Remember your first skateboard? Think back to what that very first board meant to you. Where would you be today if you were never given access to it? Maybe working a crappy nine-to-five and putting on a suit every morning? Or much worse, maybe living on the street, surviving off leftover rocks of crack, and eating out of garbage cans? Seriously: Skateboarding has a way of changing one's life from the minute that first skateboard is given to you. This is where the concept behind Contributor comes into play.

Contributor's motto is simple: "skateboards for all." And according to the people behind Contributor, they believe it to be possible. Contributor deals with various non-profit organizations across Canada dedicated to working with at-risk youth and kids from lower-income neighborhoods. And with an estimated 1.6 million kids living in poverty across Canada, Contributor aspires to change their lives through skateboarding.

"Right now, we're just building out the program in five cities, which are among the highest in terms of child poverty," explains Contributor co-founder Annie Lam. "The idea, however, is to continue to expand and help youth who want to skate gain access to the proper goods. We'll be working with different community groups throughout Canada to help get the skateboards to youth. Outside of just benefiting the youth in that community, it's also a great opportunity to work with the city here to continue to build support and funding for skateboarding overall."

Since any new venture -- be it for charity or profit -- requires marketing and promotions to build awareness (and to raise donations), Mike Giles and Annie Lam, along with co-curator Bob Kronbauer, launched the Smile On Your Brother art show. With a massive list of more than 60 participating artists, including the likes of Andrew Pommier, Chris Pastras, Don Pendleton, Randy Laybourne and Thomas Campbell, the canvas of choice was (of course) a ‘70s-style skateboard deck.

"The idea behind not only the show, but also the overall project is to hopefully inspire people to think about their first skateboard and what it meant to them," says Annie. "For many skaters, this still represents a pivotal moment in their lives, with every last little detail fresh in their minds. Bringing together contemporary artists both in, and affected by the skateboard industry, to help raise funds to go towards the first goal of Contributor which is to donate 100 skateboards to disadvantaged youth across Canada in 2009/2010"

The painted skateboards are up for auction until October 25^th on the Contributor website. But before you click over there to spend money on an amazing cause, take a few minutes to read this interview Push.ca conducted with Annie, Mike and Bob about Smile On Your Brother and the overall Contributor initiative.

How are the Smile On Your Brother shows going so far?
Bob: The show went from Vancouver to Calgary and Saskatchewan, and is gaining speed as it heads east to Toronto. Super positive vibes so far and it's getting a lot of exposure, which has been a blessing. We did an interview on CBC radio preceding the Vancouver exhibition, and with the help of magazines and radio and web sites -- thanks Push.ca -- we hope to get the auction in front of enough people who want to bid on these so we can get skateboards into the hands of a lot of kids.

Mike: All three have been a great success. We've been adding images to the site as they come in, and it's been so cool to see the show hung in different locations.

What can you tell me about the strange shape of the artist boards?
Bob: The shape of the template is based on the very first skateboard that was ever available as a mass-produced item for sale. Mike and the guys at Furni in Montreal handcrafted them in their workshop.

Mike: Yeah, the boards were modeled after a template I found in a 1977 book called Anybody's Skateboard Book. It's like a cheesy "how to" book. In one of the chapters it outlines how to make your own board, and we figured it would be the perfect choice for this project. You can see photos of how we made them here.

Do you hope these boards actually get skated since they have trucks and wheels, or should they be hung on a wall?
Bob: There's been a bit of confusion here and there; some people have asked me why we're giving underprivileged kids old wooden banana boards... [laughs] I explain that they're for auction and that once they're sold then we're using that money to buy "actual" skateboards for kids to skate.

Mike: The best part is that we don't have to decide; we purposely made them as completes so that the auction winner has the choice. Some people believe that skateboards are meant to be ridden; others that they are meant to be put in a museum... personally we think riding one around your office to the water cooler and back is a pretty cool non-destructive way to have the best of both worlds.

The line-up of artists is nothing short of all-star. How was all the talent brought on board?
Bob: I dipped into my Rolodex of contacts I've made over the years; a lot of folks I have involved in ClubMumble.com too, and I think that for the most part people just saw that it was for a super good cause and were happy to get involved. There were only a handful of people we asked who said they couldn't do it, and those were mostly due to time constraints.

Mike: Between the two of us, we have over 30 years of skateboard contacts. That helped.

Were artists given free reign on the board?
Mike: The only thing we asked was that artists didn't "decorate" the tops of the boards, the idea was that the final shows would be hung with the boards sideways - the profile view - so that from one side of the gallery the tops only would be seen, and then the other angle would reveal all the artwork. The top graphic unite all the artists and the bottoms show individual creativity.

The project operates on many different levels. What is the main message?
Bob: I personally see the shapes of the boards referencing a point of discovery. Like I mentioned, the shape of the board template is based on the first ever skateboards that were sold in stores... that was the first time kids could ever go somewhere and buy one.

Mike: To quote Mr.T, "You can't get where you're going if you don't know where you're from." The main goal of the show was to make people think what their first skateboard meant to them -- hence the choice of old-school canvases -- and then to think where they might have been today without that opportunity.

What has been the biggest surprise working on the project so far?
Annie: There's been pretty much an awesome surprise every day with this project. But, I think to sum it up, the biggest one is the incredible amount of support we have received. Sometimes when you think of an idea, you never really expect it to come together fully, let alone actually be really amazing. Thanks to the support of many people, from Bob and Mike jumping on board right at the beginning, then to the artists who donated their time and work without question, and now to all the individuals from all over the world who are either bidding on the art or even just offering to send skateboards that we can give to kids. It's a really good feeling to see everyone pull together. I think that attests to another point that project is about -- the idea of building a community and friendships through something as simple as skating. [laughs] It's kind of cheesy but really rad.

Any closing thanks?
Annie: Thank you to all of the incredible artists involved and all the sponsors who are helping to make the show and project possible including: Livestock, Know?Show, Club Mumble, Furni Creations and Devin Barrette and Judy Lawrence, Momentum Wheels, S & J Sales, SBC Skateboard, Color Magazine, Concrete Skateboarding, Pop Montreal, Momentum in Saskatoon, Push.ca, BTL and everyone who has supported this project from the start. And, of course big high fives to Bob Kronbauer and Mike Giles who have really made this possible... it's another Club Mumble miracle! I'd also like to thank all of the artists, Malania Dela Cruz, Garry and Chris at Livestock, all of the people who have placed bids on the artwork and everybody else who has put any energy towards helping make this show a success.

View the Smile On Your Brother skateboards and place a bid here.

Remaining Smile On Your Brother show dates:
Sept 25^th to 27^th: Livestock, Toronto
October 1^st to 4^th: Off The Hook, Montreal
October 16^th to 19^th: Morgan Bridge Gallery, Quebec City

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Related:
Club Mumble Blog
Bob Kronbauer's Little Giants