What's happening here...HopShop was dead?

For years there was the HopShop, Hopkin Skate, the skateboard shop in St Leonards that drew the skateboarding population to it like a moth to a flame. It was also the HQ of ASRA, the Australian Skateboard Racing Association.

The Hop Shop was Robbo. He was the face of the shop, the action figure behind the shop, and the 'go to' guy at the shop. He was there every day, every weekend and was behind the success of the retail premises I considered my second home...much to my wife's chagrin.

In August 2013, Hop released a post titled "HopShop is dead, long live Hopkin...and Basement Skate. The idea, I though was that he was going to write blogs so that he could stay connected. His idea was to shut the skateboard shop and abandon it.... Robbo wanted some of the action so negotiated his way into it and sunk his life savings into a revival and a rebrand into Basement Skate. I thought that after all that Robbo had done for James Hopkin, there would be payback.

I found it odd that the Hopkin Skate website was still up and thought that it must really have confused the punters...Hopshop is dead but the website is still alive....what was going on? This must have played havoc with the Basement Skate launch and their subsequent sales.

Over the past few weeks I have noticed that James has become more active promoting himself and his business. His blog and newsletter are being pushed , his Twitter feed is active and he is promoting products. What the...he's now offering product by comparing Surfstitch, Box 13, Concrete Lines and Basement Skate. What is this about? 

Why is James not single handedly promoting Basement Skate? That is what I thought he would do.

Socrates said "The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be."

Everyone, this is Lacey

I was very fortunate to have been given the Sector 9 Lacey by that young upstart Jackson Shapeira for services to the Wild West race near Hartley. Heavily inspired by Benbro Hay I got my hands on a set of the cast Kahalani Trucks and a set of the Orangatang Kegels. This little baby was going to wheelbite badly so it was Riptide Bushings to the rescue. 

That Lacey is a good looking little lady that I will enjoy riding.

Basement Skate

Hop wanted out..Robbo wanted in and so it begins. Robbo finally has some skin in the industry that he loves. I hope that Hop will give Robbo a head start and not get in the way by keeping the Hopkin Skate site operational... that would be the right thing to do.

Branding - here we are

Lindsay of Cool Art Vinyl made a stencil

It worked

Visible - yep

Extra visible from the Roundabout

Love your Local Skate Shop

Australians will tell you openly that they are an exceptionally patriotic lot - oi oi oi. On Australia Day we don the clobber, drape ourselves in the Aussie flag, get out and about around the harbour and chuck the mandatory cut of lamb on the Barbie and blow the froth off a cold beer or two. On every other day it seems we are infatuated with the internet and our ability to buy cheap goods online but, as it often happens these days we are buying directly from overseas. This bypasses the Australian retailer and the Australian e-tailer. Google have a part to play but that's another story. It seems that we don't care where goods come from because we are getting something cheap and after all....it is all about us, right?

Dick Smith is abundantly aware of the fact that some of us are in flagrant disregard of local products and businesses in favour of those from overseas. He has leapt into action and and has spearheaded a campaign to buy Australian. Buying Australian means investing in Australia.

People can certainly buy cheap online but they need to be very wary. The old adage applies here that if it looks too good to be true, then it generally is. Geography is also a major problem which needs to be factored in. We are on the other side of the world and for some e-tailers we could be considered to be their lawful prey. Unscrupulous online e-tailers regularly pass off 'seconds' as the real deal; or having lesser quality components in their assembly or even omitting components. What is your comeback? Who do you complain to?

So what's up here? The situation is that the skateboard industry has had the worst Christmas period on record with little recovery evident at this stage. Sales were very low but as it appears, plenty of skateboard products were purchased....but from where? Clearly these products have been bought online and from overseas. 

In cycling, the Australian mountain biking and racing retail scene has all but collapsed as a result of the biking community failing to support their local bike shop and proceeding to buy online. In the past the retailers would organise bike racing events, set tracks, marquis, mechanical services and parts to the riders...they would sponsor these events and also inject prizemoney. As a result of the failure of riders to support the retailers there are much fewer events and there is no longer any retail support. The overseas e-tailers don't organise or sponsor events nor will they be trackside. 

The BMX industry is fighting to try and stay relevant to their community. Posts like this from RevolutionMTB are now preparing their community for what is in store.  

Online purchasing is not going to go away, in fact a Price Waterhouse Coopers (a bloody big Global Accounting Firm) aka PWC, study shows that it is set to increase. PWC also outline the factors driving this growth. 

So what to do? 

First is Awakening....wakey wakey, hands of snakey. Seriously wake the fcuk up guys. You skateboarders need to realise that without supporting your local skateboard shop there will be no retailers or skate emporiums left to hang out, buy gear, get tips, get advice on setups and see what is new. There will not be any events, prizemoney or any sponsorship opportunities. The overseas skateshops won't be putting money into our local events....it is all about simple redistribution....redistribution of your money to their account. Nothing more.

Second is Awareness...comparisons show that which is cheaper overseas is, upon closer scrutiny, not always cheaper. Let me explain. A Loaded Dervish purchased overseas made it's way with the owner to a local skateshop and the following observations were made. 

