Refine Skateboard Co. began three years ago when freshman Cody Corbin and his dad, Mike, decided that they would rather skate on boards that they made than the boards you could buy in the store.

“I started skateboarding when I was nine years old,”C. Corbin said. “Since then, my dad started a skateboard making business, and I help him with it.”

The two spend four hours a week together making the custom boards.

“Refine is cool to me because I get to work with my dad,” C. Corbin said. “I’m learning a lot about craftsmanship and woodworking since I have to help him press and carve the boards.”

With the process the two have developed, it takes the both of them to press and develop the product.

“Cody has been an integral part of Refine since the beginning,” M. Corbin said. “I couldn’t have done it without him, since pressing the boards takes two people.”

The process of making one skateboard can take anywhere from two to four weeks.

“I really love that I can custom hand-make my skateboards,” C. Corbin said, “It’s awesome to know that I am able to skate on a product I’ve made, because I am able to style it any way I want with the woodburning pen.”

Corbin spent about three hours a week, in the winter, practicing vertical skating.

“I [vertical] skate,” C. Corbin said. “That means that I skate bowls and halfpipes, and not in the streets.”

Although C. Corbin considers himself more advanced, he still has bad days.

“I was just starting to get good with doing backside airs out of the bowl,” C. Corbin said. “But then one day, I wasn’t on my game, and I kept falling. I got so mad and frustrated with myself, but then reminded myself not to give up, always get up when I fall down and not to stop until I reach my goal.”