Pro Skaters Have Taken the Grind
to This LA Gym

According to pro skater Nicole Hause, a big part of skateboarding is cheating death. “Your body’s in survival mode because what you’re doing — you feel like you’re gonna die,” she says. It’s what unifies all skaters, Hause argues: the heart-pounding daily staredown with mortality. The only enemy is fear — and bone-breaking wipeouts on asphalt.

So, what can one do to outmaneuver death? The answer is simple: squats, reps, leg presses.

It’s December, and I’m at Contra Sports Club in Melrose Hill, Los Angeles, where Hause and other big names in skateboarding gather to grind it out. Inside the sleek brick-walled building that resembles an Erewhon, weights clang against the ground, and the skaters exhale in sharp breaths, wiping sweat from their foreheads. Louie Lopez attacks a drill, gliding across astroturf. “Louie’s not skipping out,” Hause observes. Nearby, Ishod Wair performs speed steps on a box with lightning precision. “See? That’s what I’m saying!” Hause yells. “It makes you feel insecure!” 

Later, Hause does deadlifts with a whopping 205-pound barbell, letting out an exaggerated sigh after each rep. The skaters maneuver with medicine balls and resistance bands. Dashawn Jordan warms up on the treadmill for a few minutes before transitioning to speed steps. The workout concludes with massage therapy, during which Wair catches up on notification on his phone — perhaps scoring a restaurant reservation (he’s a proud foodie). 

The teasing is affectionate, but the competition is real. “We’re all very competitive,” Sean Malto says. “There’s always that: ’What number did Louie Lopez get on the leg press? How many reps did Ishod do?’ We’re always trying to, like, kind of feed off each other in that way.”

“We’re trying to jump higher, run faster, lift heavier — to one-up each other,” Paul Rodriguez adds. 

Contra was founded in 2024 by trainers Amy Schultz and Jessika Alexander. They wanted to create a dedicated space for skateboarders — athletes who were historically neglected in the world of sports medicine. Schultz, who began a career in physical therapy at Red Bull, saw firsthand how little research was dedicated to action sports. Alexander, who worked as a certified athletic trainer for Nike and Team USA, saw the same gaps in support and rehabilitation. “When they were getting injured, they did not have a team around them,” Alexander says. “So there were a lot of professional skateboarders tearing their ACL and then never coming back.” 

The trainers also have a soft spot for skateboarders. “They’re the greatest, most hard-working people you will ever meet with the biggest hearts,” Schultz says. She and Alexander create individualized training programs for each person to address their specific needs.

And indeed, the skaters have come flocking. “Seeing what Jessika’s been doing — it’s attracting a lot of other skaters who are curious,” says Dashawn Jordan. Jordan himself says he’s gotten stronger and seen his technique improve. Wair is in it to prevent injury. And Malto says he’s gotten more confident on the board: “That goes so far when you’re skating.”

Contra has become a fixture in the community, fostering new and old friendships. “It’s such a small gym. It’s intimate — with the homies,” Hause says. 

“All these guys I’ve known for 10-plus years, traveled the world with all of them,” Rodriguez adds. 

Meanwhile, Schultz and Alexander have become regular figures in the athletes’ lives. “Jessika’s borderline a therapist for us as well,” Malto says. “I’m a little bit of a hypochondriac, so I come in here thinking it’s the end of the world all the time. She gets my body right and my mind in a good spot.” (Malto got hitched in October in Ojai, CA. He met his wife at a COVID-era outdoor hangout.)  

Hause tore her ACL on a sponsored Spitfire Wheels skate trip to Denver in October of 2024. She experienced muscle loss in her leg and spent a year rebuilding strength and confidence through exercise and physical therapy. “I feel strong and good. It’s because of Contra. No joke, I think I did 20,000 squats,” she says. “It feels good to be back on my board. I got sober. I did all these life-changing things to be skating better.” 

Hause says she’s noticed a shift in the sport in the past decade or so. Where skating used to be “very much: you drink beer, you don’t take care of yourself, you pile out,” now people are taking their physical health more seriously. “All the skateboards are way stronger now,” she says. “This was not part of skateboarding before Jess and Contra.”

Rodriguez says he’s noticed the same shift. The result is longevity, more years shredding. “I’m going on 41 this month, and I still feel really good,” he says. “I still skate at a pretty high level. I attribute that to all the years I’ve put in in the gym — intentionally treating myself like an athlete.”