,” Ingram said. “There’s something different about this, unlike anything I’ve ever done in my life. I don’t know if it’s because it’s something we’ve dreamed of for 30 years, and the fact that we had to lose one of our best friends for it to become a reality. There’s a lot of emotions involved.”

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Along with the ramp, memorial bricks sold as part of the fundraising campaign are also now installed at Centennial Skate Park.

And there’s also been a lot of gratitude. Ingram said if it weren’t for Lawrence Parks and Recreation, the ramp wouldn’t have been possible. And the frisbee golf community generously relocated a hole on its course at the park, which allowed the group to station the ramp at their “dream” location directly adjacent to the skate park. The Lawrence Skaters Association played a key role in those negotiations, Ingram said.

Everybody really came together to make that happen, and he said that means the world to Lawrence’s friends.

“Having a ramp is really amazing, having a ramp is great, but honestly having the ramp where it’s at makes all the difference,” Ingram said. “Having a ramp tucked away somewhere or someplace hard to get or at a park where there’s not people already, all of those things would not make it as great as it is. Right now, it’s like a showpiece. It’s really because the frisbee guys were being really good to us, and Parks and Rec was being really good to us, too.”

Shiney, for his part, so thoroughly enjoyed the process of helping German company G.Ramps build the ramp in Lawrence earlier this month that he tagged along with the crew to lend a hand with their next project at Camp Woodward, a sleep-away camp geared toward gymnasts, cheerleaders and action sports athletes in California.

“Just being out here and seeing what these kids are doing on these ramps is just mind-blowing,” Shiney told the Journal-World over the phone this past week. “I’m just real excited to see some of that talent come our way.”

Since the ramp was completed, Shiney said he’s been out to ride it almost every day. It’s something he thinks the community’s lucky to have, and he’s personally excited to see a new generation of skaters learn to ride it.

As for the dedication next weekend, Ingram said the group’s hoping for a low-key affair — something that feels as close to a backyard skate session as possible. Lawrence’s family members will cut the ribbon on that day, and there will probably be food and music. But more than anything, Ingram said organizers are really just hoping to pay their respects and show exactly why making the ramp a reality was so important to them.

“… We don’t want this event to feel like another funeral for (Lawrence),” Shiney added. “We’re trying to keep things easy.”

But that doesn’t mean it won’t be without some pomp and circumstance. Both Ingram and Shiney have previously told the Journal-World that up until now, the closest public vert ramps to Lawrence were located hours away. With that in mind, the group wanted to bring out a special guest who’s especially experienced with skating on vert ramps.

Shiney and Askew ended up successfully drawing Darren Navarrette, a longtime professional skater know as the “Vertical Vampire.” Navarrette, himself a Kansas City native, embodies that skateboarding style, Ingram said.

“It’s one thing to have this ramp, which is amazing, but for this type of event, honestly, Corey was our go-to guy,” Ingram said. “He’s the guy we would’ve called to show people how to use this thing, and we don’t have that anymore … Even if you don’t understand or care about this ramp or whatever, if (people) come out that day to see this, they’re going to get an X-Games-quality show.”

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A skater rides on the now-complete Corey Lawrence Memorial Vert Ramp on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Centennial Skate Park.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

The now-complete Corey Lawrence Memorial Vert Ramp is pictured at Centennial Skate Park Thursday, April 27, 2023.

photo by: Kim Callahan

A skater rides on the now-complete Corey Lawrence Memorial Vert Ramp on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Centennial Skate Park.