The US armed forces once had a base here. Then, Taylor Park in Mannheim was transformed into a commercial and recreational area offering a wide range of leisure activities. One of the attractions is the skatepark, where Lars Herb coaches children and teenagers. In his courses, they not only learn some cool tricks, but also life lessons.
‘Rock to Fakie’ is on the curriculum for today’s course. Surrounded by his skateboarding protégés, Lars Herb has positioned himself on one side of the mini-ramp. He is pointing to the opposite side. Seven children, the youngest just four years old, follow his gaze. The aim is to skate there and back on the skateboard—down, up, down and up again. Volunteers first. Seven-year-old Niklas ventures forward. Lars takes him by both hands, so that Niklas can ride safely across to the other side on his board. Once there, however, he can’t quite manage the weight shift needed for the return journey. “Go on, you won’t fall,” calls Lars. “I’ll throw you over my shoulder if you wobble.”
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It’s a warm summer’s day, but the sky is slightly overcast. Perfect weather for the skateboarding session in Taylor Park this Saturday morning. Just that there’s no shade here. But skaters are a tough lot; that soon becomes clear. Tamina’s knees are covered in grazes. Efgenij is the assistant coach, a friend of Lars and the “heart of the team”, as Lars calls him. He has a few scrapes on his shoulder. And that’s despite the fact that knee and elbow pads as well as helmets are compulsory kit, at least for children. “But we don’t want to wrap them in fluffy cotton either,” says Lars. It’s far more important, he explains, to learn the correct techniques for falling, so that no serious injuries occur. However, the pain of falling is usually the lesser problem. “What bothers children is that moment of shock, be it just briefly, or a slight sense of humiliation—the feeling of having been watched whilst falling.”
Niklas keeps at it—and eventually manages the ‘Rock to Fakie’ too.
That’s exactly where the first important lesson lies: always get up one more time than you fall down. And the second one: practise, practise, practise; until you get it right. Another part of the code of honour is motivating one another. Time and again, Niklas fails at the coping on the opposite edge. Meanwhile, Tamina and Findus are playing catch with Efgenij—which means he’s racing around the park on his board whilst the two of them run after him, shouting wildly. Suddenly there’s cheering at the mini-ramp. Niklas has managed the ‘Rock to Fakie’! And we learn another important lesson: successes are celebrated by everyone together.
Taylor Park: What was once a US military base is now a local recreation area…
… with a large skatepark.
Lars Herb runs courses for the local youth…
… giving them a chance to have a great time.
With plenty of practice…
With plenty of practice…
… they too will eventually manage the spectacular tricks that Efgenij demonstrates.
Until then, the lesson is: practise, practise, practise.
Sascha, the father of Ella and Sam, both attending the course, confirms. He took up skating in his forties, motivated by what was happening to his children here, and has joined forces with Lars and other dads to form the Old School Daddys group, who meet at Taylor Park once or twice a week. “It’s a real buzz. As soon as you manage a trick, you’re celebrated. We’ve got great team spirit,” explains Sascha. His vest features a picture of Rambo. However, here it’s not about toughness. Coolness, sure, but with plenty of feeling and empathy. When it comes to learning a new trick, Lars prefers to talk about respect rather than fear. “The way we talk to ourselves is important. It can have a huge impact on our nervous system—for better or for worse.”
The site is ideal for practising because the individual obstacles build on one another
Lars Herb
For him, the most important thing is that the children have fun and are given a space where they can gradually push their boundaries at their own pace. “One of the boys is very shy and never wanted to be left on his own anywhere; now he’s our pupil who is the most eager to learn.” Taking a closer look at this wild bunch of youth it becomes very clear that everyone is free to be exactly as they like. Tamina’s helmet has cat ears, whilst Findus has covered his helmet in stickers. They’ve all decorated or painted their boards, and their outfits are colourful. No doubt they’ve been inspired by their teacher Lars, who has a necklace with a blue dinosaur dangling around his neck.
There’s always a helping hand on hand during the course—or two.
Now it’s Ella’s turn. Wearing a pink jersey emblazoned with her name she has a wild mane of hair, a surfer’s tan and an ultra-cool demeanour. With some difficulty, she manoeuvres her board onto the edge of the deck. “I swear, she’s doing it of her own accord,” whispers Lars smiling. With complete confidence and without any help, Ella cruises across the mini-ramp with her curls flying and—whoosh—she’s back again. She hops off the board in a fluid movement and leans it upright against her leg. Top marks. But there are actually no marks here. Instead, there are shouts of approval, applause, and even Ella herself can’t suppress a proud smile.
