As a child, Terry Koval (the Deer and the Dove, B-Side, Fawn) lived in several cities in Ohio, Colorado, and Michigan before he and his family relocated to Mauldin, South Carolina, when he was twelve years old.
Koval, a self-described short, plump child who was frequently teased for his looks, learned about skating there.
“I just thought it was so cool when I saw these guys out and about skateboarding in the late 1980s,” Koval recalled.
As soon as he took up his first board, he became addicted. Not only on the flashy tricks and the movement, but also on the immediate sense of camaraderie, which he claimed he sorely needed at the moment.
For me, skateboarding turned become a haven. “My life truly could have taken a different turn,” Koval remarked.
Thanks to Apple Photos Clean Up
Thanks to Apple Photos Clean Up
When Koval left home at the age of 15 and fell out of high school, the skating world became his adopted family. He went to one of the best East Coast skateparks, Skatepark of Tampa, Florida, with two buddies. Even though Koval never became a professional, he attributes his protection at a critical period as a teenager living alone in a new city to professional players and others in that environment.
According to Koval, it was a crazy moment and a place that was reminiscent of the 1990s. “I got to know people from all over the world, and the owner of Skatepark of Tampa, Brian Schaefer, became like a father figure to me,” he added.
Schaefer recalls meeting Koval at Eastern Vert Skatepark in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where they were hanging out with mutual friends. He later gave Koval a place to reside at Skatepark of Tampa.
Schaefer, who entertained a rotating cast of teenagers and young adults who were just a few years younger than him, said that it was almost like a small clubhouse.
According to Schaefer, “people could build or make their own rooms as long as they paid their rent or earned their keep doing work around the park.” We had a room with four beds that was similar to a bunkhouse. (Koval remembered getting up early to assist Schaefer with cleaning the park or building ramps before performing tricks like boardslides and bowl flips.)
Koval was the youngest skater and the group’s mascot, and Schaefer estimated that up to ten skaters lived in the park at one point.
Schafer, who still maintains contact with several of his former charges, including Koval, noted that Terry was the life of the party and everyone’s friend.
“I’m really proud of him,” Schaefer remarked, adding that Koval’s success in the kitchen is a direct result of the same traits that made him a fantastic skateboarder: expressiveness, inventiveness, and camaraderie.
Before founding the Deer and the Dove in 2019 and Fawn earlier this year, Koval went to Atlanta in 2000 to follow his culinary goals. He worked in legendary kitchens at Buckhead Diner, Canoe, and Wrecking Bar Brewpub.
“My cooking and skateboarding are related because working in a restaurant requires the same drive, passion, and sense of community as skateboarding,” Koval stated. Many of the people in the kitchen have my background; we’re essentially a group of outcasts who have bonded and developed a sense of fraternity and sisterhood, he added.
Three original images by photographer Grant Brittain, who is well known for his famous images of the great skater Tony Hawk, are among the interior design features of Koval’s restaurants that pay homage to his skateboarding history. The bar and chef’s counter at Fawn were created by Pat McClain, a former professional skateboarder who constructed McKoy Skate Park in Decatur and a portion of Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park. In homage to Koval’s love of skating, McClain placed a tiny bowl in the corner of the somber, darkened bar. Koval remarked, “It’s a small part of myself and my past in the restaurant.”
After coming to the United States at the age of six, Talavera, who was born in Nicaragua, also discovered camaraderie and a sense of belonging in the skateboarding community.
“It was a little culture shock when we moved to Alabama,” Talavera said. Talavera, who relocated to Atlanta when he was 13, stated, “I fell in love with skateboarding after my stepfather, Frank, was the first guy to teach me how to do it.”
With endorsements from multiple skateboard brands and a shop, he eventually turned pro after taking skating seriously at local parks and contests in the Southeast.
He went on to say, “I love skating because everyone is so welcoming and willing to teach you, even though they come from different backgrounds and enjoy different music and art.”
I found skating to be so liberating, and it was incredible to meet so many new people and pick up new skills every day. According to Talavera, the best thing about skating is the community.
Olivia Bowdoin is credited.
Olivia Bowdoin is credited.
When Talavera’s professional skating career ended at the age of 20, he ended up in a kitchen. He worked at MF Sushi for six years before joining the opening crew at Alpharetta’s Lily Sushi Bar. In January 2024, he touched down at Lure.
Similar to skating, you meet people from all over the world in kitchens and become a close-knit group since you’re all working toward the same objective, he added.
The pipeline from skateboarder to chef is not unique to Atlanta. Salman Agah, a legendary professional skateboarder and Tony Hawk’s former teammate, started the well-known Pizzanista! chain in California. Mathew Pritchard is a Welsh professional skateboarder and stuntman who hosts the BBC show Dirty Vegan and wrote a cookbook with the same name.
Even though Talavera and Koval are no longer serious or semi-competitive skaters, they regularly visit nearby parks in their own time.
Koval frequently takes his Santa Cruz skateboard, which was designed by McCoy, to the public skate park in Cumming or Newnan Skatepark with his 12-year-old son Jackson or other skaters who have become chefs from his restaurants.
“At 49, I can still do a pop shove-it (an airborne 180-degree spin) like I did as a teenager, but if I want to go skateboarding and drop in on a bowl and cruise around and do some tricks, I still love that feeling,” Koval said, acknowledging that the sport has undoubtedly changed.
Olivia Bowdoin is credited.
Olivia Bowdoin is credited.
Talavera is located in Gwinnett County at DeShong Park, close to his old residence. Talavera, who laughs about being the elderly guy at the park these days, explained, “I like going out there and feeling like I can still do some tricks and some rides.”
However, I enjoy meeting and supporting younger athletes all the time. “And at the end of the day, I love the time to let my mind wander and let go of everything,” he added.
Talavera, who frequently travels with his favorite Baker skateboard in tow, claimed that skateboarding gives him an instant connection with people.
I’ve skated in Amsterdam, Prague, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Paris during the past two years, and meeting new people is always a blast. “This unsaid thing is what unites us all,” he remarked.
Talavera and Koval concurred that whether it’s manning the line during dinner service or cruising around the bowl on a rare day off, it all comes down to the friends you make along the road, much like the sport that provided them a sense of purpose and camaraderie as teenagers.
