How an Outdoor Mentor Program Adapts to the Pandemic and Movement for Social Justice

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For many Americans, 9/11 was a watershed moment—especially those living in New York City. Take Steve Larosiliere, for whom the close-to-home events triggered “a crisis of consciousness.” It’s a moment that he compares to the cultural reckoning that is happening now in such uncertain times. “People are seeing their environment change,” Larosiliere says, explaining how such timing set him on a path toward mentorship.

“That was when I started to mentor foster kids—kids from…low income,” he says, before another noticeable hesitation. “I started mentoring Black kids.”

Larosiliere went on to found STOKED with Selema “Sal” Masekela. Stoked connects kids with mentors in action sports to provide opportunity and access while teaching leadership. To this point, the organization’s used phrases like “urban” and “at risk,” but in the last month, Larosiliere has been more direct in that the majority of those he is looking to impact are children of color.

Larosiliere and Stoked Co-founder Sal Masekela.Courtesy Steve Larosiliere

He was snowboarding at Whistler in 2004 when the idea crystalized.

“I had rode a lot that winter and I was getting so much from snowboarding,” Larosiliere says. “It was my last run of my last day of the season, and I was just thinking, ‘Man, I wish my mentee was here with me. If he saw these mountains, he would lose his mind.’ He never left the concrete of New York.

“And I thought, ‘Maybe I should start a snowboard program,’” he recalls.

The Minneapolis Parks and Open Space Commissioner Using the Outdoors to Fight for Racial Justice

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Courtesy Steve Larosiliere

MEN’S JOURNAL: Can you give us a little more background on Stoked?
STEVE LAROSILIERE: In my community, I was surrounded by Black, Latino and Caribbean people like myself. But I went to an all-white school. So it gave me very fluid code-switching skills, going between different environments. So we have these Black and brown kids being mentored by people who live on the other side of town.

Action sports are mostly white cultures. I wanted Black kids and poor kids to see what life was like, the way other people experienced it. I just knew what action sports had taught me about myself. And I thought, “Imagine what these kids would learn about themselves.” They could be learning resiliency, how to take advantage of opportunities, see obstacles as chances to grow. I didn’t think we were doing social justice work, but we are. These kids

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