BY OLE GILBERTSON
11/14/01

If every piece of skateboard paraphernalia purchased in the Twin Cities area was from a local, skater-owned shop, the injection into the local skateboard economy/scene would be huge. By nurturing the local scene, the shops continue to make enough money to exist. These people that own the local shops are not making a million dollars, they are in the skateboard business because they love skateboarding. If they were in it for the money, there are a hundred other businesses that are more profitable. These people chose skateboarding because they see the chance to take a pro-active role in the local scene.

Let's face it, skateboarders are not typical consumers. The focus of the skateboarder is on the next session. If we wanted money for participating in a sport (did I just say "sport"?), we should be playing baseball or football. Pro skaters don't make a lot of money. Being that we are not money focused, we are not a typical consumer. We need to set aside some consumer values in the interest of skateboarding. Lowest price does not always mean the best value. The skater owned shops are sometimes more expensive than the corporate chain stores. The reason that local shops are sometimes more expensive has to deal with buying power. Because they have the money, corporate skateshops buy an insane amount of product at once; therefore they get a cheaper price. That allows them to undercut the local skate-shops. When you buy a skateboard from one of the big corporate stores, where do the profits from your purchase go? They flow through to the stockholders of the corporation. Who owns stock in these corporations? In some cases, it might the BMW driving day-trader on the New York Stock Exchange. What does this soul know about skateboarding? NOTHING. He/she knows that this particular stock is making money right now. When you buy your skateboard from a skater-owned shop you know where the profits go. They go to a skateboarder, someone who shares some values that you have. They will not always have the cheapest price on the planet, but they understand and support our common interest. Who is more likely to actually help the local scene? It's going to be a local skateboarder.

Every so often, skateshops will sponsor events that are meant to inject something into the skateboard scene (can you say, video premiere?). These events do not make money, they are meant to support the local scene. It is a give and take relationship. When they throw these events, the local skate scene gets an injection of energy. This energy trickles down to us in our sessions. I know that I get super pumped when I go to a video premiere and see some insane trick thrown down. When I watch the video in a room full of skateboarders, I know that everyone in the room has the same appreciation for the trick that was thrown down. For someone to host an event like this is huge. Could you imagine throwing down the money to rent an auditorium to show a video to a bunch of skaters? Would you buy a bunch of skate product to toss at this party? It is an expensive venture. The owners of the local skate shops do this kind of thing all the time.

With very few exceptions, local skate-shops are somehow involved in the creation of a local park. Out of all the parks in the United States, it is safe to say that local skateboard shops played a crucial role in the creation of the majority. This isn't to say that if you buy your board from a local shop that they will start a skatepark. This is to point out who is more likely to start the local skatepark. I can promise you that the stockholder from XYZ corporation will never vote for such a large expenditure. The skateboarding shop owner will want it simply because it is another place to skate.

When dealing with local skateboard regulations, is the CEO of XYZ corporation at the meeting that is defining the municipal skateboard ordinance? Have they ever done anything to really prevent the criminalization of skateboarding? Your local skate shop owner is much more likely to support skateboarding from a legal standpoint because they are skaters themselves. They want accessible skate terrain.

Fobia and Cal Surf are the only local skater-owned shops that I know of. I can personally say I've seen the support that they lend to the Twin Cities skate scene. They give us their support, the least that we can do is give them ours. Support your local skateboarder. Buy local.....Skate global.

O. Gilbertson

See Also Vert, Street, Mental and Another 80's song.