Skateboarder turns passion into a space
for local youth
Kyle Mesteth’s passion for skateboarding started young, and the sport’s Olympic recognition helped inspire him to develop a place where local youth can kickflip and kick back.
Today he leads Ground Control, a non-profit indoor skate park and creative space in his hometown of Pine Ridge. The space gives kids a place to be active, express themselves, and feel a sense of belonging. In addition to skating, Ground Control provides a gathering spot for playing music, recording videos, sharing small performances, and more.
“I want to continue to build opportunities and encourage the next generation to be better than us,” he says. “I want to give people confidence and help them be impactful. Some people don’t realize how much they can impact their community – even I felt like that before.”
Growing from the ground up
The free skate park grows participation by coordinating events and mentoring youth. It helps develop leaders through programs like Thrasher School, where experienced skaters teach newcomers.
Ground Control increases its exposure through social media with growing audiences on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Kyle loves hearing how kids support each other and says it makes the kids’ day when they’re recognized around town from a skating video. Kyle loves hearing how kids support each other and says it makes the kids’ day when they’re recognized around town from a skating video.
Kyle built Ground Control during the pandemic after he helped hand out donated skateboards at the direction of community elders Tiny Decory and Eileen Janis, and young skaters kept coming back. He noticed the positive impact on his community and knew he wanted to do more.
“I had the idea to get the building for Ground Control to organize more skate competitions with winter closing in,” Kyle explains. “I have gotten lots of help to upgrade the building and make changes.”
Family comes full circle
Kyle started skateboarding in the 90s, and his father built his first ramp. He attended Pine Ridge High School and still jokes about the “no skateboarding” sign he used to see there. Now, he coaches the school’s
skateboarding team.
After his father passed, Kyle says his skateboarding experience came full circle. He bought power tools to build ramps for other kids learning to ride, including his now 10- and 2-year-old sons. Kyle’s younger sister, Tiara, also regularly visits Ground Control after he encouraged her to start skateboarding.
Kyle’s interest in Olympic sports came naturally. His maternal grandfather was a first cousin to 1964 Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills, who Kyle also viewed like a grandfather. More than 60 years later, Mills is still the only man from the Western Hemisphere to have won gold in the 10k race.
Wi-Fi meets wheels
Ground Control relies on Golden West’s high-speed internet connection for its daily business operations and to connect them to creative software and digital content. All the skateboarders also use the location’s Golden West service to learn new tricks, make their own skating videos, and more.
“All our skaters are connected right now. They come in and use our Wi-Fi,” Kyle says. “Our internet wasn’t good until we got hooked up to fiber-optic. When I started building ramps, we didn’t have internet access and now it powers our computers for editing, office work, and more.”
A future for skaters
Thanks to Kyle, skateboarding has also been part of the Lakota Nation Invitational for the past three years. He coordinates the Shredd Nation Skate Tournament during the large, annual multi-sport and cultural event in Rapid City which includes a fashion show in addition to recognition for the best skaters.
In May of this year, Kyle will travel to the Netherlands following a museum exhibit that displayed vests he designed and made for himself and other Ground Control skaters. He hopes to open more locations to inspire youth worldwide to stay active and create art, starting with a skateboard.
