Ukranian Teen Leaves big brothers in Lviv. He Finds a new one at a new york skatepark.
Three years ago, Stepan Zvarych arrived in New York from Ukraine with no English and a war starting back home. His two older brothers stayed behind and they would videocall him from bomb shelters while he tried to adjust to life in Manhattan. Everything changed when a family friend handed him a skateboard and brought him to Pier 62. From that moment, skating became his refuge.
At the park he met Frank Watkins, who had also leaned on skating during hard times. Frank saw something familiar in the young newcomer. “If he wasn’t at the skatepark all day,” Frank told me, “that’d be eight more hours each day worrying about his brothers and his country. Add that up.”
Over the past year, I’ve had the honor of photographing Stepan and Frank many times. From the very first session, it was clear they weren’t just skating together, they were building a brotherhood. Stepan told me, “I don’t really remember the person I was before I moved to America. Skating is my life now. I feel like a better version of myself.”
Today, Stepan is 16 and Frank is 28, and they skate together several times a week. Their friendship has grown into something rare— a bond forged by loss, resilience, and hours spent in the bowl. Frank put it simply: “Growing up, I never had a brother. I always wanted one. Stepan, I just love that dude. That’s my bro.”
Stepan added, “Life can hit you in the face. And then you gotta get up and keep going. Skating teaches you that.”
Here’s a link to the full essay.
