Laos Opens Its First Skatepark
Tom Drury—AKA Gordy Fruito—is a big name from Broken Hill, and not your average ‘country boy with big dreams’ story.
Gordy Fruito is in a league of his own. When most of us were sprawled horizontal and breaking screen time records during covid, Gordy was doing something with actual purpose and planning his long-distance fundraiser skate across Australia.
In April 2021, he finished a mammoth, four-month skate from dreary Melbourne to sticky ol’ Cairns. No skate crew—just him, his board and a bit of beef jerky. He rolled over roughly 4,200kms of the east coast and has since raised over $40k to build the first proper skatepark in Laos, a country close to his heart and dominating his passport. Once the finish line was crossed and the champagne had dried out, Gordy tracked down not-for-profit organisation Make Life Skate Life, who build skate parks in underserved communities.
Now just shy of two years on, the powers of Gordy and MLSL have blessed Laos with fresh concrete waves. Nothing broken about this Broken Hill man’s drive and determination. I spoke to Gordy a couple of days before the park was declared finished.
So how’s it all going? Let’s start with that.
I’ll be honest, this project has been lit. We got here about six or seven days ago. It’s a really cool vibe with all the MLSL crew and other skatepark builders that fly out to different sites around the world for this kinda thing. It’s a bit like a traveling circus. Super cool, everyone’s full dedicated skaters, but also absolute professionals at what they’re doing. Not their first rodeo, ya know? We haven't had any major hiccups, it’s all run so smoothly.
What’s a day-in-the-life look like on-site?
Get up at 7 am, come to the site, get a coffee, turn the music on, and get straight to it. Everyone has their own specialty, but I float around doing a bit of everything. Been helping with concreting today, sourcing tools, and sourcing food. I'm the in-between guy. It’s a real chill worksite. We‘ve got three guys from India, two from Belgium, two from Australia, and one guy from Hong Kong. They make up the MLSL team. Then there are others like Wade; he’s from East by West in Melbourne, who designed the park. But he didn’t just design it, he’s also here from 6 am to 5 pm every day on the tools, getting it done. Just loves it. Bit of a special project for him... Actually, it’s a special project for everyone. Everyone’s really invested.
All because of you and your grand idea.
(Laughs) Nah, it’s not even that. Everyone I’d asked wanted it; everyone was on board. Even the Go Fund Me page ended up raising double the amount (the original goal was $20k; it’s now over $42k). ‘Cause, like, everyone wanted to see a skatepark in Laos.
So what’s the process been like, from starting the Go Fund Me page and completing the huge skate, to now, seeing the park come to life?
It was a massive shit show for ages. A waiting game. First, waiting for the country to open (with covid). Then by the time it opened, it was rainy season, meaning we couldn’t really concrete; so then we had to wait more, and during that time, the original piece of land we had fell through, so it was like fuck… Now we have to get land again. There was meeting after meeting trying to organise land and sponsors. We also had a bunch of sponsors drop out that said they'd give us money but then didn't, so again, we were like, ‘Oh man, we gotta re-organise our budget.’ New land was finally confirmed and the project was pushed to January; then it was all pretty straightforward from there.
So whose land is this? How did you find it?
I saw videos of some Laos skaters on Instagram, so I reached out to them. They told me it belonged to this French guy and his wife. So I organised a call with them and pitched the idea, like, ‘Hey can we use this to build a skatepark? Since you let people skate here anyway...’ And they were like, ‘Yeah! Let's do it 100%.’ They're real community people. They just want to help out.
What are you hoping this brings to the Laos community?
A lot of smiles, which is priceless. There’s a lot of alcohol and drug abuse here in Laos, so having a safe place where kids can come and play and hang out in a communal area, it’s such a good thing. And it’s all free! All the programming is self-funded through sponsorships and local support, ‘cause we all just love it. Shane from MLSL is gonna come over and train some of the local skaters as coaches. So, we’re creating local jobs as well as lessons for people that want to learn. We’ll also have a lenders program—like a library for skateboards—with a bunch of boards that people can sign off in the morning and return at the end of the day to get maximum use.
This is going to be a big stepping stone for skateboarding in Laos. Skateboarding is still pretty new here, it’s looked at with almost confusion. There’s a temple of young monks up the road, and we went there to see if we could organise skateboarding classes for them. They were just like, we have no idea what that is. But they were all super interested in it. Honestly, it’d probably be the first time any monks have ever had a skate school (laughs).
