Skate shops and record store are really the backbone to the punk and skate communities. You can go in, hang out, check out the new stuff and go from there.
I bought my first real punk CD from Butlers Skateboarding many, many years ago. The skate shop is long gone, but I remember going in there to check out skate stuff and they had a little rack of CDs, I grabbed the Bristles CD.
I remember really wanting to be on the skate team but, eh, it wasn’t meant to be. I was really never that good, just enjoyed scooting around.
With that being said, it brings me to the close of Rhett Skateboarding. Rhett was located in Bloomington, Indiana and while I never got a chance to check it out – but Jonathan (owner) took a bunch of stuff in the store for me, and was very enthusiastic about my various enterprises, which I am very thankful for.
Check out what Rhett has left for shirts on their Instagram.
Unfortunately Rhett is closing down –
Here is what Jonathan said:
Every small business owners fear is when they have to tell the world that they’re closing their doors.
Well, unfortunately, today is that day.
Rhett Skateboarding is Closing.It’s honestly both sad and a relief. We love our community more than anything. But after years of struggling, it’ll be nice to not have to stress as much about business, and just get to focus on skating.
Saturday is Skateshop Day. It will be our last one. We’d love for folks to swing by and give us a high 5, and talk about how much skating means to us.
Don’t worry, it’s not our last day open. We’ll close our doors for good in late March. More details on that later.Thanks for all the support and love these past 13 (almost 14) years. We couldn’t have made it last this long without you. It truly means the world.
Paul runs Give Praise Records and is the Editor at Shackle Magazine. Paul hangs out on Cape Cod in Massachusetts with his wife and son, Christopher. He also has been working at a offset print shop since 2003, and still tries to get out and skateboard on very small curbs.
