Ice Carousels Meet Skateboarding

When winter locks the lakes in ice, most people bundle up and hibernate. Skateboarding icon Ryan Decenzo, however, turns them into perfect glacial skateparks. The Canadian powerhouse, famous for bagging X Games gold and stacking clips in the harshest conditions, released a new YouTube video showcasing his latest winter skateboarding session.

After soaring over a 6-metre river gap and conquering a wooden rainbow rail, Decenzo, alongside TJ Rogers and Torey Pudwill, faced off against the frozen expanse of Coon Lake in Minnesota with an audacious twist. Their DIY project? A rotating skatepark built on an ice carousel.

The Spinning Spectacle: Skateboarding meets the ice at Coon Lake, where Ryan Decenzo and his crew turn the frozen surface into a dynamic skatepark. Balance, skill, and creativity collide in this icy, spinning adventure.
Engineering the Perfect Spin: Teaming up with expert Paul Miller, Decenzo’s crew crafted custom carousels, transforming Coon Lake into a testing ground for precision and innovation over three action-packed days.
From a Traditional Nordic Pastime to a New Skateboarding Playground: Born in Finland, ice carousels have evolved from winter tradition to engineering marvels across North America. Now, they’re the perfect stage for skaters like Decenzo to push boundaries and redefine what’s possible on the ice.

– Ice carousels are massive circular slabs of ice cut from frozen lakes and set in motion. Originally a northern tradition, they have evolved into marvels of engineering, creativity, and winter magic. Born in Finland and now spreading across North America, these icy merry-go-rounds have evolved from local celebrations to record-breaking feats. With Decenzo and his crew taking the lead, they’ve turned ice carousels into a stage for cutting-edge skateboarding.

– Instead of carving out a rink, they built a rotating skatepark that tested their balance and timing over three intense days. Day 1 featured the spinning goal post with a 1.5-metre carousel and a 1.2-metre-wide gap. Day 2 introduced the spinning quarterpipe, a 4.9-metre carousel with a 2.7-metre gap. On Day 3, they faced the circular rail, a 3.7-metre carousel with a 3.7-metre rail, challenging precision and control. Each feature demanded elite-level adaptability, making Project Carousel a true test of skateboarding on an unstable, frozen surface.

– For Pudwill, the quarterpipe was the hardest to skate: “It threw my whole equilibrium off. As it spun to the left, anything I was trying to do backside was alley-oop [that is, going in the opposite direction], because the quarterpipe was spinning under you, so you’d end up all twisted up. I had to skate it not-moving. I spent an hour trying to do a kickflip to fakie on it while it was moving, and it was not possible.”

– Decenzo reflected on the circle rail: “The problem was that the wax didn’t work in that temperature. You couldn’t get it onto the rail. We were running out of daylight on that one, and nothing was working. Torey and I did those tricks raw, just using the wax that was on our boards. It was also the messiest one, with water splashing and getting our gear all wet.”

– Decenzo and his team worked closely with ice carousel expert Paul Miller to craft the perfect carousel sizes for each feature. While Miller typically builds larger carousels, this project required careful measurement. Working with the skaters, he designed carousels that matched the obstacles exactly. Miller cut them with a chainsaw each night, recutting them the next day for filming. Sometimes, the carousels were spun by hand, and other times, they were controlled by a 4-wheeler or a small electric trolling motor.

– Ice carousels trace their roots to Finland, where they’ve been a symbol of winter’s charm and playfulness for centuries. What began as an experiment in ice engineering has evolved into a cultural celebration, uniting communities in a joyful embrace of the season. These spinning ice slabs have become gathering spots for everything from ice fishing and bonfires to music festivals and even saunas on ice.

– In North America, the tradition blossomed in Minnesota and Canada, where communities recognized the potential for both friendly competition and creative expression. Cities like Madawaska, Maine, and Little Falls, Minnesota, saw volunteers cutting massive carousels into frozen lakes, setting records while uniting people in the middle of winter. In 2023, the record holder, a 541-metre-wide ice carousel, was crafted in Maine, proving these icy marvels continue to inspire ever-bolder creations.

– Once a curious winter spectacle, ice carousels have now become landmarks, drawing crowds for everything from spinning saunas and floating bonfires to – thanks to Decenzo and his crew – skateboarding. Beyond their novelty, these carousels represent the resilient, inventive spirit of northern communities, celebrating the thrill of defying winter’s icy grip with a sense of fun and innovation.

– Skating on an ice carousel is less about perfecting tricks and more about staying ahead of the elements and the unpredictable dynamics they create. Decenzo and his crew embraced the chaos, and once again proved that skateboarding has no off-season.

The ice is spinning – don’t miss Project Carousel with Ryan Decenzo, TJ Rogers, and Torey Pudwill on YouTube.