Do you get time to skate over there? Or is it all a hustle to build and only build?
Yeah, for sure! They've got a DIY park here that the locals built during covid while they were waiting for this park, just some rails and stuff. We go out skating as much as we can. Some of these skaters, these European skaters, grew up hardcore. ‘Cause skateboard culture is massive in Europe, right? They're all like DIY parks, and they fuckin’ know how to shred. Feels like I'm hanging out with a bunch of pros… Which I kinda am. I grew up in Broken Hill, and the only skaters I knew were me, my brother, and like two other people. I used to watch skate vids on Youtube, and now I’m hanging out with people who are really like next-level skaters. I'm in awe of the whole process.
What’s your advice to someone who wants to do something like this?
I feel like everyone’s got this mindset that holds them back from doing great things. I don’t wanna sound cliché, but the only thing that's really holding them back is themselves. You’ve just gotta fuckin’ put a foot down and start; that's all you gotta do. Just break it into steps. If you don't start, you’ll never know. And I think people get freaked out about failing. But if you don't have failed attempts, you'll never have any proper wins. You’ve just gotta think, ‘Fuck this shit—I’m doing it,’ and then ya gotta ride the wave.
What have you learnt through this whole process?
That anything I want to do in my life, I can do. I think a lot of people didn't believe that I was actually doing it. Like, you know you tell people your great ideas, and turns out your worst critics are your friends and family. That sounds harsh, but they're the ones that will say it's not a good idea or it won’t work. So, in that sense, I'll never believe anyone… Yeah.
It’s also completely opened my world to big ideas, like much bigger ideas than I ever would have had five years ago. My self-esteem has never been higher. At 15, I thought I was a bit of a loser, like, didn’t have very good self-esteem. But now, looking back at 15-year-old Tom, if he saw 30-year-old Tom, he’d be like, ‘Fark, you are a rockstar.’ My world has completely changed. This was a massive project, and looking back, I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. Maybe covid was sending me a little crazy, but yeah, the way I see the world is completely different now. I feel like I'm way more open to opportunity.
Did you have any doubts?
Nope. No doubts. Cause I knew in my head, I was making this happen. In the last ten years, there have been three or four failed skateboard park attempts in Laos. But for me, I was not gonna drop this—I couldn't. I had to push to the end and see it through. I couldn't be like, ‘Nah, not doing the skate park, here’s your money back…’ Couldn't do that.
Why were you keen to build in Laos?
I lived in Laos for a couple of years, and I have a few really good Laos friends who’ve made a huge impact on my life. So I’ve always had this real love for the country. It’s not like Thailand or Vietnam, where heaps of people are interested in going and doing this sort of initiative. Laos needs it, ya know?
Well, I can’t wait to see the final product on your stories.
I love being able to post so people can actually see where their donations are going. Fundraising is the worst part. I hate asking for money. Especially through covid, when everyone is economically fucked and no one’s got money. I‘ve hated the pressure of having everyone's money, and people are like, ‘Where's the skatepark? You said you were gonna do it. You raised all this money.’ I used to get messages from people like, ‘Is this a scam?’ And I'd have to be like, ‘No, it's definitely happening.’ So this has been a massive relief to finally use the money, build the park and show people what their money’s gone towards.
You’re a lucky dude to be doing it all.
Honestly, I've got so much gratitude for everything right now and the people I've met. I feel incredibly lucky and incredibly blessed. This has all come together so well, and I feel it’s all totally meant to be.
So what’s next?
I’ll stay here for a bit, then I’m going to get a Tuk Tuk 3-wheeler motorbike and drive up to The Golden Triangle, which is on the Chinese/Myanmar border. Go for an adventure and take it easy, go slow, stop in each village, and camp out in the back of the Tuk Tuk… I’ll come back in a few months, and I’m gonna talk to the owner of the guest house we’ve been staying at and ask if I can do it up for her and run a skate hostel out of it. Laos has really stolen my heart. I was gonna move to Thailand, but I think I’m going to be spending a lot more time here.
If you want to donate, see Gordy’s Go Fund Me Page here. All remaining donations go towards maintaining the park and keeping local Laos skate coaches employed.