A beloved indoor skate park in Hope may shut down if it can’t raise $30,000 by April.
Due to 2025 being a tough economic year for it, HMI Skate Park has fallen behind on its finances and has until April 30 to raise the money it needs. If it’s unable to do so, the skate park may be unable to renew its three-year lease and will be forced to close.
“To me, this skate park is a place where I belong,” said Brett Devloo, executive director of the HMI Skate Park Society. He is an Aldergrove-based skateboarder who lost his vision at 16. “It’s a place that’s safe and where you can just hang up all your problems, put your tape down, hang your hat, and always be on your board. I love it here.
“I feel like everyone needs a place like this. Some days I don’t want to do things because I’m blind. But when I’m here, I forget all about it.”
HMI Skate Park is the only indoor skate park in the Eastern Fraser Valley. Since opening in 2020, the skate park has served approximately 700 skateboarders every year through regular drop-ins, lessons, and community events. Many of these lessons are either free, or at a reduced cost, thanks to donations and sponsorships from the community and local organizations.
Money for the skate park is raised through the HMI Skate Park Society which is a non-profit founded in 2023 dedicated to making skateboarding into a safe, welcoming and inclusive sport. This includes making sure that skateboarding is accessible to people, regardless of their age and disabilities.
Devloo, who began skateboarding at the HMI Skate Park in 2024, said that the skate park shutting down would be an “immeasurable” loss to the skateboard community. He said that it would make it harder for people with disabilities in the area to access a space where they can safely skate.
The indoor skate park has been one of the few places that has allowed Devloo to put down black tape on the ramps, which he needs in order to skate. Mike “Hippie Mike” Faux, president of HMI Skate Park Society and owner of the skate park, has also become a mentor and sponsor for Devloo’s skating career.
The skate park has been a safe place for people to skate during the winter. Many of Hope’s youth have also turned the indoor skate park into their community hub and have been able to create meaningful connections, and find acceptance through skating there.
“This place means everything to me,” said Kaleb Lee-Jones, HMI instructor. “Before I started skating, I was considered ‘bad’ and I kept getting into trouble. My friends brought me here one day and I thought ‘oh, this is cool.’ And I’ve been skating for four years now.
“If I didn’t have this I would still be getting in trouble and I wouldn’t be skating without this skate park.”
To help raise the money, Mike Faux, HMI Skate Park Society president, said that fundraisers are being organized from now until April. The first one is a bottle drive on Feb. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and people can drop off their bottles at the skate park (840 5th Ave.) to help support it.
Faux said he’s always wanted to open an indoor skate park but only began seriously considering it after teaching kids in Hope how to skateboard. Previously from Surrey, he moved to Sunshine Valley after dealing with a number of injuries that were affecting him both physically and mentally. He left Surrey in order to get back to his skateboarding roots.
It was while offering lessons to the kids, and having to rely on the outdoor skate park behind the Hope Recreation Centre, that Faux began looking around for commercial properties. He eventually came across the old RONA building, on the corner of 5th Avenue and Fort Street, and the rest was history.
Since opening the skate park in December 2020, Faux has gone on to win the 2024 Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Award for Inclusive Environment. Faux and his crew were also featured in the Blind Corners documentary, which is about Devloo and his skateboarding journey after becoming blind.
A number of community events are also hosted through the skate park which includes the Annual Backyard Bash, a summertime fundraiser that brings skateboarders from all over for a day of skating and music.
In addition to the bottle drive, there is a Mexican Dinner fundraiser on Feb. 13 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. It is taking place at the skate park and food is being provided by the Orange Blossom Bistro.
Another fundraiser is on Feb. 20 where a screening of Blind Corners is taking place at the ALMSGIVING Hope Cinema & Performance House.
Donations can also be made through www.hmiskateparksociety.org, calling Faux at 236-355-1317, or in-person at the skate park.