ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Pearl Herrera-Vigil and Josh Garcia will tell you one thing: The sport of skateboarding has come a long way since the 1980s and ’90s.

They attended an Olympic viewing party, hosted Tuesday by the City of Albuquerque. Based on the vibe and excitement for the sport, it felt like a coming out party.

“It’s grown way since back in the day, from the ’80s and ’90s to now, especially with having these awesome facilities, these parks. There’s a lot more interest and stuff and the ability level has gotten so incredibly good,” Garcia said.

Josh Garcia turned his love for skateboarding into a class that began in 2019. It took some time to get the class going at Del Norte High School but he says it’s been worth it.

“It was years and years of asking and finally our principal at our school was like, ‘Yea let’s try if it’s something that’ll keep kids in school we can do that,'” Garcia said. “A lot of kids actually want to transfer to our school and take the skateboarding class.”

It’s introducing them to a culture with all sorts of opportunities.

“You can go in those different avenues, whether it’s being a graphic artist, going into videography for skateboarding or personal training or stuff like that,” Garcia said.

Or becoming an Olympic skateboarder.

Mariah Duran is an Albuquerque native who was a part of Team USA in Paris this year.

Once a competitor against Duran in the All-Nations Skate Jam, Pearl Herrera-Vigil is a fan.

“Now, to see her competing at the Olympics now is sick,” Herrera-Vigil said, with her son Josiah standing by her. “It’s awesome to see it’s possible for people, especially somewhere like here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Not many pro skaters come from here.”

Herrera-Vigil, like Garcia, has seen how far the sport has come in a short amount of time.

“It’s crazy how much skateboarding has progressed,” she said. “It’s just awesome to see it now at the Olympics, especially women’s skateboarding. It’s really inspiring to women and girls.”

Someday, they may have a clear path to the top from right here in Albuquerque. Garcia hopes to connect skaters to scholarships and host competitions for them.

“I wanna eventually grow and have competitions between other schools and stuff. And I actually have been doing research and there are scholarships available,” he said. “There are foundations that are starting to do scholarships for kids who skate.”

One day, that kid may be Josiah, Pearl’s son.

“I like to make friends at skate parks so I can make friends and skate with them,” Josiah said. “It’s been really cool cos I’d like to be in the Olympics one day. Well, maybe.”