Skate Brooklyn

Great, competent service. Varied selection. Mysterious and sexy assistant to the manager Jeremy Hill will blow you away.

It’s been years since I’ve skated a mini ramp, so I took a skateboarding lesson yesterday with Chris. He is awesome — super nice and a great teacher. Explained things clearly and very patient. I’m so excited to have found this place — I can also practice there on the ramp — $ 5 unlimited time…

Got my own snowboarding gears and need to find a place to set it up. First I called Emilio’s, where I used to get my rentals from. They told me it’s $ 80 for setting up… Seriously??? Then I checked Unilocal and found Skate Brooklyn. The technical man was not there when I came in, but the store manager is super nice and helped me get everything done, for 20 bucks only. He even told me some snowboarding tips and explained to me how to adjust the bindings later on by myself.
Def a true five star.

These guys earned me a billion cool points with my nephews who were visiting from out of town. I know nothing about skateboarding so I brought them here to pick out some gear for their Christmas presents and find out if there were any indoor skate parks in the area. Chris, the store manager, was mad cool and got them set up with boards and helmets, gave them each a mini lesson, then let them have at it on the ramp — all while keeping my younger niece entertained with stickers he had behind the counter.
This is clearly a place for serious skaters and snowboarders but I also highly recommend it for adults who are just starting out or parents who are getting their kids going. The people here are totally unpretentious and clearly just excited about getting more people into the sport.

This place is awesome and the guys here are great. I’ve been here twice now — once to buy my snowboard, once to buy bindings, and I’ll be going back there for my boots. They’ll just talk with you forever about gear, snowboarding, skating, whatever (I spent 2 hours there tonight). And it’s not like over-​your-​head gear talk if you’re new. I’m a novice snowboarder and I never felt a moment of being talked down to or anything like that. Super friendly and super helpful. They never try to talk you up in price or anything like that — as a newbie it’s refreshing to have someone honestly say, «This is all you need.» It’s really the kind of business that is so good that it keeps me from buying stuff online.

So – I am new to the skater lifestyle. But who wouldn’t love a mini ramp ride while shopping. I’ve been here a few times since they moved to the new location including the grand re-​opening party which was awesome. I got some cool gear and some awesome assistance. I’m always happy with my purchases and the service. The new shop is a sweet setup and makes me feel like a part of the Skate Brooklyn family.

I had the best experience at this shop this past winter. They have a great rental package — 3 days for $ 30! And the equipment was high quality. Chris, the store manager, is extremely patient, knowledgable and friendly — he gave the right guidance to a new snowboarder! I even ended up buying boots, and he was really helpful in guiding me on how they should fit.

These guys are in to skating and snowboarding and are some of the most affable experts you have ever met. I wanted a new kit primarily to chase my son around on his scooter.
I rolled in and was patiently assisted in spite of my stated desire to primarily surf around town, chasing a 3yr old. We took our time and I selected a sweet Welcome deck with old school Independents and some moderate sized 60 mm pool riders for a bit of all around.
I would highly recommend this place to anyone interested in starting out, reconnecting or fully immersed and needing a replacement deck or a tune-​up. Everyone is super laid back and Pat helped everyone from behind the counter while encouraging the kids popping by from the Skate Brooklyn team to show an old no-​timer their latest tricks.
Makes you remember why you loved the culture as a kid. Great experience, great staff, great business.

