Kip Moore wants to give inner-city kids somewhere safe to go, so he’s building skateboarding parks across the country. The “I’m to Blame” singer announced Kip’s Kids Fund and the Comeback Kid Skatepark Project during a press conference in Nashville Wednesday morning (June 3). Four skateparks will be up and running by fall.
Moore says his pipe-dream turned into a passion project. “I wrote the song ‘Comeback Kid’ at a time when I felt like a comeback kid, but now when I sing it I think less about myself and more about the kids we are doing this for and how much I admire and respect them,” he says.
“We’re starting with these four cities, but the plan is to keep growing this as far and wide as we can.”
Nashville, Boston, San Marcos, Texas and Annapolis, Md. are the initial cities for the 1,500 to 3,000 square-foot parks. Skate fans can expect things like a quarter-pipe, bank-to-curb, bubba ledges and hand rails. If you’re curious, Moore can skate — you may see him on a board backstage — and he has a great appreciation for the sport.
“I love what skating embodies,” Moore says. “I love the band of brothers that you see when you see skateparks. They all look after each other. These kids they scratch and claw for every inch of their life, and I admire that. I respect that.”
The project is Kip’s Kids’ first initiative. The fund is donor-advised and focused on youth and teens. A press release indicates that future projects will also be focused on kids in inner cities, but may broaden to more traditional sports popular in the area. Donate through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
“Comeback Kid” is a song on the singer’s upcoming Wild Ones album, out August 21. He begins his tour with Dierks Bentley on Friday (June 5) in Nashville.