Adam McElroy calls the project to benefit Skate Ohio “serendipity.”
McElroy is the vice president of Skate Ohio, a local nonprofit group dedicated to skateboarding and non-traditional sports. He was referring to his chance meeting with Angelo Gallo.
A 1997 Mansfield Senior graduate, Gallo is the business partner of Andre Miripolsky, a pop artist based in Los Angeles. The Mansfield native saw McElroy teaching his young daughter how to skateboard a couple of years ago.
The moment inspired Gallo and, later, Miripolsky, who wants to share his art with the world. In the resulting partnership, Miripolsky painted 10 skateboards to be raffled off, with all proceeds going to Skate Ohio.
Funds raised will be used to promote skateboarding in the area, put on events and get skateboards and safety equipment to kids.
McElroy and Skate Ohio have bigger objectives as well.
“Our main goal is we’re trying to get skateboarding as an afterschool activity, like football and basketball,” he said. “Not everybody fits into the same mold; everybody needs an outlet.”
Miripolsky sported a T-shirt with the words “Fear no art,” his personal motto, during a recent interview with the News Journal.
Pop artist wants ‘to paint for people’
“I just want to paint for people,” he said, one of the reasons he jumped at the chance to collaborate with Skate Ohio.
Each board, or deck, is valued at $5,000.
“They’ve been phenomenal,” McElroy said of Miripolsky and Gallo.
Miripolsky says he was happy to get involved.
“I completely endorse what they’re doing,” he said of Skate Ohio. “They have a fabulous program.”
Painting skateboards was an added bonus.
“I always found the shape of a skateboard very interesting: not too big, not too little,” he said.
Miripolsky has ties to some heavy hitters in the entertainment industry. He is known for designing the piano suit that Elton John wore for his iconic Central Park concert in 1980.
The pop artist remembers the time fondly.
“Right before the concert in Central Park, Elton didn’t like his other costumes. That’s why I got involved at the last second,” Miripolsky said.
He ended up designing seven costumes for the superstar’s 1980-81 tour.
“It’s all about the photographs,” Miripolsky said. “Things come and go, but pictures last forever.”
He also was involved with a 1990s advertising campaign for Absolut Vokda, including a billboard that was posted across from now-closed John Simpson Middle School, where Gallo saw it and became a fan.
The same billboard ran for two years at a strategic location in San Francisco as one of 33,000 for the campaign.
“All those years, I thought that was the only billboard,” Miripolsky said.
He met Gallo about 15 years ago. Gallo saw a pastel painting that was labeled as a Miripolsky piece.
“I thought it was a fake,” Gallo said.
Gallo sought out Miripolsky
He ended up tracking down Miripolsky. The two lived close to each other in Los Angeles.
“All because of that billboard, I knew who he was,” Gallo said.
Gallo is now president of Miripolsky LLC.
Miripolsky and McElroy met over a Zoom call.
“We have been talking since August 2024,” McElroy said. “It’s been a wonderful partnership.”
The pop artist researched Mansfield and liked what he learned, most notably the Mansfield Rising project.
“I feel like Mansfield is in a very exciting period. I’m excited about the potential of being involved,” Miripolsky said.
The Skate Ohio project is part of a much bigger endeavor. Ray Williams, a British A&R music producer who is credited with discovering Elton John and introducing him to lyricist Bernie Taupin, is raising money to donate to North Carolina musicians whose homes or studios were destroyed by Hurricane Helene.
Also involved in charitable contributions is George Matlock of Radio Elton John. Gallo said some of the money raised internationally by the others will go back to Skate Ohio.
A raffle of the decks that Miripolsky painted will run through December. The original idea was to hold an auction.
“There might be a couple of people in Mansfield that could afford to bid,” McElroy said. “We want people to have a chance.”
One ticket costs $20. Visit https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/skate-ohio-x-miripolsky-deck-raffle to enter.
People also can have a QR code scanned at Brennan’s Barber Shop & Shave Parlor, 52 Park Avenue West; Stoke Run Action Sports, 3495 Tugend Road in Butler; and Brasshouse Boardroom, 34 W. Fourth St.
And it all goes back to Gallo just happening to meet McElroy.
“You don’t choose your ‘a-ha’ moment; you get on it,” Gallo said.
mcaudill@gannett.com
419-521-7219
X: @MarkCau32059251
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Skate Ohio plans raffle with LA-based artist of Elton John, Absolut Vodka fame
Reporting by Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
