There has been a different type of session happening at Shaw Skatepark in recent months. Every few weeks, a small but growing group of mostly black boys and men sit down in the bowl and talk about their feelings. Led by longtime mental health advocates and founders of “Get Home Safe”, Dwight “Juice” Jones, and US Marine Veteran Brandon Savoy, these sessions have been a breath of fresh air in a community that is typically known for fostering healthy relationships and coping mechanisms.
Bowl Time is the brainchild of Zahreh Barry, a longtime DMV skater with a deep connection to the community. “Skateboarding is a therapeutic outlet, we come here so that we don’t have to face our challenges alone,” she says. Although skateboarding is a solo sport, there is a lot of comradery to be found in the park, helping each other film tricks, land tricks, and get back on their feet. According to Zahreh, “Skating is a therapeutic outlet for us to better ourselves.”
Zahreh started Bearings Magazine, a DC skateboarding publication, earlier this year with a plan to use it to support all of her creative pursuits. One of those was an event in May titled “Field Day: An Afternoon of Joyous Activity for the Inner Child” in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. This event was full of games and fun activities for adults, a space to let loose and have fun. Conversations that were had in that space spurred the Idea for Bowl Time. “I wanted to do a women’s wellness circle because I’ve participated in sister circles around DC but I didn’t want to leave the men out,” she explained. Since it was harder to get them to leave the skatepark, she decided to host it right in the middle of the bowl. “I just want everyone to come, sit in the bowl, and share their experiences.”
Although the event is open to men of all races, it is predominantly black but this is not necessarily by design.“It wasn’t intended to be for black men only, but for the men at that particular skatepark, and the men in my life, who happen to be black.” According to Zahreh, “safety and trust are two things that feel like a privilege when they should be a right and I feel like black men don’t get to experience safety and trust within their community.” She understands that a lot of the time, “the women in their lives are expected to carry out the emotional labor.”
It may seem like Bowl Time is geared exclusively towards black men and their issues, but the goal is for this to have an impact on the entire community as a whole. “I want them to feel like they have their own space together so they can lean on each other and have the right tools so the women in their lives so that the women in their lives are not the only ones carrying that burden. I want them to learn to be accountable and take responsibility for themselves.” Zahreh wants Bowl Time to be a springboard for many in their mental health journey. “I want it to become normal for people to share their experiences and feel safe with each other and trust each other. I want that to carry on to the next generation of skaters and keep going and going until we have a culture of wellness instead of coping or survival.”
Zahreh Barry is the subject of an upcoming Documentary titled “SKATER-PRENEURS OF THE DMV: WOMEN PIONEERING THE WAY!” Directed by George Howard. The film will be premiering on September 1st in The REACH at the Kennedy Center.
