Next Up at The Block Vans skatepark in Orange,CA

On July 31^st, 2018, Steve Van Doren himself invited Next Up Foundation to The Van Doren Project at Vans Skatepark in Orange, CA. The Van Doren Project Summit was a multi-pronged brand immersion experience for global Vans employees to engage in the Van Doren spirit through the company’s four brand pillars: art, music, action sports and street culture. For its inaugural year, Vans invited over 200 of their global employees to their new HQ in Costa Mesa, CA, their skateparks in Huntington Beach and Orange, and the Vans US Open of Surfing for an incredible week of Vans history, engagement, and collaboration.

Vans gave Next Up yet another incredible experience and a day to remember. Steve Van Doren sent a huge bus to personally escort the Next Up kids to the Vans skatepark. During our time at the Vans skatepark we got a glimpse of Professor Schmitt, founder of Create A Skate, “[sharing] with the Vans Family how we went from the steel wheel roller skates to the double kick 7Ply skateboard we know today”. After Schmitt’s presentation, Steve Van Doren presented everyone in the Next Up family with a couple of amazing gifts: a pair of Chima Ferguson’s newest signature Vans shoe model, the “Chima Pro 2”, and brand new complete skateboards. The Vans employees ended up putting these truly great skateboards together as part of their workshop and history lesson. When they finished, they presented them as gifts to Next Up Foundation participants.

The remaining time spent at the Vans party was well spent skating the skatepark, eating delicious food, and watching Steve Caballero, Christian Hosoi, Professor Schmitt along with other fantastic people skating the Combi pool. These events are moments that make us excited for the future of Next Up, seeing people and companies like Vans supporting us and giving us astounding opportunities is beyond wonderful. Thanks to Steve Van Doren and everyone that was part of this great project for having! Thank you so much for making us feel at home!