Tim Guy at the College Hill Store
My business partner, Dan McClean, was 18 when he started the shop. At the time, there were no skate shops in East Auckland — it was just a case of giving it a shot. Dan and a couple of friends (Matt and Jeremy) pulled what little money they had together to open the doors. The first few years were rough, with three break-ins and a ram-raid, all while working full-time jobs elsewhere to pay the bills.
I was friends with the boys, having grown up in the area and seeing what they were doing. At the time, I had just returned from living in Canada and was working out what I wanted to do when Dan called me out of the blue and asked me if I wanted to get involved and move the shop from the original Howick location to Botany. Without thinking about it, I jumped at the chance.
Always Check on your homies
(Laughs) No. We didn’t expect it to last a year! The first decade was pretty much fighting for survival. First at the Howick shop with the break-ins, then we almost went bust in the first six months after moving to Botany. It took time to establish ourselves, build a community and grow our knowledge to a point where we felt comfortable opening College Hill. That was like starting again as we transitioned to developing a team and giving them ownership of the stores. Each store has evolved from there, understanding what we know and figuring out what we don’t. That can be a hard lesson at times.
Cover boys, Theo and Cato
We have faced countless challenges and setbacks – floods, robberies, ram-raids. The most challenging aspect is finding the motivation to keep going despite it all. Having an incredible team around us has been a huge factor in our ability to survive and grow over the years. We have always tried to stay focused on looking for opportunities in adversity and using challenges to learn, refocus, and grow, both in ourselves and as a business.
College Hill flood, 2023 (One of many)
One of the aspects of skateboarding that I love is the constant change, and streetwear and snowboarding tie into that. It’s that evolution that makes skateboarding unique and forms the foundation of the culture. After a lifetime of skateboarding, I am still hyped to see how it ebbs and flows. Part of growing the business is to create opportunities for new blood to come in and provide a pathway for Boardertown to evolve with the culture — it’s been incredible to see that happen.
Ram Raid, Howick, 2005
Twenty years is a long time, and there have been plenty of highlights. Some of the most memorable are being included in Lucas Beaufort’s Heart book, holding the “Battle at Barry” comp, Arto Saari skating our Queenstown bowl, touring Australia with Nyjah, Evan Smith, Brandon Westgate and Nick Garcia (with Nick rocking Nyjah’s undies on his head) and snowboarding with Stale Sandbech and DCP. Contributing to the skate community through events and our team, creating a pathway for development and watching them grow and go on to bigger things has been really fulfilling. It’s just been rad to see all the people interacting with Boardertown as it’s grown – all the staff, suppliers, team, customers and community that have got behind us and supported us throughout our journey.
B-Town, circa 2007
Twenty years is a long time, and there have been plenty of highlights. Some of the most memorable are being included in Lucas Beaufort’s Heart book, holding the “Battle at Barry” comp, Arto Saari skating our Queenstown bowl, touring Australia with Nyjah, Evan Smith, Brandon Westgate and Nick Garcia (with Nick rocking Nyjah’s undies on his head) and snowboarding with Stale Sandbech and DCP. Contributing to the skate community through events and our team, creating a pathway for development and watching them grow and go on to bigger things has been really fulfilling. It’s just been rad to see all the people interacting with Boardertown as it’s grown – all the staff, suppliers, team, customers and community that have got behind us and supported us throughout our journey.
I started skateboarding in the late 80s and snowboarding in around 94’. I was hooked from the moment I started. Until the night Dan called me to get involved with the shop, I never envisaged getting into the industry. I remember the feeling of walking into a skateboard shop and the excitement and anticipation of looking at the board wall, picking out a deck, and watching it get gripped. That is how we want kids to feel walking into our stores, and it’s important we never lose sight of why we are here. Their experience with skateboarding or snowboarding is only just beginning when they walk out the door with a new setup. We have always tried to make Boardertown bigger than ourselves, bringing people into the business who have the same passion we do and can help us make it a reality.
It’s been rad to work with Todd Francis for Skate Shop Day, and we did a cool collaboration with Mark Gonzales for our 20th anniversary this year (a huge thanks to Morri at Irrom for holding it down). A highlight for me was French artist Lucas Beaufort flying out and creating an art piece for the College Hill store, which we still have hanging. From that, we built up a friendship with Lucas, collaborating on decks and apparel and then during COVID, Lucas reached out to us to be a part of his “Heart” book on skate shops alongside Civilist, Ben G, Precinct and other shops from around the world. Another highlight has been working with Dylan Govender (our head buyer and key part of the team) on several collections over the years to raise funds for mental health and other charities. It’s rad to create something positive and give back to people who are doing good work in New Zealand.
I am not sure, but one thing is for certain and that’s change, so whatever comes we are here for it!