Jesse Horsford relaxes at "Super Blue" during a skate trip. The skaters referred to the site as a secret, but it is actually a closed municipal landfill located in a fenced in wooded area that they have to trespass into in Harrisburg, Penn.
After a long day of skating down the side of a mountain in Tower City, Penn., members of the Harrisburg Skate Foundation take a cigarette break. All of the members smoke cigarettes, "It is not even a nicotine addiction for me, it is more about the persona," Chris Siennick said.
Jesse Horsford skates down Kelker street in Harrisburg, Penn. He moved to town in Feburary and has since found friendship with the Harrisburg Skate Foundation, but said he still talks to himself aloud sometimes. When he was in high school he said he had a drug problem, and was put on probation, which helped him to stop using. He said he has seen things that he does not feel comfortable talking about with anyone but himself; he uses skating as his escape.
Chris Siennick passes a joint during a break from skating with friends. Most members of the group are on break from college, or no longer attend, and have various jobs in the Harrisburg area. "I realized you don't have to go to school to be creative," Siennick said. His goal is to get sponsored for long-boarding as a source of income.
Jesse Horsford, left, and Chris Siennick hang out in front of Little Amps coffee shop on Green Street in Harrisburg. The group is known around town for having their skateboards wherever they go. Along with skating, some of them also have taken up learning martial arts and have contemplated starting a band. "Being young in Harrisburg is actually kind of cool," Siennick said.
Chris Siennick lays back on the asphalt in a parking lot near Sixth and Kelker streets in Harrisburg, Penn. "I don't know what to think of the future, it doesn't scare me though." He said he hopes to get sponsored but does not limit himself to skating. "Whatever opportunity knocks on the door," he said. "I might try to be an actor or an astronaut."
Alex Gamber, left, and Chris Siennick watch as Tyler Pae skates down Super Blue. “When you pick up that speed everything is just trailing behind you. You’re just gone in numerous ways and it's amazing,” Horsford said. “You're just gone.”