Zaturdays: Where You Buy Your Skateboard Matters

Ordering a super cheap skateboard from some anonymous online seller and getting it in the mail is the BEST isn’t it? So cheap! So easy. You didn’t even have to leave the house. BUT By doing it you’re killing your local scene, click by click. Now I’m no hippie, I don’t wear patchouli, shop at Farmer’s Markets, or celebrate 4/20. But I guess this is the one time my hemp necklace wearing alter ego makes an appearance, so I’m personally requesting that you support your local skateshop when it comes to purchasing skateboard decks. A few weeks back I asked you, Zaturdays loyal readers, for topics that you might want me to cover in a post. One that stood out came from @rollin.thunder who said, “Where you buy your skateboards matters.” He said it in support of @eliasbingham who happens to be a skateboarder I’ve know personally since the ‘90s. These days Elias runs No Comply skateshop in Austin Texas, plus he’s a ripping individual and longtime SPoT Pal. Here’s the thing, buying boards online from whoever sells it cheapest does two things: Saves you time, offers convenience. What it doesn’t do is the problem. It does not support your local economy. It does not help young rippers get hooked up on the shop team and encourage them to rip harder. It does not create local videos that help showcase local talent and stoke the bros. It does not set up local contests at the skatepark and provide prizes for the top 10. It does not offer advice on what size board you should start out on, or if Toy Machine is better than Plan B or vice versa. It does not keep the skate obsessed shop owner in the game and allow him to pass down his stories, experiences, etc. to you the local kid. It does not get the team to come to your town to do a demo. It does not hook you up with an old hanger when yours broke and you don’t have cash for a new one. It doesn’t let you look at the new issues of the magazines. It doesn’t make any shirts that your buddy drew the graphics for. And on and on and on. So do me a faro and support your local skateshop. Please.