Knockout the Knockout Culture / #MLK #socialresponsibility #skateboarding #community #chess






What happened in the family upbringing of the boy who 'knocked out' the bystander in Paterson, New Jersey just days ago? Apparently, an adolescent boy was caught on video walking up to an elderly person waiting to cross the street and with as much force as possible... punched and totally knocked out the senior of small frame. The victim blew backwards immobile and unconscious crashing on to the ground head first. 


  • What was this boys home life with his parents? What has to change so that we no longer are breeding a culture of apathy, anarchy and cruelty? How does this 'knockout' culture reflect macro events and current global situations in the world today? 
A chess player gains know-how through experience and consistency, regardless of winning or losing games. Their mind rewires and is able to better appreciate the ability to anticipate and predict (foresight) what may happen on the chess board. One has to repetitively practice entertaining multiple trajectories, outcomes and developments leading the player to have a mind that readily brings to focus more mental model pictures that help one choose the best option on moving forward.

If that kid and his buddies were signed up to an awesome after school program like an organized skate school at a skatepark would this have happened? Not everyone in the community has to be a skateboarder to partake in the cultural shift that comes along when a great deal of community binds together under a greater cause.

Where does the family need to be strengthened so that children are not left to their own devices? If parents have to work long hours, how does the community provide a safety net for children of lower economic strata?

Can skateboarding be the answer? I believe so and I think that the powers that be recognize this also. In fact, be prepared for a rapid expansion in skateboarding across America and the world. What other sport is so instantly welcoming to anyone, regardless of ethnicity, skin color, creed, or sock preference?

That is how we deliver a knockout to the knockout culture. That is what The Scalzi Skateboarding Co. is about also. Social responsibility with a mandate to put our shoulder to the plow for the community, especially those who are disadvantaged. We are training and planning for our Spring 2016 opening in Stamford.

The Scalzi crew is not just teaching skateboarding as some great activity that tones executive function  and gross motor skill, we are community reaching out to community one heart at a time. We are a bridge for children and families whom others expect little of.  Operating in this manner then makes us a social entrepreneurship venture that influences the happenings on the 'street level.' Are you starting to get the point on how the knock out phenomenon can be doused? The priority then is for parents and schools to build skateparks. Having flagship skateparks, like Scalzi Skatepark in Stamford, Ct. can compliment smaller ones that schools and the city's parks and recreation departments can build.

We can keep the dream of our founding fathers, including Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.'s by muscling up our commitment to be the change we want to see in the world (Ghandi), rather than do just what pleases us as individuals, organizations or large corporations.


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