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m a healthy athletic weight-​challenged person. I bike, swim, rollerblade & run. I’ve grown tired of putting on pounds in the winter and paying for indoor gyms that make me feel like a hamster in a wheel. Not only that, but a close friend recently developed a sensitivity to the summer sun. So what’s left to do if you can’t be in the sun and you hate indoor exercise? Winter sports. I’m talking snowshoeing, hiking, XC skiing, downhill skiing, and my favorite of them all… snowboarding. I would have never thought that a fat… err heavy person can snowboard. But I can. I have great balance and I can maneuver my weight and the board really well.
I have been having a hard time finding good, accurate, information on a snowboard suitable for my size and weight. All anyone seemed to recommend were men’s boards 160 cm or longer. That’s taller than I am. I’ve even asked a local ski shop and they kind of gave me this look meaning they didn’t know what to tell me or how to help me. I asked specific questions about boards but they seemed afraid to give me the answer in fear that I might take their info and run to an online retailer and purchase the gear cheaper. But I was honest and explained I am looking for a local shop to call home, a place where the staff can get to know me, where I can buy my gear and bring it in for tune-​ups. I felt hopeless and unsure in finding a local store that could help me find a board, until I drove by Skate Brooklyn. It was closed, but I spotted snowboards in the window. My heart raced. Checking Unilocal,I saw they’d be open soon. I did an errand and came back.
Upon walking in I didn’t see many snowboards. The section looked pretty slim but I was still excited. I saw the snowboard boots and I slowly skimmed the boards for any that I was familiar with or that had been recommended to me before. I felt a little nervous because when a heavy person walks into an athletic store people often look at you funny. I approached the counter and asked if there was someone I could talk to about snowboards and one guy smiled and said yeah and came out from behind the counter. I told him I had some questions. After he understood my concerns he launched into an enthusiastic explanation and description of all kinds of snowboards. As he explained the mechanics of the maneuvers that go with it, it was as if he was reliving his life’s passion in front of us on a board with no bindings and no snow. I can see how he must be great at boarding and found myself wishing I could sit on the snow and just watch him and his buddies do what they love to do. Now this was the kind of help I had been looking for: someone who listens, who shares my love for the sport, and who doesn’t look at me like an alien from outer space.
I asked, «So you’re sure that when I come to buy a board you will find something suitable for me?» He simply said, «Of course!» He joked, we laughed, and he hit the nail on the head answering all my questions. My friend kept running out to feed the parking meter while we chatted away like old buddies talking about our favorite sport. Before we said our goodbyes we shook hands and exchanged names. He was Chris, the new store manager. I am definitely coming back to this shop to get my board and boots and anything else I need.
A couple more things: they also run bus trips to places like Hunter Mountain and they hope to soon be able to rent out equipment.

My family is getting into winter sports. We’ve been snowboarding a couple of times recently using rentals. Rentals get you started but if we know that in order to progress we need gear of our own. We’ve been reading forums and watching Youtube, and still not getting the feeling that we know how to choose gear that will suit our individual needs as we go from noobs to snowboarders.
We stopped in at Skate Brooklyn because of its convenient location, and stayed a long while talking with Chris, the manager, about everything snowboarding. Immediately we found him to be unlike salespeople at other sports stores. First of all, he’s a seasoned snowboarder. He animates his conversation with physical gestures that say a lot more than words. Secondly, he’s young but he’s been selling snowboards, going to trade shows and trying demos for years, so he has a broad perspective. Thirdly, he gives no canned sales pitch. He’s full of information which he is happy to share, and wants to answer questions, go into details, and spread his enthusiasm to novices. We didn’t feel pressured to buy anything that day. When we are ready to do so we plan to return to Chris.
We learned all about the attributes of different kinds of snowboards (camber, rocker, etc.), and how they benefit different individuals and styles of riding. Chris laid boards down on the floor side-​by-​side, compared the bowed and curved areas, stood on them, flexed them, and demonstrated «pop» and other buzzwords. He explained how boards have been changed in recent years and how some design features have become very complicated, but that this evolution hasn’t necessarily been a straight line of improvement, and simpler can be better. For a newcomer it’s all very confusing. We really appreciated that Chris made plain sense of it, and we feel his shop will take the anxiety out of choosing gear. Some people will pick a local retailer’s brain and then go buy online: NOT COOL!

A friend suggested to take my board to Skate Brooklyn for a season tune up. I had heard great things about the shop since it opened about a year ago but hadn’t explored it myself. I have to say the service was equally as awesome as the stores selection of outwear and boards. Chris was super friendly and knowledgable about the products in store and Austin did a fantastic job on tuning my board. (It was in pretty bad shape when I brought it in). I walked out of the shop with a sweet pair of new pants and some awesome under layers in addition to getting a bad ass tune-​up.
Thanks guys, I’ll be back for sure!

Walking down Flatbush from Grand Army Plaza today I happened upon a new, freshly orange painted storefront. So fresh their sign wasn’t even up. Adorned with skate gear, I popped in to inquire about the shop.
Though the last time I was into skate culture was in the 8^th grade, this shop was pretty cool with colorful boards, gear and knowledgeable staff. They’re also affiliated with the bike shop across the street called Ride Brooklyn. If you’re into skating and skater culture, pop by Skate Brooklyn.