If I had the chance to edit my own biography, I'd probably sum most of my skateboarding career up in two simple sentences: "That f'n jerk (that's me) was sometimes celebrated... and, oftentimes villified... for his harsh and unapologetic insights on the emerging issues of the day. Most frequently, for discussing the everyday trials and tribulations of- and reiterating his staunch and steadfast support for- the independent skateboard shop." I like those two. Because they're fair, balanced, kinda funny... and, best of all, they also honestly illustrate my personal strengths and weaknesses. Which ultimately make me exactly who and what I am.
This is Blacklist Skateshop in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. A great little shop that's run by great people. It's still there... for now. But how much longer is this species of skateboard retailer gonna stick around, given the challenges they're facing these days...?
So, the inevitable question becomes: Why am I so steadfast in my pro-indy-skateshop stance? The answer is actually quite simple: I cannot for the life of me, imagine a skateboarding world without them. Mostly because, we've never had a world without them before. Think about it: Never in all of skateboarding's history have we faced the grim prospect of the wholesale decimation of the independent retailer paradigm. Suddenly, though, this has become an industry-wide hot-button issue. Because we're watching the reality of indy skate shops going out of business unfolding all around us.
Adrenaline Zone in Louisville, Kentucky... gone...
The Board Room in Columbus, Indiana... gone...
Boards, Inc. in Richmond, an indoor skateshop and skatepark... gone...
Just Ride/Solution in Muncie, Indiana... this one's been opened up, and locked down, a few times now...
Str8 Up Skate Shop in Indianapolis, Indiana... gone...
... come to think of it, my travel binder is filled with skateshops and skateparks that "used to be there", but aren't anymore. Does anyone in this industry ever wonder what happens to the scenes and communities that used to revolve around these places...? Do they even care...?
Of course, there are plenty of pundits and experts who claim that everything is gonna be just fine. That there will be a nation of corporately-owned big-box skate retailers that will easily (and enthusiastically) fill the void left by the natural, darwinistic rooting-out of this weaker, independent species of skateshop. And that'll actually be better for us all, long-term. However, the correct answer is still that we just don't know for sure what in the world's gonna happen, until it actually happens. There may even be some unintended consequences in all of this that we won't like, and that might just do our pastime some sort of irrepairable harm. But we still won't know what those will be, until they actually transpire. The very best that we can hope for is that, by simple process of elimination, we can sort of guesstimate what might be possible, and plausible.
One thing is certain: Fewer shops will definitely mean fewer of these "event flyers" arriving in my e-mail inbox. That means "less excitement for skateboarding, globally", as IASC might put it. But if they're so quick to take action on "the blank [deck] issue" (which they also said would mean "less excitement for skateboarding, globally")... then why aren't they so quick to lend a helping hand to our struggling independent skateshops, hmm...? My guess is that they had a very clear, vested financial interest in "the blank issue", while "the skateshop issue" doesn't really hit their bottom lines all that much. After all, there's always all those Zumiezes to pick up the slack, right...?
Is that proof-positive that the collective IASC members are a bunch of fucking hypocrites...?
I'd like to see Zumiez pay for a barbecue- at their own expense- at a skatepark that doesn't even exist yet, like Matt at B2 Bikes & Boards in Seymour, Indiana does every year...
... or put together a skateboard session at a totally out-of-the-way skatepark like TOC used to do from time to time in Marshall, Illinois.
Being sort of a simple-minded guy, my concerns... of course... tend to range in the realm of the immediate, and the practical. Take this one, for example: Without independent skate shops, who's gonna pay for all those tours and demos that we, as skaters, like to attend from time to time...? "The Industry" does tend to forget that the independent retailer network makes for a mighty handy road-trip itinerary, while they also subsidize many of our industry's promotional tours. Skate shops do, after all, pay cold, hard cash to have those demos come to town, year in and year out. Then, if and when we get the "demo" question sorted out, we also have the questions of: Who's going to sponsor all those local, hometown skateboard teams...? And, who's gonna throw all of those local contests...? And fight for all of those new skateparks...? And arrange all of those "Go Skateboarding Day" events...? Thinking about it, you might realize that it could take a small army of Zumiezes to do all of the grass-roots promotion that one indy skateshop does, day in and day out. Not promoting themselves, mind you... but rather, promoting skateboarding. And unfortunately for the independents, a small army of Zumiezes (and too many other competitors) are exactly what we're facing, today.
Duane Peters (legendary pro skater) and Tim Ray (pretty excited local skater) at Ollie's Skatepark and Skateshop in Florence, Kentucky.
