This story is part of a new series covering the rising skate culture in Mansfield, produced in partnership with Skate Ohio.
More than 146 million tons of waste pile up in American landfills every year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — but Eric Fletcher is turning at least some of that trash into treasure.
Fletcher can often be found in the garage of his Mansfield home stripping grip tape from the tops of used skateboards by hand. A row of old skateboards lines the bottom shelf of Fletcher’s work bench, while a pile of scrap wood rests against the wall.
Some peel right off, while others require the help of razorblades and a heat gun.
"Just take a blade and kind of start peeling it up towards the end," Fletcher said as he worked on a board. "Sometimes they'll peel well and I can roll them with this big dowel rod here and then it comes off easier, but you never know until you start getting used to it here.”
Armed with old skateboards and a creative spark, Fletcher’s building something beautiful from what most people throw away. He turns old skateboards into furniture, art and knick-knacks.
It started as a hobby when Fletcher lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic. He used inspiration from YouTube to improve his craft.
"I had a couple of skateboards laying around and I had seen on YouTube there was a guy that was recycling skateboards," Fletcher recalled. "I said, well I can do that.”
He met the founders of Skate Ohio, a Mansfield nonprofit that connects local skateboarders, and now builds trophies and signs for them. He was also asked to create wall art for a show at a local brewery. When he sold all of the pieces, he decided to turn his craft into a business.
Fletcher founded 3rd Life Upcycling, where he sells his creations from old skateboards by commission and at craft shows.
“A lot of times at shows, people will appreciate it, and then I tell them what it is and it blows their mind," he said. "They say, 'I didn't know skateboards looked like that or they had that many veneers in it.'”
From landfills to living rooms
Fletcher hopes to see more creators embrace upcycling, or the process of transforming discarded items into something new and useful, often of higher value than the original item. He can transform skateboards into everything from bluetooth speakers to benches and wallets. He said he’s always had a passion for sustainability and taking care of the earth.
“I read somewhere that there's like seven million boards that go into the landfill just in the U.S. every year," Fletcher said. "And so people are like, 'Oh, where do you get your boards?' I'm like, just look. I've jumped in way too many trash dumpsters to fish out a board — more than I'm proud of.”
He also gets a lot of old skateboards from Brasshouse Boardroom, a skate shop in Downtown Mansfield. That partnership is a prime example of the Richland County skateboard community, which has been supportive of entrepreneurs like him, Fletcher said.
“Now I've done picnic tables, I've done benches, I've done chairs, but it all started out small because I didn't want to use up my supply of boards," he said. "But now, knowing a lot of the people in the community, I'm able to push it a little further because I have a bigger supply of boards."
The concept of upcycling isn’t new, but it’s become more recognized as creators have found more exposure in the age of social media and e-commerce websites like Etsy. Even major fashion brands like Hermes and Eileen Fisher have created lines from their own upcycled products and materials.
Upcycling differs from recycling because it’s about upgrading an existing object, whereas recycling focuses on salvaging raw material that may be broken down and transformed. Fletcher said the point is to keep objects out of landfills.
“The waste that we do as a society is sickening and I try not to think about it because it gets me upset," he said, adding that he also appreciates the resurgence in skateboarding’s popularity, because it gets people outside to enjoy the planet he’s working to preserve. Now that he’s a dad, he said he hopes his own sons will pick up interest someday.
“I just think it's a lot more approachable than a lot of sports nowadays, and I see it — kids are either skating or they're playing video games," he said.
But until his boys are old enough to skateboard, Fletcher hopes to evolve his upcycling business to inspire them to care for the planet as much as he does.
