Look, I’m gonna be real with you — when I first heard about a skateboarding class led by a Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee right down the street, I assumed someone was messing with me. What are the odds our kids get to learn from an actual legend while we’re all just trying to figure out if we can survive Saturday mornings without multiple coffee runs?

Lonny Hiramoto — Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2023), early pro, and footplant innovator — grew up skating in the Venice/Santa Monica scene of the 1970s and ’80s. Now, he’s passing that legacy on to a new generation (our littles!).

And yet, here we are. Venice parents, living in a place where magic somehow does happen on the regular. This winter, that magic is showing up every Saturday morning under THE V sculpture, where Lonny is teaching our kids (and us!) how to ride.

Before we dive into why this class is basically a gift from the skateboarding gods, let's talk about where we live for a hot second. Venice isn't just a skateboarding destination, it's the skateboarding destination. We're talking birthplace-of-modern-skateboarding level important here.

Back in the 1970s, when the ocean was angry and the waves were flat, a group of surfers from the Dogtown area (Venice and Samo) decided to take their surfing skills to the streets. The Z-Boys, as they became known, revolutionized skateboarding by bringing that fluid, aggressive surfing style to empty swimming pools and concrete waves.

And guess where a lot of this went down? Right here in our neighborhood. Those cracked sidewalks your toddler trips on? The same streets where legends like Jay Adams, Tony Alva, and Stacy Peralta learned to carve and shred are the streets we walk every day to get our morning coffee.

The famous Venice Skate Park opened in 2009, but skateboarding culture has been woven into the fabric of this place for decades. We're talking about a community that turned rebellion into art, concrete into canvas, and sidewalks into dance floors.

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Now, about Lonny Hiramoto, this isn't just some dude who's good on a board. We're talking about a skateboarding Hall of Famer who's been part of this scene since the 1970s. Hiramoto started skating when he was just 11 and by 1978, he was the National Skate Champion.

The fact that he's teaching beginners, especially young kids, tells you everything you need to know about his character. This is a guy who could be anywhere, doing anything, but he's choosing to spend his Saturday mornings with our Venice families, passing on not just skills but the culture and spirit of skateboarding that started right here in our backyard.

Here's the deal:

I know you're already mentally calculating whether you can handle 8am on a Saturday 😂

And here's the part that makes me love our city even more, they offer reduced fee waivers for families who need them. Just contact the office with qualifying documents. No kid should miss out on this opportunity because of cost, and the fact that the city acknowledges this makes my heart happy.

We could talk all day about balance and coordination and confidence building, and those things are true. But what this class really offers is something deeper: a connection to Venice history and culture that most kids (even local kids!) never get to experience firsthand.

Real talk: 8am on a Saturday is... early. Especially when you're thinking about driving to Ocean Front Walk, finding parking (pro-tip Windward parking is usually pretty good at 8am on a Saturday and meters by BofA/Great White are always empty), and managing a kid who might be excited/nervous/hangry depending on the morning. But here's what I keep reminding myself, this is eight Saturdays. Eight opportunities to do something completely different with your kid in one of the most beautiful spots in the city.

Plus, you're done by 10am, which means you've got the whole day ahead of you. Maybe you grab breakfast on the boardwalk afterward, maybe you let the kids play on the beach while you recover with more coffee (Menottis anyone?). The point is, you're already out and about in Venice on a Saturday morning, there are worse places to be.

And if your kid ends up loving it (which, let's be real, they probably will), you've just opened up a whole new world of weekend activities. The Venice Skate Park will become less intimidating when you understand the basics. Those random skateboard requests will make more sense.

Registration is online through the LA Parks website (it’s not live as of this posting but will be soon):

The Venice Beach Recreation Center team is AWESOME, so don't hesitate to reach out if you're wondering about anything from gear recommendations to what happens if it rains (because, you know, we live in LA but still).

Sometimes opportunities come along that feel almost too good to be true, like, wait, my kid can really learn from a skateboarding Hall of Famer for less than $100, in Venice, during a time that works for our family schedule?

This is one of those times. This class isn't just about skateboarding (though your kid will definitely learn that). It's about being part of Venice's ongoing story, about community, about trying new things together as a family, and about giving your kid a connection to the creative, rebellious, beautiful spirit that makes this place special.

The winter session starts January 17th, and honestly? This feels like exactly the kind of adventure our Venice kids should be having. Right here, where it all began, with someone who knows the history and the heart of what skateboarding really means.

Comment or email us so we can add it to the Venice Rising calendar!