There's an even more important dynamic at work here, though. If we lost the independent retailers, we might also lose one of those critical intangibles that simply makes skateboarding what it is. Sort of like Independent Trucks, Thrasher Magazine, Duane Peters, or Steve Olson... these are entities who's ultimate value could never be calibrated, substantiated, or justified by the dollars-and-cents concerns of some corporate balance sheet somewhere. These are things that you, as a skater, might not support, like, or even approve of. But as skaters, we also intrinsically understand that skateboarding would still sort of suck without them. It's these things that keep skateboarding "real", when everything else around us is going straight to the toilet. These five pillars make up what I might call "Skateboarding's Unholy Pentagram", so to speak. Which probably isn't the most "politically correct" anology to use. But still, it's kinda true nevertheless.
What skateboarding giveth, skateboarding can also taketh away. Your continued support of skateboarding, then, is critical. What "used to be a skatepark": Tuhey Park, Muncie, Indiana.
It's getting sort of sickening, how many photos I have of all these "used-to-be-theres", isn't it...?.
My natural enthusiasm for the cause is tempered in many of my writings by the realization that, too often, the independent skateshops actually become agents of their own demises. There is a point in the debate where some honest and brutal observation is required, to get a complete and evenhanded perspective of the problem at hand. This was rammed home to me a few years ago when, while doing a random survey of a few hundred skateboard shops across the midwest, I came to the startling revelation that out of those 300+ shops... less than a dozen of them knew how to answer the damned telephone correctly. This, my friends and enemies, is an extremely startling factoid. And this told me, honestly and brutally, that it was high time for the skateshops to wake the hell up, and start learning how to build better, more customer-focused businesses. Put another way: To start helping themselves.
I also have quite a file folder of "shops that aren't entirely with it" (to put it mildly). Crazy, but true story: I stopped in at Rotten Robbie's Cycles in Crawfordsville, Indiana to see where the Crawfordsville Skatepark is. I was totally fucking with them, of course: I already knew damn good and well where it was. But, I do like to "mystery shop" our independent skateshops once in a while. Just to make sure they're up to snuff. Well, the guy behind the counter had no clue where in the hell the skatepark was. And this is the center of their whole skateboarding scene, for pete's sakes...! Attention all skateshops: This is mandatory knowledge we're talking about here. You need to know this shit when I show up at your door...!
I normally don't like to call out skateshops in this manner... but jeezus, when are we going to start demanding more out of our shops? And when in the hell are they gonna start delivering...?
However, that's balanced by the need for us- the community of manufacturers, brands, and the media- to wake ourselves up, and realize the indy skateshops' true importance in the far bigger picture. They also need our help to make the hardgoods-centric, independent skateboard shop a sustainable paradigm for the future. What kind of help do they need, exactly? At this juncture, I'd say any help that we can spare would be a damn good start. A few years back, I began to champion ideas like MAP/MSRP pricing structures that would, at the very least, give the independents a level playing field, and maybe even a fighting chance to make a nickel or two once in a great while for all of their investment, hard work, and dedication. Sometimes, this process compels me to ask "The Industry" difficult questions. Like, how exactly does so much "premium product" find its way into so many mass merchants, rogue e-tailers, or into every eBay and Amazon storefront owned by some clueless jackass somewhere...? It's a perpetual mystery to me how "The Industry" can claim such hopelessness over controlling their own distribution channels, but they do. And they'll constantly wring their hands and bemoan the problem, while they do virtually nothing at all to fix it. It's not just disingenuous. It's sheer hypocricy, at its very worst.
Jody Weigle, Toast teamrider, at a demo at James Dillon Skatepark in Noblesville, Indiana.
Omar Owens, backside 50-50 on the tombstone at another TOC event. This time, it's a contest at Voorhees Park in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Admittedly, here at Everything Skateboarding, we can only do very small things to advance this cause. Of course, shopping at independently-owned skateboard shops is the best place to start, and Mike Hirsch (at SoCal Skateshop) gets more of my dough than anyone I know. We also do our very best to encourage our readers to shop independently as well by giving Hirsch free ads every month, by spotlighting the very best independents that the midwest has to offer, and by promoting their homegrown events to an even wider audience. I also spend countless hours on the road, attending and covering those local events myself... while I also make the time to personally visit shop owners in their own shops, and to educate myself on the other small things that my staff and I can do, to do our part and spread the word. Of course, no matter what I- or, we- do, it'll probably never be enough. My big hope is that, between my magazine and our readership, it will all add up eventually to making a bigger difference, somewhere.
Our Public Service Announcements are so straightforward and simple, they're just shy of a sledgehammer being knocked upside your head. That's just how we roll, y'all.
Which would you rather support...? This (Mike Hirsh's fully awesome SoCal Skateshop)...? Or, some fucking lame-ass Zumiez somewhere...? Choose wisely, kids! Because the future of skateboarding depends on you, using your head...
... while here at Everything Skateboarding, we've already made our choice. We ain't stewpid.
And if everybody pitches in and does their part, I think it will.
Bud Stratford
Editor, Everything Skateboarding Magazine
www.everythingskateboardingmagazine.blogspot.com
