I think its better to say that good skateparks are rare in the UK. There are tonnes of poor quality "out of the box" skateparks springing up everywhere but very few European or World Tour standard parks. There have also recently been a lot of problems with parks closing due to lack of funds, vandalism and arson. It's a real shame because our job has shown how much demand and talent there is out there and we need more places where you can go along and practice. It's no so bad in the Summer because there are millions of great street spots all around the country, but unfortunately the UK has a pretty wet climate, so for the most of the year, we need indoor parks that have a good range of equipment and are in good condition. All in all though, it doesn't stop kids who are already into skateboarding, but a lack of parks does make it less enticing for new boys and girls to take up the sport. It's like anything, you'd be more likely to take up football if there was a field near you rather than just playing with a ball next to your garage?!!
Another thing that affects skateboarding in the UK is the cost. Unfortunately by the time skateboards get over to us from the American companies, the price has often doubled. For your average 12 year old kid, forking out over £100 (roughly $180 US) on a setup is a major investment!! There are lots of good distributors though who are doing their best to make things cheaper, but it’s a competitive market and it’s not easy for children or parents to find good quality affordable equipment.
Where would you like your company to go from here?
We’ve got big hopes for the company. Our first step will be to grow the teaching side of the business by taking on more instructors, increasing our minibus fleet and developing an accredited teaching and instructor exam.
We already have 6 pro skaters on the team but we are always looking to grow the team or support talented riders on flow deals. You can definitely expect to see even more DVD releases, magasine photoshoots, advertising and promotion from the team.
Products are a big avenue to follow too. We’ve already launched a range of designs that were met with great success. Our products such as t’s, hoodies and decks would be sold and distributed online, through shops and distribution companies in the UK. Think its worth mentioning that we would not be a premium distributor who sells skateboard for crazy money. Like our lessons we’ll keep it affordable but high quality so that everyone can benefit. We’ve got some great designers working with Rubicon, so expect loads of creative and innovative designs to hit the shops soon.
Europe, the East and America are other big markets where again we feel our service of travelling to provide skateboard lessons and demonstrations to a wide range of people would be well received. We’ve already been in touch with a number of companies in America, China and Canada and are paving the way for excursions.
The sky really is the limit and we are keeping our eyes peeled for a good location to build our own skatepark and premises for a shop and demo centre.
At the end of the day though, its all about the skateboarding – we’ll continue to support skateboarding in boys and girls of all ages through more and more teaching, more and more demonstrations, more and more competitions and events, more and more sponsorship and support, more and more and more and more skateboarding. Check out the Skateboarding School Website for more info!
