Sheffield Lake skateboarder has big plans for popular 'Shred With Ed' program

SHEFFIELD LAKE — This isn't your typical community shred day. Sheffield Lake resident Ed Honse IV has been skateboarding for more than half of his life, and now he is looking to pass on his love of the sport every week to anyone who will listen. Honse, 33, first picked up a board at age 16 when another member of the community taught him how to skate. He hasn't put the board down yet, and after organizing a skills contest last year, he started getting requests from young people around the area to teach them the basics. "It started from there and then all the kids, they want help," Honse said. "People are asking, 'Hey, can you teach? Can you help?' I'm down." With the help of some friends, he came up with "Shred With Ed" — part weekly skateboarding clinic, part social club for kids of all ages looking for somewhere to spend time. One of those kids is Colton Simmons, 10, of Sheffield Lake. On a recent Saturday, he was skating at the hometown Ferndale Park at a Shred With Ed outing. Riding past the park one day this summer in his family's car, Colton saw Honse on the halfpipe and was inspired to try it out himself. Now, he's hooked. "I've got two of my kids that come up here. They love it. Every day, (they ask if) Ed is going to be up there," said Colton's dad, Aaron Simmons. Colton previously learned skating from Bart Simpson, the cartoon character known for his skills on a board, but now he is growing in confidence from Honse's real-life lessons. And if he falls? "We bleed and then we get back up," Colton said. First aid kits are kept on site in case anyone wipes out, Honse was quick to point out. Ferndale Park is essentially the home field for Shred With Ed. Parents and friends stop by and spend afternoons on the park's bleachers, often providing food for the kids. But some weeks Shred With Ed hits the road, travelling to other skateparks in the area to expand their reach and meet new people. That often means driving out to Avon, Avon Lake, Bay Village or North Olmsted. All of those parks are east of Sheffield Lake, but if everything goes according to plan, Honse hopes he can be one of the difference makers who gets skateparks in cities to the south and west, as well as upgrading some of those existing parks. "We're going to try to get a bowl here (at Ferndale Park), we're going to try to add on to Avon Lake's skatepark, we want to get one in Lorain and we're going to try to get one in Sheffield Village," he said. His grand plans will cost money. Honse intends to apply for grants and hold events to raise funds. Shred With Ed will seek LLC status and try to become a 501(c) nonprofit organization down the road, which he believes will ultimately be the best way forward. Sheffield Lake residents have already been generous to the program. Donations have helped supply enough boards for participants who don't own one for themselves. Honse said he needs to create a bank account exclusively for Shred With Ed money, but for now he's trying to keep it all cash. When enough donations come in, he takes the cash from "a jar in my room" to Tri-Star Skateboards in Cleveland to restock on supplies for the kids. Those supplies are increasingly needed as word of the program gets out and more kids start hanging out with the group. "This thing is blowing up. It's unreal. It's fantastic," Aaron Simmons said, watching a group of skaters ride along the Ferndale Park pump track. "And to see, today is just a Saturday, and you get all these kids up here. My man is up here doing it for free." Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.