Such an inspiring story about a program that helps youth overcome the challenges of poverty and negative influences through skateboarding. Brazillian founder, Vinicius Tinoco, worked his whole life toward the dream of building a program in his native

Next Up is a non-profit organization, in Orange County, CA, that provides after-school programs to motivate and inspire kids to achieve success. Help youth resist the negative mentoring kids through skateboarding.

Vinicius Tinoco – Founder / CEO
Vinicius Tinoco aka Vina was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil and at the age of 12 started skateboarding and still loves it. Vina believes that every single child deserve a chance to learn that we all should be successful in our lives. No matter where you were born, no matter your skin color or if you are rich or poor, Vina believes that through the use of sports and leisure activities we can drastically minimize street violence, drugs use, poverty and hunger because of his own experience of being born in a very impoverished neighborhood. Vina has worked for the Foundation for the Well Being of Minors in Sao Paulo, Brazil also known as Casa Foundation, which is an institution for kids under the age of 18 who has committed a crime. He was a volunteer teaching the kids how to skate and also to apply all the attributes that they learn from skateboarding to their lives!

Schools Buys 30 Sets Of Skateboards, Helmets

"There’s no, ‘I can’t,’ anymore," he said. "They just want to do it."

At Hayes Elementary School in Fridley, students have been clattering around atop skateboards, swinging around corners and flying up ramps.

The reaction from their teachers is hardly what you’d expect.

Instead of scowling and muttering about "kids these days," the educators find themselves in awe. The students are the first in the state to learn to skateboard as part of their physical-education classes.

The students in Craig Coleman’s gym classes at Hayes are taking to it with glee. Even those who used to beg off the tougher exercises are getting excited, he said.

Battling a national childhood obesity crisis, educators and curriculum creators alike saw a need to structure physical education around activities kids can take home with them and do after school in lieu of spending hours texting and surfing Web sites like Facebook.

Kids are more likely to stay active if they’re introduced to a sport or activity they like, said Eric Klassen, who co-founded Skate Pass, the Colorado-based firm that helped start the skating curriculum program.

"If you drive down the street and you see kids just screwing around with their friends, being active, (skateboards and bikes) are the two things you normally see," he said.

Read Article: Minn. School Adds Skateboarding To Curriculum