> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Beach rings are the thing for one tight-knit community - URL: https://www.smdp.com/beach-rings-are-the-thing-for-one-tight-knit-community/ - Published: 2006-11-25T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T23:10:05.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Environment, Pier, #archive-import *Fellowship of rings begins with a ‘Hello’* *By JESSICA ROBERTS Special to the Daily Press* SM BEACH — Passing the sets of rings hanging just south of the Santa Monica Pier, most people are reminded of their childhood playground. Others are just mystified. The row of metal hoops can seem more daunting in adulthood, when a staircase can test one’s physical exertion — that is, until they are taken in the hands of a master, making like The swingers scene It’s not surprising then that stuntmen come here to practice, including Holland Diaz, one of Tobey Maguire’s stunt doubles in the soon-to-be-released “Spider-man 3.” “The cool thing about the rings is everybody’s got their own style,” said Diaz. “It’s like dancing or skating.” But the rings are more than just a game or some kind of extreme stunt-double training ground. To the regulars, some of whom come for several hours each week, it is a way of life. For some, it is a mental release or a spiritual experience. For most, it is a community that provides support as strong as any family. “They’re all friends here,” said Aaron Hedrick, a relative newcomer to the rings with only a few months’ experience. “They all bring down blankets for each other and ice chests full of drinks.” “Everybody’s really down to teach you, help you out,” said Ali Moradi. “People don’t really care what race you are, what religion you are.They just accept you for who you are.” Paul Scott has been swinging since 2000, when he saw an “attractive blonde” on the rings. “I thought, this might be a sport I could enjoy,” he said. “Now we’ve got, just over the years, all these people. Everybody kind of comes to it from wherever and they end up staying.” Santa Monica is one of only three places in the country known to have a set of traveling rings — not to be confused with still rings. The other two are in Riverside Park in New York City and a campground in Ohio. Most ringers, or “swingers,” as they alternately call themselves, had only heard of those two, but others may exist and have been forgotten. During a fitness boom in the early 1900s, spas and health centers were built across the country, some including the “traveling” rings, often placed over pools. They got as far west as California, but then the spa business died down and most rings sets disappeared. There are three sets of rings in Santa Monica, put up in 2000 as part of a renovation of the original “muscle beach” area. The largest set of rings hangs from a 75-foot structure with support posts and a top beam. The ten rings are spaced about 8 feet apart and hang 7 feet off the ground on chains.Swingers travel from one ring to the next by using their arms, legs and trunk to build momentum. The swivels on the chains allow swingers to spin around and use the rings creatively, according to swingaring.com, a Web site dedicated to the sport. Santa Monica’s rings have been used for years, but the community of swingers only developed recently. “Everybody used to come and do their own thing,” Scott said. “We didn’t talk to each other that much. Nobody was unfriendly, they just didn’t say, ‘Hi, how are you?’ But over time, you see somebody for weeks and weeks and months and months and after a while you ask their name.” From there, the community began to grow. “Then you’re friends, right? You see each other every week, so you start talking,” Scott said, “Then somebody new comes and you don’t know if they’re going to stay or not, but sometimes they do...after a while you ask their name... then they’re like part of the group.” “Before that, I knew a handful of people, but then it blossomed and people started actively bringing them in,” said Scott. Kimberly Fox describes how the community came about as “organic.” In time, the group began to socialize after having played on the rings until dark. “Slowly, we were just like, all right, sun’s going down, what should we all do?” Hedrick said. “We all go get something to eat, we all go hang out... From there, we just always meet up.” “It’s just bred a great new circle and network of friends,” Hedrick added. “We all get together and it’s like this army of insanely in-shape people — it’s kind of odd.” The “army” often takes their act on the road, making use of anything and everything they can get their hands on, or their feet above, to do what they call “urban acrobatics.” “Any pole, railing, stop sign — anything they can find to swing off,hang off of,”said Fox. > “Everybody’ll just grab a piece of pavement or just walk across the street on their hands,” > “I think it’s really fun and it’s just like, ‘hey, we know how to do all these cool things.’” > “I think a lot of us adults lose the child aspect and I think there’s a lot of forever-young people down here,” — much to the delight of waiting motorists. she said. Fox said > “I think that the showman aspect of this is alive and well in a lot of the people,” The community, which Scott estimates in the range of 50-75 regulars,continues to evolve. “New people come in, they bring in a new feeling, and you see them improve,” said Ahmad Saleh, who has been coming to the rings since 2002. As with any tight-knit community, newcomers are often intimidated by the group’s closeness, as well as their talents. “I was really intimidated,” said Ian Nankowski.“I just watched for like a month.” Once they put aside their own inhibitions, however, newcomers are welcomed and encouraged by regulars. “Many different people teach you a lot of good stuff,” said Saleh, a district manager for a computer company. Saleh lives in Culver City and comes to the rings at least four times a week. “A lot of them are gymnasts and stuff like that so they have a lot of good ideas and they’re awesome teachers.” Nankowski, who has been coming to the rings for two years now, said it took him a long time to get comfortable. “I didn’t really get a good swing until maybe like three months in,” he said. “Actually, I hadn’t gotten really huge air until maybe six months ago.” The space for continuous learning appeals to many swingers. “My philosophy of life, as is a lot of people’s out here, is that there’s no peak,” said Fox. “There’s no limit to what you can do. You can always push yourself further, try something new, get stronger, better and continue to grow, just like in life. And I think that this place is a great metaphor for that.” The rings are also an excellent workout, drawing former and current gymnasts, stuntmen, performers and martial artists. Others come with no experience at all. Anna Wills is an IT consultant and triathlete from New Zealand who lives in Santa Monica. She tried the rings for the first time last month. “It’s so entertaining,” she said. “It actually feels like you’re flying when you’re between the rings.” Hedrick said he added 12 pounds of muscle in four months: “This is the best shape of my life right now.” Scott, who turned 54 in October, took up the rings after his back gave out and he was diagnosed with cancer. “I almost died,” he said.“I was thinking, I don’t want to do that. When I came back, I put everything — since I couldn’t run any-more — all that effort into the rings, and I got really strong.” “I always had this great heart-lung-legs thing going, but nothing on the upper,” he said. “Now I can do stuff I never would have thought I could do.” Chris Filkins knows something about tough times. He made his way to the rings after his marriage ended. His wife left with his daughter and he found himself without a home. After getting some money together, he bought skates and skated by the rings a few times before joining the community. “It’s a really great way of sort of putting yourself back together again,” he said. “On the one hand, it’s a completely singular event. You can’t do it very well with other people, not like a team sport or anything, but on the other hand, it’s very social because there’s only one piece of equipment so everyone has to come out and see each other.” Filkins was a gymnast until age 16, competing at the state regional level, so the rings appealed to him. “It’s like flying and it engages every part of my body in a way that nothing else,except perhaps sex,does,”he said.“It all comes from your core muscles... if you exercise from your core, then every part of your body gets exercised.” Given the chance, swingers will wax philosophical about the rings. “If it ended tomorrow, the experiences that I’m having with these people and being outside and breathing the air and working, making my body strong and my spirit strong and my mind strong...” Fox said. “That for me is what life is about.” “It just reminds you that you don’t need that much to be happy,” Nankowski said. “You have good people, the rings, good weather. Asking for much more seems to be kind of a sin.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 25, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/112506.pdf?ref=smdp.com)