Jedi Grind Tricks: December ‘09

By: Scooter Newell

Article Category: Jedi Grind Tricks

Regardless of how much of a Grinch I try to be, I eventually get swept up in the holiday buzz. Sometimes the pressure of gift giving can be a bit overwhelming, so usually I pass when it comes to participating in the holiday shopping rat marathon. Of course, I’m not a total scrooge; I do end up trying to get something going in the spirit of the mass-marketed holiday. Even though I gripe about how we get over-bombarded with pressure to spend money and shop, I still love the holiday season almost as much as when I was a kid waiting for my Sure Grip skateboard on the morning of December 25th, 1982.

I had already picked it out. It was dialed in with rails, nose guard, and skid plate on the tail. This was a life-changing moment for me because this would be my very first wide board and it had a kicktail. It was a real “industry” skateboard, about 10 inches wide by 30 inches long with factory custom grip tape. It was actually a semi-sub industry board that was manufactured from a roller skate company I think, but at age 11 it was perfect. I had two skateboards up until this point and got my first when I was 3 years old. Both were handmade.

Who cares, right? Well, the board — it was the “Zoner” model — holds so much meaning for me simply because of where it was purchased. My mom took me to a place called Sloan Skates in Cocoa Beach. It wasn’t a regular store. This place was not even a shop or a leased section of a building. It was an old red school bus converted into a skate shop. It even had a radio playing inside, thanks to an extension cord into plugged in to the tourist shop that used to exist where Walgreens is now located. The guy that ran it was a one-man show named Tony. Skateboards were hanging from the roof as you climbed in the bus and plastered all over the inside were photographs of skaters ripping at parks like Kona and others around Florida. Sloan Skates was the epitome of the small budget, do-it-yourself mobile skate shop. I learned how to ollie on that board.

Hmm… Still kinda makes you think, “who cares?” right? O.K. What I’m getting at this December is the importance of purchasing from local shops. Getting my first “real” skateboard at a grungy little one-man shop subconsciously instilled a belief as to how I spend my money on skateboard equipment — by supporting shops that care and will go to any length to ensure that skateboarding continues to help kids by providing customers with quality products. When I look back, I have to give my mom some props for throwin’ down 80 bucks at a school bus shop in the parking lot of a supermarket. She always believed in supporting the local stores for all facets of our household spending, and I suppose I’m the same way with my skateboard products.

Over the years I’ve had the displeasure of seeing kids come to skate parks and shops with a board they purchased from a Wally World or Gooniez or somewhere in a corporate mall store with bearings missing from the wheel assembly; trucks installed improperly or backwards; poor turning components in the truck assembly, and other great silliness in the name of not caring about skateboarding or the customer. These are serious safety concerns when riding a board. It stinks to know that an improperly assembled board could lead to control problems, possibly resulting in injury or worse. Then you have one frustrated beginner who no longer embraces skateboarding. That’s no good.

So please don’t be afraid to swing in to a real skate shop this holiday season if you’re shopping for a beginner skateboard. Our lovely beachside home has a lot of great skate shops, as well as surf shops supporting the local scene. And some of these small skate shops are the largest supporters of local skateboard contests, as well as pro demos and other events. They are keeping skateboarding alive in the real world.

Please let the skaters behind the counter know that you’re shopping for a first-time board as a holiday gift. The employees may have holes in their shoes from skating all day, but they know their skate product, so hit away with questions or ask them to just give you the lowdown. I guarantee that any of these real shops can get you set up on any budget, from beginner gear all the way up to the pro-name skateboards. All boards purchased in skate shops are of superior quality to the poor and upsetting alternatives you find in other mainstream stores.

Here are some tips for knowing whether you’re in a shop that deserves your holiday business:

The owner is a regular employee of the shop, working the register, helping customers, and one who actually skates or supports skateboarding.

The employees who work there are NOT wearing a uniform, especially a blue apron.

The skate shop is at an actual skate park.

The employees can describe each and every product and its function, company origin, and that product’s latest team video.

This info may be nothing new to you, but I am ready to risk it and get this printed in all 500,000 copies just to reach that one parent or grandparent out there who has never been skateboard shopping before. Our little grungy skate shops are here to help you. We were all beginners at one time and know what’s right for your skateboard gift.

So it doesn’t matter if you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Festivus, make that holiday skateboard purchase from one of these little shops. They’re there because they love skateboarding and they want your beginner grom — grandson, granddaughter, son, daughter, niece, nephew, cousin or friend — to love it too.

Happy Holidays,

Scooter