Give Them Vert: Coalesce Frontman Works to Honor Fallen Pro Skater

Photo by Benjamin Clark Shanahan Hlavacek

Last year, professional skater Corey Lawrence died after a tragic accident at the far-too-young age of 51.

Now, legendary metallic hardcore vocalist Sean Ingram — heard on the landmark 1999 Coalesce Decibel Hall of Famer 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening, for starters — is working overtime with others (including Escapist Skateboarding) to honor his friend and mentor with the Corey Lawrence Memorial Vert Ramp at the Centennial Skatepark in Lawrence, Kansas — a “steel frame G-Ramp professionally installed with Gator Skin riding surface” and a “walkway made of custom memorial bricks.” The project is extremely close to its $50,000 goal.

Further, check out the heartfelt and beautiful tribute video featuring Ingram (and shot by his son) as well as an short excerpt from Ingram’s powerful contribution to the Thrasher mag Corey Lawrence Forever special.

Donate directly or pick up a T-shirt or skate deck here to help out.

Getting involved in music lead to joining a band, and the first tour I went on is when Corey’s importance was first felt. We were opening for this Hare Krishna band and they were about five years older than me, like Corey was. I just took for granted that they were going to show us the ropes, take us under their wings, whatever. Wrong. They were selfish, tried to poach members, and stole aspects of our sound we were doing that were unique at the time. We spent weeks with these folks and at the end of the tour they had a little public celebration and excluded us. I remember watching my band members just watching from the sidelines and smiling and being stoked to be there and it was deeply confusing. It took a while to figure it out, but it’s because they never had a Corey in their life. They never had someone show them the ropes and include them just because they were loved. That aspect of Corey is so unique in this world it’s nearly criminal.

Photo by Benjamin Clark Shanahan Hlavacek