Whaddya Mean No Mall Brands?
Some people are confused about our position on so-called “mall brands” so hopefully this post can clarify a few things.
We’re from the era where skateshops were specialty stores, meaning you couldn’t find the same product at the local mall or corporate outlet. We are psyched on and support all types of skateboarding, but we generally avoid the bigger, more established brands that everyone else carries. This results in more diversity in our local skate scene.
1) Serio is not anti-Girl, anti-Deluxe, anti-Kayo or anti-(fill in the blank with Legitimate Skate Company X). Our decision not to carry Legitimate Skate Company X is not an attack on Legitimate Skate Company X, or on anybody associated with Legitimate Skate Company X. We are fans of all legitimate skate brands and recognize their immeasurable contributions to both skateboard history and the skateboarding community at large. We don’t carry them because you can get them everywhere else in Ventura County, not because we think they’re wack brands. We’ve got mad love for skateboarding!
2) When it comes to what we stock, the idea behind Serio is to offer a truly skater-owned-and-operated alternative to everything in the local shopping mall and other skateshops in Ventura County. That’s it. We’re not trying to play skate politics, just selling quality sk8 product from brands that we think are keeping it real.
3) We tend to focus on brands that are skateboarding-only, or skater-owned-and-operated, or geographically significant, or in some way “off the beaten path” of mainstream skateboarding. There are a lot of small- to medium-size skater-ran companies out there, and we feel these small independent brands deserve a piece of the pie.
4) The fact that we don’t regularly stock Skate Company X doesn’t mean we won’t have an occasional shirt, sticker or deck on the wall from Legitimate Skate Company X.
5) We’re not saying we literally won’t have one item you can find in the local shopping mall. If that we’re the case, we couldn’t carry trucks! But other than that, we’re pretty much exclusively a skate-specialty store.
6) The fact that we don’t stock Nike or Converse or other “corporate sport shoes” is just that: a decision not to carry certain brands. We don’t carry these brands because you can get them anywhere, and they’re large sporting good corporations. As with #1, this decision is in no way an attack or disrespectful gesture towards any skater associated with those brands. We know good people affiliated with these companies. The fact that we don’t stock a particular company doesn’t mean we aren’t down for people we know who are affiliated with the company. If we roast a company, it doesn’t mean we’re roasting the riders personally.
Make sense? Good, now quit cryin’ and go skate.
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