I’m having a difficult time remembering under what occasion I was in Deep Ellum on that chilly December evening. It was a typical Saturday night in that part of town; power walking club hoppers, impatient drivers, concert goers, the drunk and disorderly, the annoying crowd on scooters and the people who only come to Elm Street for Serious Pizza. I was informed that there was a grand opening skate shop party on Main Street. Intrigued, I left whatever venue I was previously occupying (more than likely it was Club Dada) and headed towards the shop. As I walked inside the spot, the first thing that I noticed was this large bowl, filled with local talented skaters shredding it. The place was packed and everyone was sharing nothing less of a good vibe, the epitome of a social gathering. I ended up meeting with the owner of the skate shop and acquired the shop’s email. After a conversation and a month or so later, I found myself at the skate shop again, with camera in hand, ready to shoot. This occasion was a birthday party and like the opening night, the shop was filled with friends, associates and skaters. Beer, firecrackers and beautiful smiles filled the atmosphere as the night carried on. Whoever’s birthday party it was for had a great time.

The Point Skate Shop is ran by two gentlemen: Nate Smith and Daniel Brodsky. I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Nate. Born in Dallas, Smith has been a skater since 93/94. One of his earliest memories was skating Eisenbergs skatepark when it first opened up in the mid 90’s. 2005 rolled around and Smith hightailed it to California to attend the Musician’s Institute but ended up doing more skating than schooling. In 2008, he decided to join the army and got deployed to Iraq once for a year. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to skate during his time period with the military, which resulted in four years off the board. He eventually moved back to Dallas in 2013, picked skating back up and befriended Brodski. Shortly after, they became employees at a local skate shop in Fairview/ Allen area, located roughly 30 mins north of Dallas on US-75. During their time, they were unsatisfied with how the owner was running the place. Eventually the shop shut down but Smith and Brodski weren’t empty-handed. They obtained the knowledge of properly running a shop, the financial aspect/ budgeting, start up cost, etc. With a very small loan and the rest out of pocket, The Point Skate Shop was born.

The first location opened up in Fairview, across the street for the Allen Outlet Mall. Smith saw success in the first location for a couple of reasons; majority of the big North Texas skate parks were located in the area, I.e McKinney and Allen skate park. At the time, the only other popular, local shop was Index Skate Shop in Dallas. It was too far for skaters in the far north suburban areas. The Point Skate Shop’s location catered to the area, skaters didn’t have to drive far to the nearest local DFW skate shop anymore. It wasn’t until a little over a year ago that Smith decided to open up a skate shop in Deep Ellum. In my opinion, it was the perfect time and the perfect place; well populated area that’s in the center of everything, Index Skate shop was closed and I haven’t heard much about the Rec Skate Shop since they moved locations.

“It’s hard, it’s only about 10 people working for the skate shop and two of us are owners” Smith says, “we’re skaters, not businessmen “

As you can imagine, running two skate shops in two different locations is a hassle; from the maintenance and upkeep to the finance and making sure business runs smoothly. “[ To the location in Fairview] At first, no one knew who we were. We made just enough to keep the doors open.” The main goal was to build a bowl inside (thanks to Jason Spears for building the bowls in both locations) and become a place for people to come, hangout and skate.

Another goal for The Point is to have it all when it comes to the skate culture. Anything new or modern, Smith wants it in the shop. Meeting customer’s needs is very important to him as a business owner, being able to have any and everything a customer wants is essential. “Skaters are specific. They ride a certain size board, a certain size of wheels, a certain size trucks. You can’t sell them something else, you have to have what they need.”

Aside from that and the good atmosphere you get when you visit The Point, what sets the shop apart from others is the main attraction; the bowl. It’s a huge plus as it serves as a designated area to skate inside the shop. It adds character and it makes another stream of income as the shop offers skate lessons, “There are plenty of families on each corner of the city that have kids that love skateboarding, so they pay for lessons, especially during the spring and summer.”

“I love the Dallas skateboarding family, it’s pretty rad, everyone knows everyone”

The Point is here to stay. With 4dwn and Guapo Skatepark just minutes down the street, it makes it easier to put on for the city of Dallas and host events to cater to the community. This is just the beginning for this location “The Dallas Skate Community is so strong because from the skate parks to the skate shop, it’s all ran by local skaters.” Since the Dallas grand opening in December, it’s been so far so good and Smith plans on keeping it that way. For more information like upcoming events, news, etc, visit www.pointskateshop.com