ABC-7 Do-Gooder: El Pason uplifts youth through skateboarding

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- An El Pasoan's love for skateboarding kept him rolling through the bumps and curbs in his life. He turned an idea that started with a board, into a mission that teaches skill and provides the youth with the support he once needed.

"I struggled a lot," said Luis Loya.

Luis "Dino" Loya faced hardships when he was younger.

"There were times in my life when I was homeless. I didn't know where to live. I literally ate dog food sometimes," said Loya.

But one thing that stayed constant in his life... skateboarding.

"Skateboarding always kind of kept me clean and straight so now, I'm at a point in my life where I wanted to give back to the community that helped me out," said Loya.

"The kids would fight all the time. They'd argue. So once Dino's and the skate club came around, all of them just started getting along very well. They don't fight no more," said Christa Ortiz.

Dino started a non-profit youth skateboarding club called Sk8 4kids to benefit underprivileged youths.

"They felt great coming. They love being part of the team, but, academic-wise, everything. They just showed an improvement on everything," said Ortiz, "After being a part of the club they flourished."

Sk8 4kids offers skateboarding practices and friendly skateboarding competitions.

"They help me do better with skating and overall, they're just they're very... they're there for you all the time. Just a lot of support," said Siyan Ketchum.

Through community partnerships, Dino has helped kids master the sport and provided them with nutritional meals.

"Monday at this park, we feed, about 40, 60, sometimes even up to 80 kids. So we provide water, food, we provide equipment," said Loya.

Dino's efforts have made him this month's ABC-7 do-gooder, rewarding his charity of choice with $1,000 from the El Paso Community Foundation.

He plans to donate the reward to Sk8 4kids to purchase more skate equipment.

"They push each other, but at the same time they're competing with each other, but at the same time, they root for each other. It doesn't matter what skill level they're at," said Loya.

Dino says his favorite part of working with Sk8 4kids is...

"If they land a certain trick, everybody knows how hard they struggled for that. And when everybody cheers for them, you know, that brings joy to me because we're all one big community."

You can nominate someone who makes a difference in the community like Dino for ABC-7 Do-Gooder. Just follow this link to the submission form on here.

ABC-7's Do-Gooder is sponsored by the El Paso Community Foundation and Gozo's Ice cream.