Zion Skate Plaza commemorates blind skateboarder's legacy
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Zion Williams-Gaines uses his cane to guide him as he attempts a boardslide at a skate park in San Francisco in 2022. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
Waller Street Skate Park now bears the name Zion Skate Plaza in honor of a 20-year-old man whose dedication to skateboarding persisted even after he lost his sight.
Driving the news: The late Zion Williams-Gaines was a staple in the local skate community and a beacon of light to everyone who knew him.
State of play: Growing up, the Bayview resident was a regular at Waller Street Skate Park, where he "looked at everyone as family," friend and Low Key skate shop owner Justin Marks told Axios.
- After participating in SF Skate Club's middle school program, he "became a fixture" as a mentor for younger kids, according to founder Shawn Connolly.
- He also designed handmade grip tape to sell at Low Key and served as a founding member of Friends of Waller, which successfully advocated for the skate park's 2022 renovation.
Zoom in: In 2021, a shooting left him blind in both eyes. Though it wasn't easy to recover from, he "didn't let it stop him" and said he was going to become "the best blind skateboarder," Connolly recalled.
- His doctor didn't think it would be possible, but with help from friends, he learned how to use his cane to estimate the distance between obstacles and remastered skills like grinding ledges and hill bombing.
- "He probably just skipped over how to walk in a crowd and went straight to making his impossibles," Connolly quipped, referencing a skateboarding trick that involves a 360-degree vertical rotation.
- "That just goes to show how inspired he was by skateboarding, that he pushed himself to relearn how to skate with his disability," Marks added.
The big picture: Williams-Gaines died in his sleep in 2023. A cause of death has not been released. SF Recreation and Parks announced in February that it would rename Waller Street to honor his legacy.
- The city recently held a commemorative ceremony to formally unveil the new name.
- "It's very fitting," Marks said. "He was always skating there and had a lot of ideas to make Waller a polished skate park. ... I hope we continue to celebrate him."
