Thoughts on Zumiez, Big corporation brands, and other brands

[Hero]

Everybody has different mixed feelings on Zumiez, so I just want to hear your opinions. Personally, I like my Zumiez shop, only because I really like dgk board and idk if they would sell them at my local skate shop (which is really fucking far) , and the guy I usually see there is chill as shit. I just don't really like big corporate skate brands that are in it for the money (nike sb). My favorite shoe company right now is vans, and board company is dgk. I also just started skating, so if you can inform me about some good brands, that would be cool as fuck.

[R]

its just another store really. The whole anti cooperation mentality is just what kids do. Brands don't matter and neither does where you bought your shit. Just grab what you like and grab it wherever sells it cheapest

This is exactly how big businesses want you to think though. Brands do matter, having people who have genuine care and interest for skateboarding working in the industry does matter. It may not matter in the short-term when you buy an Element deck and a pair of Nike's from a Zumiez store, but you're supporting brands that are businesses run by a board of directors who only think about money. In the long term, you're allowing something foreign to enter inside, and giving them power to run how things work and shape the culture. This foreign entity, having originated outside of the very culture they wish to make money out of, cares little about skateboarding other than to make an ideal profit. For a company like Nike, skating is just another sport to make money out of, for Emerica, skating is their origin and their passion. Skaters being conscious about their purchase decisions is a good thing, I'm not bashing those that don't, it's not the biggest ethical dilemma in life to buy a pair of Nike SB's, but being aware how things will change is a good thing I think. I'd rather lots of small skater owned companies competing among themselves in the industry, rather than a few corporate conglomerates monopolizing everything.

[Larz]

I just ordered shit from Zumies, but they were Supras, so I'm doing my part

[DontHateJustSkate]

^ i like putting my money into brands run by skaters that put it back into skating rather than outside brands that will rinse skating for $$$ and disappear

i never used to care about keeping it core or w/e but that marc johnson interview changed my views imo i also think if you have a local skateshop you really should support it

[Hero]

Yea I go to zumiez also only to buy good skate brand stuff, not nike. fuck nike.

[Hero]

Plus the new koston 3s look disgusting as fuck

[Larz]

Yeah I believe in the cores as well. Cos once the big corporates are done with skateboarding or it starts to go out of style, they're gonna jump ship, but the core brands will still be there. You know, unless they didn't get enough money to survive and end up dying out

[Lisztomania]

Support local skateshop.
Only reason you go to zumies is if you dont have one.
Even then, online shopping is a thing.

I like knowing i helped out a smaller business owned by skateboarders with my small purchase. Even though it probably didnt help that much. A little rain drop in a lake. Or a puddle.

[Williamcoreskate]

I can see why one would think this way but you have to understand that professional skateboarding, if you're not the top 1 percent that gets picked up by a corporate brand, than your hurting to survive. I have friends that ride for big companies and I'm really happy for them when they get a good paycheck but at the end of the day when skateboarding isn't "profitable" anymore (this has happened in the past) companies like nike well just bail and drop their skate program. They have no love for the community, they just see you as a dollar sign not a person with a passion for the culture. So if you want to support a company like that than by all means its a free country but just know their intentions are not pure and when times get tough you'll see companies like zumiez rocking scooters and hover boards in order to make a profit.

[Williamcoreskate]

In the end it comes down to ethical shopping. Whether a brand has enough money to do cool shit for the community is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is they have a love for the skate community itself. You're obviously thinking strictly about the business end of things and that's fine, no one is telling you how to spend your money. This is just how a large majority of the community feels about the topic. Its not that we're trying to fight the ''machine'', the machine is the reason skaters can make a living while doing what they love. Its when people take advantage of the ''machine'' in order to make a profit and give the scraps to the skateboarders is where people have a problem.

[Hero]

Skateamerica.com is cheaper.

Everthing zumiez has, but everythings 10% cheaper than zumiez.com

I go to the zumiez store at devonshire mall in windsor. I'm too broke for online shopping

[arcolombo]

Everybody has different mixed feelings on Zumiez, so I just want to hear your opinions. Personally, I like my Zumiez shop, only because I really like dgk board and idk if they would sell them at my local skate shop (which is really fucking far) , and the guy I usually see there is chill as shit. I just don't really like big corporate skate brands that are in it for the money (nike sb). My favorite shoe company right now is vans, and board company is dgk. I also just started skating, so if you can inform me about some good brands, that would be cool as fuck.

Hi I am strongly into local and indy companies. I support brands that are skater owned, I don't wear Nike's, and stick to Fallen/Lakai/Vans. I'm not into the corporate companies because i want skating to remain diverse. I have no problem with corporate brands, however I really want indy brands to remain in skating.

shoe brands like dekline (RIP), Fallen, Lakai are all skater owned, and motivated.

I like indy skate brands like Zero, Studio, ReViVe, Death, Heroin, Welcome, because I want each of these brands to remain in skateboarding. Each company's team has a specific style. PlanB team are street, high-risk technical skating.

however people like Gou Miyagi , Richie Jackson who skate very un-orthodox, I want them to stay in skating.

