Luca Messina was born with low vision and carries a gene mutation linked to Leber's congenital amaurosis, according to his mother, Blair Messina, who says he can tell whether lights are on or off but otherwise sees very little. On Saturday, Luca rolled across the ramps at Renner Brenner Park in Riverside, Missouri, guided by his aunt and his father as he joined a crowd of blind and low-vision skateboarders trying out a course built with them in mind.
The event, called Grind for the Blind, drew such a crowd that Messina said the park was full Saturday, as reported by KSHB 41 Kansas City. Messina founded the nonprofit Wildflower Wellness in 2022 after Luca was diagnosed with Leber Congenital Amaurosis at 15 months old, following an eight-month wait for pediatric ophthalmology care, according to Wildflower Wellness KC. She has since advocated for the inclusive skate park in Riverside, and said the city was accommodating and excited to participate in the project, per KSHB 41's report.
A Tactile Map Built For Touch
A tactile map lets skateboarders explore the park's layout by touch before ever dropping into the course, KSHB 41 reports. Luca said touch helps him visualize the skate park, and he enjoys skateboarding alongside his older sister, according to his mother. A skater named Elisia planned to try the ramp independently during the event, the station notes.
Riverside officially reopened Renner Brenner Park's renovated skate park in April 2025 after converting it into a flow park with stamped concrete edges that double as tactile warning markers for cane users, according to Wildflower Wellness KC. A 2023 skatepark feedback event also took place.
A Beeper Box And Decades On A Board
Among the coaches at the event was professional skateboarder Justin Bishop, who told KSHB 41 he skated ten years with sight and fifteen without it, and said returning to skateboarding gave him his life back. Bishop was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age eight. A car accident at nineteen led to an eye examination that revealed rapidly advancing RP; by about age 25, his vision had become milky and gray and he could no longer see, according to the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
At the park, Bishop used a beeper box to help maintain direction and land tricks, per KSHB 41's report. He said his cane only provides information about three feet ahead, while skating requires awareness much farther out, and explained that the beeper box helps him tell whether he is heading the right way. Learning to navigate everyday life after losing his vision meant relearning skills like cooking, cleaning, and traveling, he said, and he added that falling at a skate park can make a blind skater feel like a normal skater.
Inclusive Skatepark Design
Research published by Taylor & Francis discusses barriers and inclusive skatepark design. The Ranch is described as the world's first adaptive skatepark.
Riverside's park appears to split the difference, keeping terrain challenging for typical skaters while layering in subtle accessibility cues like the stamped concrete edges and tactile map. Messina said visual impairment is not a reason to keep someone from doing dangerous activities, and added that skateboarding welcomes people regardless of identity, age, or skill level. Kansas City has a large community of blind and visually impaired families and adults, she noted, per KSHB 41.
Leber Congenital Amaurosis is the condition affecting Luca. In 2017, the FDA approved Luxturna, the first gene therapy for an inherited retinal disease, which targets RPE65 gene mutations tied to the condition and restores functional vision in eligible patients by delivering a working copy of the gene into retinal cells, per the NIH.