Style: Ella cruises around the skatepark.
Lars is clearly enjoying himself too. “I could have done with an opportunity like this when I was growing up.” As a hip-hop fan and sports whizz, he’d wanted a skateboard ever since he was a boy. And he got one. “That was a lot of money for my single mum back then,” recalls Lars. “But with skateboarding, nothing comes for free, and it usually takes a while to experience that sense of achievement.” As he didn’t know anyone who could skate, he thought the pictures in magazines and videos were just fantasy. The board was put away. Instead, he focused on judo, reaching a competitive level and coming within a hair’s breadth of a black belt. Then a shoulder injury, followed by several operations, brought his career to an abrupt end in his early twenties. “That was a very difficult time for me, and it took me many years and a few detours to find something that fulfilled me again.”
Having fun: Lars runs the course he would have loved to have had as a child.
In 2015, the day after Christmas Eve, things took a turn. “It was the year when it was 20 degrees on 24 December. That’s when I experienced my own personal Christmas miracle,” says Lars with a laugh. The night before, he’d been having a boozy night out with his mates in a bar, yet on Christmas Day he was raring to go again. So he rang his mates. However, they all had the same plan for the afternoon already: “I’m going skating with Özkan.” Lars decided to get one of his mates to bring him a board and he tagged along. “And well, what can I say? I managed an ollie straight away and everyone else was cursing me.” An ollie is when the skater jumps into the air on their board without using their hands. The trick is, so to speak, the basis for almost everything in street skating. That’s how Lars’ skating career began at the age of 23. And he can no longer imagine life without skating. “In my day job, I work as a tax clerk, which I really enjoy. But to balance things out, I need sport to satisfy my urge to move.”
Balancing things out—after a day in the office, Lars loves nothing more than hopping on his skateboard.
Apart from the skatepark in Schönau district, Taylor Park is his favourite spot. Lars grew up in Viernheim, a neighbouring town. “When I was a child, Taylor Park was strictly cordoned off; we were always curious to see what it was like in here,” he recalls. Until 2011, the Taylor Barracks in north-east Mannheim served as ordnance, engineering, and equipment maintenance depot for the US armed forces. After the soldiers withdrew, the site was developed into a green commercial and recreational area. Anyone looking to get active or relax will find the perfect spot in ten-hectare Taylor Park. Giant swings, table tennis tables, basketball hoops and a small amphitheatre are all part of the mix, as is the Conversio sculpture by artist Philipp Morlock—a former military corrugated-iron hut placed on a hill, looking like a giant telescope.
A glimpse into Taylor’s military past: the Conversio sculpture by Philipp Morlock.
For Lars, however, the highlight is the skatepark. Designed in collaboration with skaters, it’s not just a real highlight for the Mannheim scene; skaters come to Taylor Park from further afield. The skatepark covers around 1,000 square metres and comprises the aforementioned mini-ramp and three ‘bubbles’ of varying size that are connected to one another. “The site is ideal for practising because the individual obstacles build on one another,” Lars explains. “You can start by practising a trick on a low obstacle and, if it works, move right on to the next higher one.” The area is therefore appealing to both beginners and advanced skaters.
The skatepark in Taylor Park is ideal for beginners.
After about two hours and a long snack break, today’s session is over. As we say goodbye, Lars is chatting with parents. Felix is met by his mum. He goes to nursery with Lars’ daughter and was here for the first time today. Undeterred, Felix has been using every quiet moment to flip his skateboard with his foot from the edge onto the wheels. This is a trick for beginners, explains Lars, who lent Felix the skateboard for his first session. “I’ve got a few boards, pads and helmets in stock. By the way, a cycling helmet will do just fine.”
Well-equipped: Lars lends children a board, pads and a helmet if they don’t bring any.
In the end, only Ella is left, because Lars is still going to show her another trick. But right now, she’s bouncing a basketball impatiently. How did he actually end up teaching? “My friend Nico, who now lives in the Allgäu, started running the courses here and asked me once if I could help him out with a booking for a family party.” It worked out brilliantly straight away. “Somehow, I’m just like that, I suppose; children and animals have always taken to me. We’re just on the same wavelength.” Ella has put the basketball aside. She’s ready to learn a new trick. Or at least give it a go. If it doesn’t work out today, it certainly will next time.
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