I don't want skating to turn into corporate sport ran by X-Games and Street League. I want shit to stay raw.

[arcolombo]

I do the same.

[SkateBeforeHoes]

i used to fuck with my local shop when I coud..but im defintely in zumiez a lot more now since I work at a mall and its inside. I mean i'm sorta cool with all the dudes in there too so its sorta just feels like a second local shop to me. i'll buy dumb shit from there sometimes but i've brought hella boards and stuff from my local so i still feel like i'm supporting core skateboarding.

[objective]

Are yall fucking serious? Even if you dont buy nike from zumiez youre still supporting zumiez corporation who doesnt care about skateboarding. yall are fucking up if you dont support your local shop even if its farther. see how loyal yall are to fucking skateboarding...

[SIK]

Supporting local is supporting the skate community and keeps them from getting shut down just like buying skater distro shoes keeps them from going out of business due to competition from big brand co. There's no direct, immediate benefit, per se.

[the_unknown_soldier]

but what do i care if some cooperate big guy who isn't a skater makes money off my purchase? All i care about is what I have and what I have to give in return for it. Last time I checked emerica isn't offering me anything that nike isn't just like my local shop isn't offering me anything that zumies isn't. Its not worth it to me to only shop at local places just for the sake of "keeping it real"

and just cause emerica originated in the skate world, doesn't mean its not a business just like nike.

Your local isn't contributing to your scene at all? They've never contributed to parks, events, premieres, or anything?

[Popwar Pill]

I personally don't give a fuck, we've never had a skate shop that was closer than an hour away. There is/was a bmx store a half an hour away that sold skateboards, but it was strictly Black Label and Zeros.

I heavily respect Zero/Blackbox cause when we were raising money for our park eons ago we sent in a thing for the Tony Hawk Foundation. Zero/Fallen/Mystery sent us a care package saying they were sorry that they couldn't be of more help. Sent about 20 flannels in various sizes, about 10 fallen 3/4 sleeves, a Mystery deck and wheels. There was some smaller stuff they sent too but yeah.

To be completely honest I stay away from our new park cause of the sw@gged out kids that skate there now. Kids come from out of town to skate our park and then snake/bully people. I used to hate the whole "locals only" vibe, but now I'm starting to feel it, I spent 3-4 (spring through fall) years doing fundraisers, we'd put on demos, ask for donations etc. and my core group of homies raised around 10k in that time without any of the city's help only for the fuck running our parks and rec to pocket it.

Now a bunch of out of town douchers act like because their city's skateshop put on a demo at our parks grand opening that they own the fucking place.

[DontHateJustSkate]

i like supporting my local since all the shop staff are pretty much og skaters of the area, some of them are the main filmers or photographers etc and the shop itself always helps out by hosting events like jams, demos premiers etc, helping get local parks extended/fixed/etc, getting support from redbull for local DIY spots plus they launched a board company too with all the art/filming/photography being local and its nice to know money from purchasing there is either going into local stuff or paying the wages of rad dudes

i'd rather spend money at a shop that helps out locals rather than some in a mall store that doesnt know the difference between fs and bs

[the_unknown_soldier]

Most cities won't maintain a park if there's a lack of community, and in my opinion local shops are the glue to a strong community. Of course they're not the ones building the parks, but I know that my shop gives back to our parks, especially our DIY park that the city has tried to tear down in the past.


Events paying for themselves, again, depends on the community. Where I live now it's pretty strong, and there's always a good turnout whenever something's happening. But even so, you still need a venue, you need someone to back the event with prizes to make anybody give a shit. We host contests where the entry fees go directly back into the park, and the shop offers prizes on their dime to motivate more people to come out. They're hosting the video premieres and giving skateboarders (and artists alike) an avenue to present what they've created. I've seen (and been a part of) communities where there is no strong bond with much less of a local presence, and it shows.




If your area sounds more like the latter example I gave then that's unfortunate. I could debate both ways about a corporate presence in skateboarding, but to me having a thriving local shop with a crew that genuinely cares is an integral part to a skateboarding scene.

[DontHateJustSkate]

if we didnt have a local we woulda lost this spot under the bridge years ago which is basically what keeps skating alive up here when the weathers fucked





we also wouldnt have these

[Popwar Pill]

Most cities won't maintain a park if there's a lack of community, and in my opinion local shops are the glue to a strong community

Hasn't been a skateshop here since like...98? Yet our town/community is pretty dedicated to maintaining our parks (old and new). I would like to have a skateshop here that is like an art house DIY type, but to be honest it'd probably just turn into a hangout for burnouts. Ironically skate parks have always been the glue for us here and how skaters have met. Or just back in the day before FB and stuff I'd meet randoms street skating.

I don't know if you guys remember "Skateaholic" now "NotASkateaholic" but I ended up skating with one of his good friends via his friend visiting for the summer from Texas. Only when I added him on Myspace (aww yeah) I saw Skateaholic in his "top 8" friends or whatever and about shit myself.

[StarcraftLedZeppelin]

Skateaholic was a HUGE contributor to this site for a while