Welcome to another round of Comacan Questions, today’s guest plays a special part in something we hold near and dear here at Comacan, Canadian brands. Our guest this week offers distribution for Canadian brands but we will let them tell you more about that. We’re proud to have some of our product distributed through this guest and proud to help spread the word about them and some of the other Canadian brands they carry, please enjoy this week’s interview with Skatehouse Distribution.
What was the inspiration behind opening a Canadian Distribution?
Well, it really came down to the fact that we wanted to try and even the playing field for the little guys. A lot of shops support local brands but it will always be easier to log onto an existing distro and order a bit of everything in one stop. The goal was to make not only stocking easier but also restocking as well as acquiring new brands.
Why did you choose the name skatehouse?
The name we took from your classic skatehouse. You would see a bunch of skaters living together. Most of which didn’t have the financial resources to succeed on their own so they pooled together. We are essentially doing the same thing but with smaller indy brands. We all came together under one roof in an attempt to operate on a more sustainable level.
What makes skatehouse different?
We are the underdog. Our brands are all smaller and owned by skaters who know it’s an uphill battle. We don’t ever plan on being the dominant supplier to any skateshop.skate shop want to be a small offering at every Canadian shop.
What does skateboarding mean to you personally?
For me it’s been a part of my life so long I am almost not even know how to answer that. It was a part of my family before I was even born. I grew up idolizing a family member who was a huge part of Canadian skateboard history, as well as numerous other family members. It’s given me the majority of my life’s lessons, when to keep going and when to give up, , victories and defeats, its brought me the majority of my friends and the thought of having never gotten into it really leaves my mind blank. I’m almost 37 now and I don’t know what I would even be today without skateboarding.
What is your favourite part of being a Canadian distributor?
So, it actually reminds me of the battles I read about when small brands started to push back against the higher corporate ones. That being said a good number of corporate ones around now a days are owned by skaters but I also find their offering get watered down as they all geared get towards the masses rather than skaters, and I get it. I mean these are big companies with people depending on pay cheques so if it means you gotta pump out some generic bland stuff to make sure you’re selling enough to keep your company afloat I can’t say I would do it any different. For us however we are all just skaters with other jobs that pay the bills. We are in this for the pure passion, we often take a loss and keep going because skating is our life, we simply don’t know how to live any other way.
What brands do you carry?
Well it’s a growing list, and more are added every month or 2. Currently as of today we have Dad skateboards, RX Bearings, Philly’s, Letat, Wienerdog Skateboards, Comacan, Skatanic Disciples, Gnarmy, Baitshop, Retna Wheels, Blotto Wheels, Mini MK 1, Mumber-Fur Griptape, Neighbourhood Skate Mag, Doll Skateboards, Beans skate Co, Posur Magazine, Only One Skateboards, Years skateboards, HZRD, and a few others
Where can people find more information about Skatehouse?
Our Instagram @skatehousedistribution but best place is honestly the website, www.SkatehouseDistribution.com Its open to the public but our main market is wholesale to shops.
Anyone you’d like to thank?
The brands, without the brands we would literally be nothing. Especially the ones that took that first leap with us.