SkateMS was started in 2001 by Tate Nations and Austin Cannon. They felt the need to bring the skateboarders in Mississippi together in one central place. The initial launch was successful in it’s approach, by having a community forum that drew a some attention from all over the country. Our forum on the website had a few thousand users. By the mid-2000’s the appeal had worn off and we stopped promoting SkateMS and it just kinda fell off the radar.

In mid-2010, after several years lying dormant, Austin Cannon and Frank Henn realized the growing need to build a strong community within our area as well as the state. After the fall of our local indoor skatepark, owned by a dear friend of ours, we ramped up the efforts to forge ahead and try to replant SkateMS back into the state’s conscience. Our initial effort was to get our first concrete public skatepark. We constructed a plan to build awareness for the need for a concrete public skatepark in central Mississippi. The two of us implored our friends to help with the project and created Kids Need Fresh Air campaign to compliment the SkateMS brand.

The SkateMS Foundation was founded in April of 2011 to encourage kids to get outside, exercise, and enjoy the growing sport of skateboarding. Our work focuses on building public, concrete skate parks, open and accessible to anyone in the community. Our vision is to build a community of skaters around these parks to learn the sport of skateboarding, have safe access to outdoor fitness, and provide a new outlet for individual, physical creative expression.