ANAHEIM : Skaters for Christ Roll Out Religion

They have pasts as varied as their hairstyles. Former beatniks in black and Rastafarians in tie-dye, these skateboarders have arms layered with tattoos, scratched and bruised from skidding across concrete.

Still, at the end of the night, they gather in a circle and bow their heads in prayer to give thanks to the Lord--for the skateboard ramps, for their safety and for being Christians.

They’re the Skaters for Christ. Not your typical bunch of curb-riding skateboard rats, these former troubled youths in Anaheim have found Jesus, and they’re spreading the word.

“A lot of people go, ‘Oh, they’re a bunch of hippies and ex-convicts and drug addicts,” said Lloyd Chase, 20, a member of Skaters for Christ. “And that’s the thing with a lot of churches and a lot of Christian people, they put a big, big emphasis on personal appearance. You know, it’s not what’s outside you, it’s what’s inside you.”

The group is sponsored by the Set Free Christian Fellowship in Anaheim, an independent, nondenominational church known for Christ’s Sons, the Harley-riding Christian motorcyclists.

The skating group numbers near 60, mostly young men and boys. They skateboard from house to house, knocking on doors, spreading the word. They care for the needy--the poor, the sick, the aged and the shut-ins.

One resident the boys have helped is Carl Anderson, 62, of Anaheim. Neck injuries left him unable to work on his 75-year-old redwood-frame home, so he asked the skaters to help him scrape off layers of paint so he could repaint.

“You know where these people come from,” he said, “they’re recovering alcoholics, drug addicts. . . . I got to know a number of them, and like all human beings, they’re some good, some bad.”

About six months ago, former professional skater Mike Folmer, 28, started Skaters for Christ. Folmer, who became a Christian four years ago, saw a need for Christian skaters to have a place to skate where they would not backslide to their old habits. For four months, the group lugged skateboard ramps back and forth from the main church complex on Anaheim Boulevard to the church’s other building next to the Civic Center. Two months ago, they leased the property at the second site.

“There’s a lot of kids who have been saved out of this,” Folmer said. Twice a week the ramps are busy. Skaters--clad in punk-style Skaters for Christ T-shirts, toting boards with Jesus decals--wait for their turn. It’s one of the few free skate parks in Orange County.

They dodge jabs about their Christianity and try to stay celibate. They still love their old punk albums but sing different lyrics now. Despite the challenges, they all say they prefer their lives now.

What would they be doing, if it were not for Skaters for Christ? Alberto Sarabia, 25, said: “Skating. Drinking beer. Maybe in prison. Trouble.”

Another skater, who gave his name only as Bobo, 24, tells his story more bluntly. “I smoked pot when I was 8. I smoked PCP when I was 13. Started slamming heroin and crack when I was 14. Got into pimping and prostitution when I was 17. Ended up at Folsom State Prison when I was 19. I accepted the Lord when I was 22.”

And still David Marshall, 20, told a different version. “I’ve never done drugs before in my life. Never smoked a cigarette. I’ve been drunk four times. . . . But I needed Jesus. I had the weird thoughts, couldn’t get to sleep--suicide--stuff like that.”

Between rounds of backside grinds, frontside “nosebones,” a few no-hands “ollies” (aerial moves) and other maneuvers on the mini-spiral ramp, the “bros,” as they call each other, give high-fives, talk about skater gear and praise the Lord.

“We call this place the church that nobody wanted, for people nobody likes,” said Matt Fountain, 19, who lives in one of the church’s homes for people who have recently gone through drug and alcohol detoxification.

“I’m smiling more in the five months I’ve been here. . . . This is the highest I’ve ever been. The best trip I ever had was Jesus. Take some doses of Jesus, forget the LSD.”