CRE8IVE SK8 keeps doors open for 20 years making it the oldest independent skate shop in country

Keeping a shop open in Townsville for 20 years is no easy feat, especially one which rolls with trends.

Adrian Alderson celebrating his shop CRE8IVE SK8 20th anniversary. Pictured with his Street Luge Board.

KEEPING a shop open in Townsville for 20 years is no easy feat, especially one which rolls with trends.

CRE8IVE SK8 has somehow managed to crack the secret.

Store owner Adrian Alderson, 60, first opened the Aitkenvale independent skate shop on Ross River Rd in September, 1999.

“It started off as an idea to opening in about a week. I decided we needed to open for the school holidays,” he said.

“I didn’t get much sleep that week. It was just after the Murray skatepark opened, the first skatepark in Townsville.

“There was no (specialised) skate shop in Townsville apart form a bike shop up in Mooney St and City Beach in Stocklands selling some stuff.”

Mr Alderson, a keen skateboarder and street luge rider, said business was slow at first but did rise along with the popularity of skateboarding.

“It was pretty quiet, I guess because we started so quickly,” he said.

He said the popularity of sports like skateboarding fluctuated.

“Certainly skateboarding was a lot more popular than today,” he said.

“Now scooters are massive. Scooters (were also) massive in the early 2000s.”

Mr Alderson said people were however getting back into skateboarding.

“There’s kids that are going back to skateboards because of the challenge,” he said.

“There’s quite a pronounced group of alder skateboarders in their 30s and 40s are getting back into it.”

Mr Alderson joked it could be seen as a midlife crisis.

“It’s a lot cheaper than a sports car and a 20-year-old girlfriend,” he said.

Since opening the doors of the shop two decades ago, Mr Alderson said it had only closed for four days — two during Cyclone Yasi and two during the February floods. He makes sure the shop is open a few hours every Christmas.

“There’s nothing worse as a kid than getting something that doesn’t work,” he said.

His mind casts back to a girl he helped a few years ago who was given the wrong sized skates for Christmas while her sisters fitted perfectly. Mr Alderson said the girl had been sobbing but happily exchanged them for the correct size.

“Seeing that girl smile, that made all the other 19 Christmases open worthwhile,” he said.

CRE8IVE SK8 has evolved over the years, stocking street luges, in-line skates, scooters and spray paint.

Mr Alderson is however against selling skateboards powered by electric motors.

He said they were a danger if bought by novices, with the skateboards being capable of reaching speeds of up to 40km/h.

The veteran skater, who started when he was nine, was critical of the growing popularity of electric powered skateboards and scooters.

“Laziness is a big issue (to the sport),” he said.

Mr Alderson said one his major skateboard suppliers told him CRE8IVE SK8 was the oldest independent skate shop in the country.

“It’s scary really, the oldest business in the industry is only 20 years old, it’s quite sad really,” he said. “We’re quiet achievers.”

Originally published as CRE8IVE SK8 keeps doors open for 20 years making it the oldest independent skate shop in country