1. The bolts were the wrong size and the nuts had barely 2 revolutions onto the bolt to secure the trucks to the board. 
2. There were no bearing spacers.
3. There were no speed rings.
4. The bearings were 'no name' and of questionable quality.

So what happens if you buy a helmet, slide gloves or other apparel from their sizing chart which on arrival happens to be the wrong fit for you? What happens if you have a warranty issue, who pays the return freight? That's right - you do.

Third is Action....it is important to check prices online, who doesn't. However, if there is a minor difference in price BUY LOCALLY. You get it NOW, not in 2 weeks. You can return items easily for replacement if there is a warrranty issue or if you have made an error....trust me it is not so easy shipping overseas; once again timing is an issue. If the price locally is way higher than overseas then talk to the local skate shop to see if you are comparing the same thing, at least you will be reassured of why it is more expensive or they may cut you a deal.

In the world of skateboarding we all want to go to the shop, soak up the atmosphere, experience the products first hand and in some cases ride the shop mini ramp. If we do not continue to support the local skateboard shops they will disappear. 

To illustrate a point, I am going to screw around with a quote from my favourite movie, Cool Runnings - "If we look Australian, act Australian and skate Australian then we sure as hell better buy Australian". 

I will always support my local skateshop, because they support me.

Long time between Posts..bugger

It's been a long time between posts. Lots has happened....Newtons 2012 at Bathurst was epic and Mischo Erban won the event. I am still loving skateboarding, however, being in between jobs and having Belle's confidence destroyed because of a crash....I am not skating much. The Sultans of Steeze catch up some Sundays for a roll around the Sultans carpark for a couple of hours. The racing season is back upon us under the administration of the IDF (International Downhill Federation). Mt Keira has been cancelled due to falling rocks and works required to get it safe...Newtons is having it's last fling at Mt Panorama in 2013. There are a couple of lead up races during April..a wild west Outlaw amongst others.

Mt Keira Challenge...Wollongongs inaugaral World Cup event

After years of lobbying; development applications submitted and numerous trips to Wollongong to meet with the punters at Council; ASRA had a win. 19 April 2012 is the inaugaral Mt Keira Challenge which becomes the very first event on the calendar of the the World Cup of Downhill Racing.

It started for me when Robbo was running out of personnel who held an MR drivers licence (Rigid vehicle up to 8t). I roped myself into it and became a volunteer. Early one morning I set out with Trav and Hendo to Ingleburn to pick up an 8 tonner with gates and relocate it to Castlereagh (near Penriff). We then shuttled back to Ingleburn to pick up an 8 tonne Tautliner to go to Castlereagh. Blackwood had a group of volunteers to bag 500 hay bales. The conditions were appalling. It was pouring with rain and these guys were in a paddock doing the hard work. The trucks were loaded and I returned the next day along with a friend of Robbo's family to relocate the trucks to Mt Keira. On the hill at Mt Keira we began dropping hay bales, the idea being that we provide safety for the riders on the corners. That done we went to the Mt Keira Scout Camp which ASRA had secured for the rider accomodation.

Robbo had issues with the timing system that caused him to have to revert to going back to old school cable running through the bush. Robbo, Trav and Hendo did the business in the leech infected areas of Mt Keira's bushland. Fortunately for Trav and Robbo the leeches were attracted to hendo like moths to a flame.

The trucks were going to be used to ferry the 120 riders from the bottom of the hill; back to the top.

The primary issue for the riders was the condition of the road. It had been raining and there was not sufficient sun to get the whole track dry.

We are indebted to Rob McWhinnie for taking on the responsibility of preparing meals for the 120 odd people. What an epic job considering that he and Maga were also racing.

HopShop goes MONDO

28th January, year of our Lord 2012. The calm of the early morning was broken by the Grom push race 'Cannonball' from Lane Cove to the new HopShop. There were in excess of 120 groms all battling to make it back to the HopShop first.

Today is the grand opening of the new, bigger and better Hopkin Skate shop. They move from what was essentially a garage to much better premises which take the entire building; 4 times bigger than what they had previously. It took Robbo and his team a long time to get the whole place done and they battled with rain which made painting it a nightmare.

The idea of the push race was to allow the first girl and the first grom to be the very first people allowed into the shop and take advantage of opening specials. Jack Glenn and Brittany de Graaf were the winners and were officially the first to set foot into the new HopShop.

I had work to do with the setup of a BBQ and all of the associated stuff to compliment the opening. We had sausages and onions left over from last week and managed to get all of the Rotary stuff including the banner to make it all happen.

The grand opening was beyond successful. The groms were so happy and it was great to be there to witness the buzz.




Finishing Touches - Josh getting it done



Robbo on opening morning

Helmet wall by Josh

It was a humungus day and was a testament to the determination of Robbo and his team. The volunteers that pitched in show that there is a 'community' behind it all. I'm just happy to be a part of it. The after party raged on into the night and like all good parties, the cops arrived. The HopShop has come of age.