Published: May 13, 2008 07:23 pm            

SKATEBOARDING: Lockport’s SK8TER BOY

LOCKPORT — Lipslides, tic-tacs, and boomerangs ... Oh my!

To anyone else, these terms would mean nothing except maybe illusions of a wild Dr. Seuss book. But to Ethan Boci, possibly one of the best skateboarders in Lockport, these are the puzzle pieces to his lifestyle.

His cell phone voice mail message sums him up. He says, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Boci, 18, a senior at Lockport High School, has been skateboarding since he was 13 years old. He started to skate as a way to socialize with friends and to have fun.

Starting off, he was mainly influenced by Eric Koston, once an X-Games champion and one of Thrasher Magazine’s “15 most loved skaters of all time.”

One of his proudest accomplishments as a skater was taking second place at a prestigious competition. He currently is not sponsored, but skates competitively whenever he gets the chance.

The first trick Boci ever completed was a heel flip, which involves flipping the board at least one time while in the air. His favorite trick is the hardflip, but he admits the most difficult trick he has attempted is the frontside heel flip.

To most skaters, skateboarding isn’t just a hobby or sport, it’s more of a way of life. Boci takes skateboarding seriously and therefore skates as often as he can, without allowing it to distract himself from school work.

Injury is also a normal part of a skater’s life, from scrapes to bruised heels, and Boci has seen his fair share of the pavement.

He has also seen his fair share of the Lockport Police Department. Because skating in public places is illegal, most skaters can get in trouble for skating in parking lots and even down some city streets.

One thing that Boci and others dislike about the sport is the stereotype tagged onto it.

“I don’t agree with the skater stereotype because although we all share the same passion, we are different people with different goals in life.”

Speaking of goals, Boci, the son of Scott Boci and Michelle Moss of Lockport, plans on attending Niagara County Community College in the fall to major in computer information systems.

He will continue to skateboard — just as long as he has the air in his lungs and the pavement under his board.

        

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