Dave Dawley is the face of skateboarding on the Seacoast. His skateboarding escapades, $300 in subsequent fines and court appearances recently landed him on the front page of the Portsmouth Herald. But that’s fine by the 21-year-old Rye resident. He wants to see Portsmouth loosen up and change its anti-skateboarding law, which prohibits skateboarding, roller skating and in-line skating on city streets and sidewalks. The Wire spoke with Dawley recently about why he continues to skate in Portsmouth and if there’s any more skate activism in his future.

How many times have you been busted for skateboarding?
I think five, total. One (time) was when I was 16 and the other four have been pretty recent, over this past summer and fall.

What have those situations been like?
I only counted five times I’ve gotten fined. The other times, I’ve just been asked to stop. Some of the police don’t really mind and sympathize and realize (skateboarding) shouldn’t be illegal like it is. And some of them are just kind of indifferent to it all. I guess it all depends on the guy and the day.

You seem to make it into the newspaper a lot. How do you feel about that?
I think it’s pretty positive, bringing it to people’s attention, who might not realize there’s an ordinance against skateboarding.

Do people recognize you?
Yeah, sometimes. I mean some people do just from me skateboarding around Portsmouth. I got a lot of support when I got the front-page article, a lot of people contacted me when they saw me … and told me they didn’t agree with the ordinance either. Maybe it’ll make more people get involved and try and do something about it.

Why do you keep skating in Portsmouth?
I don’t think I will (anymore) to be honest with you, because civil disobedience like that gets to be pretty expensive. It’s just the kind of thing that nothing is wrong with it and it shouldn’t be illegal, so I figured I’d just do it anyways. I’ll have to be a little more careful from now on, because I really can’t afford to (get fined).

So where else do you skate?
You can skate anywhere that’s paved, so I skate pretty much anywhere, in parking lots, just in the street in front of my house. Dover has a great skate park. Portsmouth does as well, but it’s not really maintained or set up right.

Are there lots of other aggrieved skaters like you out there?
I think so, at least every skateboarder and every skateboarder’s parents. There are a lot of us out there. Anybody who has ever rode a skateboard probably, maybe just once, understands it’s just a recreational activity, it’s totally harmless.

Will you become a skate activist and advocate for a change in the city’s laws?
I’d like to make more people aware of it, get more people involved in doing something about it. I’m still just thinking about it, still in the planning stages, but I’ll figure out the best way to go about it.