In a faraway land called Michigan (it feels far away from us), thousands of miles from Red Panda Boards headquarters, a world-class man and Red Panda skater, Jonathon (Jonnie) Roelens, lives, skates, and touches lives.
Not long ago, Jonnie joined the Red Panda family, and has been shredding (literally) our boards since then.
But that isn’t why we are writing about him today. An act of deep kindness towards another skater shook us out of normal day routine and demanded that we tell everyone we know about it.
On a cold (and most likely windy) night in Michigan, Jonnie was out skating his local park, when he noticed a young boy trying to skate the park with a beat up board. Standing off to the side were his parents.
Jonnie went over and struck up a conversation with them. He learned two things right off the bat: it was the boys birthday and his father had just lost his job, and couldn’t get him a new board.
Seeing the condition of the boy’s board, Jonnie ran home. He got out an unused set of trucks and wheels and returned to the park. Without them knowing what he was doing, he ripped his own wheels and trucks off his Red Panda deck, put the unused gear on the deck, and handed the board over to the boy. The kid glowed at the site of the deck and took off skating.
Jonnie’s kindness overwhelms his parents and us.
No one asked Johnnie to do this—especially not the boy’s parents. His actions and his personality embody everything we believe in: generosity, community, love for neighbor and so much more.
Thanks for reminding us of those things, Jonnie.
So here’s a question Jonnie’s actions have prompted: Is there somebody out there that could use love and kindness today? Don’t wait for them to ask…just do it.
See you next week,
Chris
