In the shadow of Bull Run Mountain, where
Northern Virginia gives way to the South,
Jeff “Big Daddy” Swayne has built the per-
fect backyard bowl. Affectionately known as
Swayne’s World – although you’ll never hear
him call it that – his wooden bowl features
a six-foot shallow end lined with steel round
bar, an eight-foot deep end with six inches of
vert and topped with Federal Stone pool cop-
ing, a gentle hip, smooth seven-and-a-half-foot
transitions, and the surface is a patchwork of
new and scavenged SkateLite. “It gives you op-
tions,” says Jeff. “It’s not a bowl that forces
you to skate one way.”
Every weekend skaters from throughout the
Washington, D.C. metro area travel to Jeff’s
backyard in search of epic sessions and raging
parties. On a chilly morning, under a crisp blue
sky, I headed southwest to catch up with Jeff,
driving on scenic roads through horse country,
past white fences, a winery, a Baptist church
and cemetery, and an open barn stacked high
with bailed hay.
“Anybody’s welcome here. I built it for every-
body here to enjoy, and I’m stoked that people
dig it, man,” Jeff says.
The bowl started out as a 24-foot wide mini-
ramp, built in 2011 by Jeff and master carpenter