When walking past a skateboard shop, the first thing you may notice are the graphic tees, the hoodies, the hats, belts and the sneakers. While most skate shops at the mall or around town do focus on apparel, you can also find stores that cater more to selling complete skateboards, wheels, bearings, decks, helmets and pads. You may also find skateboarding videos, music CDs with great skating compilations and information about a local skateboard camp if you’re lucky. Ideally, your local skate shop will be a place where you can hang out, meet friendly store clerks with similar interests and purchase items that will facilitate your growth as a skater.

Safety gear is available at a sporting goods store or a specialty skateboard shop. According to the Academy of American Pediatrics, skateboarding accidents account for more than 50,000 emergency room visits and 1,500 hospitalizations each year. Of these accidents, 60% involve children under the age 15. These children are generally inexperienced, do not wear the proper safety skateboarding gear, skate near traffic and try risky stunts. The most common injuries are bruises, abrasions, strains, sprains, fractures and dislocations of the arms, legs, neck and torso. Facial injuries like broken noses and broken jaws, as well as severe head injuries like concussions, blunt head trauma and closed head injuries are also prevalent. To minimize their risk, both professional and amateur skateboarders buy skateboard helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, ankle braces and gloves.

In addition to safety equipment, you’ll find that skateboard shops have various goods for your skater lifestyle. There’s apparel with skateboarding logos such as Element, Zero, Plan B, Baker, Blind, Independent, Darkstar, Birdhouse, Etnies, Zoo York, Volcom and DC. You can buy shirts, pants, hats, belts, sunglasses, socks, underwear, bathing suits, swim trunks and wallets that showcase your favorite brands and let other skaters know how you spend most of your free time. Often times, surf logo brands like Roxy, Quicksilver and Ron Jon will also appear in skate shops since the cultures are so similar. The one downside of purchasing skate apparel is that you wind up paying a lot more for these items. It’s not uncommon to pay $20 for a t-shirt or $40 for a pair of pants and they really don’t last any longer than other clothes. Sometimes though, you’ll find shirts that are good at wicking away moisture or pants that offer more range of motion, which could be helpful to your hobby.

A skateboard shop is also a great place to pick up a skateboarding magazine. Thrasher is one of the all-time biggest and best skate mags you could possibly find on the stands. It features full-color photography, interviews with skaters and information on music and other lifestyle elements. Transworld Skateboarding Magazine is another popular monthly selection that features top-notch photography, trick tip tutorials, travel stories from around the world, skateboard reviews, interviews and event lists. Slap is a newer magazine with a decent following who love the contests, merchandise and artistic photos. Beginners love Concrete Wave, which is 100% skateboarding, focusing obsessively on strict technique. With all these excellent items to buy, it’s a wonder skateboarders don’t come out of these shops with holes in their pockets.

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