Interview with New Garland Texas Skate Shop, BMX n’ Skate
Growing up in Garland, Texas in the early 2000’s, my friends and I had only a few choices for local skate shops. We had Fast Forward, One Love, and a smaller shop I never got to go to right off Buckingham near the Taco Bueno. All three of those shops have closed now so it was awesome to find out recently that there’s a new independent shop in the Garland area called BMX n’ SK8. As you can imagine from the title, the shop caters to both sports. I was curious to find out what this shop was about and where it came from so I reached out to the shop’s owner Steve Farmer and VOILA: Enjoy this article!
When did you start skating/BMXing?
“My first skateboard was a cheesy Nash, like most children of the 80’s. But my parents were super cool for my Christmas of ‘88 and let me pick out a Tony Hawk deck from SkateTime at Bachman Lake, home of the “Clown Ramp”. A few years later I moved up to a McGill deck and it was my favorite! Of course you had to have a BMX bike back in those days. Never got into racing, but the movie “Rad” made me a huge fan of freestyle. I got lucky and won my BMX bike from a contest KTVT Channel 11 was having, and I rode it for years! Fast forward to about 2009, I had an itch to find a BMX bike that would fit my now old man size, and I bought my first 24” cruiser. Still have it to this day, and it is one of the most recognized Fireman’s Cruzers in Texas!”
What sparked the idea to create a shop and how did it come to fruition?
“I had thought about a BMX/skate shop years ago. I saw the need that many bike shops didn’t serve the needs of the BMX community, or just half-assed it. I knew there was a niche to fill. Having the love for all things BMX, and knowing the skating scene is huge in the DFW area, I figured the 2 would be a great fit together. But now I’m excited to be involved with the ever growing roller skating scene and scooters, and knowing Garland was finally building their skatepark....all the right pieces were falling into place.”
What was your biggest challenge in taking the shop from an idea to an opened skate shop?
“I’ve had a couple of small businesses in the past. I knew the steps to get going; tax ID’s, C.O.’s, insurance, etc., but I was working a job that was absolutely killing my brain time! I’d come home and would try to work on my ideas to get it going as a side business, but could not get my brain to work. Then that funny little thing called Covid19 hit, and I was laid off from my job. That downtime gave my brain time to wake up, and realize it was a blessing in disguise. I pulled the trigger on a lease, began buying up store fixtures little by little, inventory little by little, and had great support from my family, friends, and an awesome girlfriend that put in the time to get those doors open for business.”
It looks like your shop is right down the road from where the new Garland Skatepark is being built. What's your thought on that park, it's sordid history of needing to be built?
“I’m so happy the city is finally using that bond money for not just the skatepark, but for other great developments around Garland. I knew there was such a huge demand from the locals for the skatepark, and I wanted to be right there to support those guys once it opens. Covid19 has pushed back the ground breaking for the moment, but they have rescheduled it to commence later this fall/winter 2020, hoping to have it opened early spring! We’re staying in contact with great people from the City Council, Parks and Rec, and the Downtown Development Committee to keep it on their minds, cause there are so many locals ready to go to it. So what I would tell the skaters is, “we’re pushing for ya too!”
Random question:
What's one of your favorite skate or BMX videos and your favorite song to ride to?
“I love watching clips of skaters just throwing down smooth park runs, and old school 80’s freestyle clips. As far as riding jams, I can cruise to any great 80’s-90’s music!”
Where are you guys located and how can people follow/support you online and off?
“We are across from IndyRC World(those guys are old friends too), and It’s kind of hidden in the back of the building that faces Garland Road, but it’s a cozy little spot our skaters and riders are calling home now. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and now we are shooting a weekly show from our in-shop studio that can be be found on the Slidroll channel on YouTube!”
I want to thank Steve for taking the time out of his busy schedule to do this interview. It’s so awesome to read about how people make their dreams come true like Steve has. If you live in the Dallas area or you’re passing through, be sure to stop by his shop and support it. Make sure you subscribe to the SlidRoll youtube channel too. Thanks for reading!
