Skateboarding in 2025: Culture, Community, and Capital

Skateboarding has always been more than just a sport; it’s a way of life. I grew up spending hours at my local skate shop, sharing stories with friends, talking about the pros, and watching skating videos that made you want to be outside until the streetlights came on. Those shops weren’t just stores; they were community hubs where culture, creativity, and camaraderie thrived. Every board, every sticker, every demo carried the energy of the streets, and you could feel it in the people around you.

But reading recent reports and reflecting on what I’ve seen firsthand, it’s clear that the landscape is changing, and not always for the better. Daniel Stone’s No Comply: Private Equity and Skateboarding lays out a stark picture: iconic brands like World Industries and Dwindle Distribution have been reshaped, or hollowed out, by private equity. These leveraged buyouts prioritize short-term profits over long-term health, offloading debt onto companies while sidelining the very skaters who made them thrive (Stone, 2025). I’ve seen this up close. I remember when these brands would host local contests and demos. Riders were treated like family, and the shop owners were partners in the process. After the buyouts, those contests and demos disappeared, replaced by corporate branding campaigns that felt distant and transactional. The culture, authentic, messy, and creative, started to erode, replaced by spreadsheets and ROI projections. When was the last time you heard of a skate demo?

David Dayen’s article, Private Equity Ripped the Heart Out of Skateboarding, echoes Stone’s point: multiple buyouts and bankruptcies have hollowed out the industry (Dayen, 2025). These aren’t just business failures; they’re community failures. Longtime employees, sponsored riders, and local shops, the lifeblood of skateboarding are being sidelined. I’ve watched friends who built their lives around skating lose jobs, boards, and teams. Seeing it happen made me realize: the logos may still be on the decks, but the heart behind them is gone. Skateboarding isn’t just about products; it’s about relationships, mentorship, and culture. When those get stripped away, what’s left is just another commodity.

The QS Anonymous Brand Survey Part 2 gave insiders a chance to weigh in. Brands like Hockey, Adidas, Baker, and Deluxe are praised for keeping skating relevant through media, community engagement, and support for skaters (Munzenrider, 2025). But the survey also points to systemic issues: rising prices, fewer in-person demos, and younger skaters who engage more online than on the streets (Munzenrider, 2025). I see this in the kids I teach today. Many have never experienced a local demo or a small skate contest. They see skateboarding primarily through Instagram or TikTok. It’s exciting that they’re interested, but it’s a different kind of engagement. They’re skating less as a lifestyle and more as content or a hobby, disconnected from the community that made skating thrive. Skateboarding was how I got around town to meet up with my friends.

Adding another layer to this, economist Thomas Kemp has shown that skateboarding carries its own ethics, resiliency, self-betterment, and non-competition that often conflict with capitalist pressures (Kemp, 2025). His research highlights the value of public skateparks as community spaces, showing that skaters are willing to invest significant time and money to access high-quality parks. More skateparks, more grassroots infrastructure, and less overemphasis on commercialization could strengthen skateboarding culture from the ground up. Kemp argues that skating itself teaches skills that are valuable in life: perseverance, collaboration, and joy in creative expression.

Despite all this, there are sparks of hope. Local crews, DIY spots, and skater-owned brands like WKND, SOVRN, and Last Resort Shoes are keeping culture alive. Recently, we helped a group build and put together skateboard decks. Seeing them collaborate, celebrate each choice, and problem-solve together reminded me why skating matters. It’s not just boards and shoes—it’s creativity, autonomy, and the joy of making something with your own hands. The QS survey also highlights ways forward: more community-building events, accessible pricing, and programs that reach young skaters. It’s a reminder that skateboarding doesn’t need to scale like a corporate brand to succeed; it just needs to stay connected to its people.

A friend recently asked me if I’d be willing to recognize that while private equity did a lot of harm, things might be starting to change for the better. He pointed to companies like Sidewalk and Nidecker as examples. I think he’s right. Sidewalk is looking to grow the sport with their Push Completes, making boards more accessible to beginners, while Nidecker stepped in to save core skate shoe brands like éS, Etnies, and Emerica. Moves like these suggest that the pendulum could be swinging back toward companies who value the culture and want to support skating’s future, not just extract its profits.

Skateboarding’s intersection with private equity is a cautionary tale. Profit alone cannot sustain culture. Every time we support small skate shops, go to a local demo, or ride with friends, we reinforce what really matters. The brands may come and go, the corporate structures may rise and fall, but the streets, the ramps, and the people will always define skateboarding. I like to think that as long as skaters keep creating spaces for connection, community, and fun, we can preserve the heart of skateboarding, even in 2025.

References

Dayen, David. (August, 2025). Private Equity Ripped the Heart Out of Skateboarding. https://prospect.org/economy/2025-08-21-private-equity-ripped-heart-out-of-skateboarding/

Stone, Daniel. (August, 2025). No Comply: Private Equity and Skateboarding. https://cepr.net/publications/no-comply-private-equity-and-skateboarding/

Munzenrider, Mike. (August, 2025). The QS Anonymous Brand Survey Asks: What’s the ‘Matter’ With Skateboarding? — Part 2. https://quartersnacks.com/2025/08/the-qs-anonymous-brand-survey-asks-whats-the-matter-with-skateboarding-part-2/

Kemp, T. (2025). Shred Central: Estimating the user benefits associated with large public skateparks. Journal of Economic Analysis, 4(1), 90. doi:10.58567/jea04010004

Sidewalk Skateboarding. (2025). Push Completes. https://www.sidewalkskateboarding.com 

Nidecker Group. (2025). Our Brands: éS, Etnies, Emerica.https://www.nidecker.com