Utopia: Refers to an imaginary, ideal (or mythical), perfect state or place (especially in its laws, government, social and moral conditions), often with magical healing, restorative properties.

Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy is about the building of a dream... the Disneyland of hardcore skateboard parks right in the middle of Appalachia with the freedom to do whatever you want - as long as Brewce says you can.

Skatopia started when Brewce was born. At 12 months he got a truck and spun the wheels for an hour. His obsession with wheels never stopped. In 1995, when he and his 10 year old son Brandon got kicked off of their West Virginia farm for building skateboard ramps, Brewce looked for a place where he could live his dream big... really big. On 88 acres in Meigs County, Ohio, the wooden bowl went in before the house. Utilities were sometimes off, sometimes on. But the dogs got fed. Brewce home schooled Brandon ("he was like a pair of pants to me").

Skaters and locals came for the serious vert skating, the parties and the burning cars. Led by Brewce ("our Jim Jones"), they pitched in to build a multi-million dollar skatepark on the former pot farm. "Brewce can make you do things you normally wouldn't feel that good about" says one of his oldest friends.

Brewce is ready to take Skatopia big now. He and Brandon want to build the best skate park in the world and keep it free to skaters - "just give up your beer!" But keeping it free takes some serious revenue... and cashing in without selling out is hard. Brewce, a natural marketing genius by his own account, is still unsure whether to set loose his inner CEO. "If Brewce weren't a skateboarder he'd be the CEO of a major company and he'd be ruthless," says one of the core skaters at Skatopia.

In Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy, we'll follow Brewce and his CIA guys as they try to push Skatopia to the next level... while keeping it real. You'll see an entire skate film's worth of balls to the wall skating, burning cars and insane partiers. But you'll also see a side of Skatopia rarely seen by anyone but a few insiders. Who are these guys? Are they as hardcore as they say they are? How do they keep Skatopia alive?

Peel back the layers of testosterone and you reveal a real community. People come from all over to skate, to be part of it, to feel what it's like to have elbow room. Most pitch in however they can. And leave your stereotypes at the gate. Someone who looks completely wasted is actually straight edge, but the guy hitting 4 foot McTwists should have passed out a long time ago. The mosh-pit maniac is a librarian and professor, the punk drummer designs software programs for NASA. The guy in the wheelchair hit 80 mph bombing a mountain in Colorado and is shooting for 120 mph in a chair he's designing. There's a locksmith watching the stripping contest, a punk refugee from the suburbs skating the cradle, and a homeless anarchist cowboy digging a mud wrestling pit.

Just beyond the Skatopia border lurks the Rutland cop, hoping to beef up the empty county coffers by ticketing skaters for anything he can think of. At the same time, the Chamber of Commerce praises Brewce's work ethic... since Skatopia is the biggest tourist attraction in Meig's County, Ohio, Appalachia. Otherwise, Brewce seems to have charmed enough of the locals that he can venture forth and greet them like a local politician. In fact, maybe that's what Ohio needs - a little anarchy in the state senate. But that would be the sequel...

This movie will limit itself to a few simple questions - how do we live life to the hilt? Does risking your life mean you're stupid? Or does it make you more alive? Do we need our visionaries to be perfect humans? What are the unspoken rules within anarchy? How much money can you make off of society without becoming part of it?

Meanwhile, have fun with the web site. Every few weeks we'll post a few more video clips of random moments at Skatopia. We'll introduce you to more "Skatopians" on the Skaters, Dogs, Rednecks and Anarchists page - watch out, YOU might even show up there one of these times. Our "Featured Band" will change a lot, also. On the Blog, News and Links page, we'll keep you updated about what's going on with the movie and throughout the 2006 season at Skatopia.

Most of all, thank you to everyone at Skatopia who puts up with the cameras. Hope we didn't screw up your run.

The Filmmakers

Headlamp Pictures specializes in documentaries and has been around for six years. The owners, Laurie House and Colin Powers, have produced, directed, written, or edited shows for PBS, A&E Biography, ESPN, MTV, ABC, NBC, American Movie Classics, History Channel, HGTV and Showtime. Laurie studied film at California Institute of the Arts. Colin taught snowboarding in Wyoming and worked in the bike industry, including a five-year stint at Burley Design Cooperative where he was a head of R & D and General Manager.

Laurie is coordinated but doesn't skate. Colin built ramps in his back yard in the 70s and skates, surfs and snowboards. Many years ago, Colin met Brewce while skating at Burnside in Oregon. Brewce told Colin he had a skate farm in Appalachia and that Colin should come check it out. So 12 years later, here we are.

Website Credits: Colin Powers, Raegan Kelly, Laure House for the site. Domini Supastar and Marie Wustner for shooting the Bowl Bash, Dan Rea for photos & video, Jerry at negativeion for Brewce's invert pic, El Destructo, Gizzard, Juice, Skateboarder Mag, Heckler and Skateboardmarket for their reprints. Chris Gomez and Mike Swartz for extra footage.