My Husband Now Owns A Skateboard Shop! (Update)

Orignial post (August 2010): Sorry fellow greenies, I'm taking a break from my usual green topics this week to talk about my husband and his exciting new job. My husband Brandon and I have been together now for 7 years, married for 3. For as long as I've known him, Brandon has worked in heating and cooling, installing duct work into new construction. Although he's had to deal with extreme heat in the summer, freezing cold temps in the winter, he has enjoyed the freedom that comes from going to a new place every day. Nine to five office jobs are just not his thing. But after he took up his childhood hobby of skateboarding 3 years ago, he's been itchy to find a job that has something to do with skating. You see, Brandon started skateboarding when he was about five years old, and he stayed with it for many years. See the pics on the side and below of him at his 11th birthday. Later in his childhood, skateboarding took a backseat when his family moved from Florida to Kansas City where football and basketball were more popular than skating.

But as I mentioned before, about 3 years ago Brandon got back into skateboarding. He found a group of guys, who were his age and older, yet still had a passion for skateboarding. Unfortunately, back in 2008, while skateboarding one day, Brandon fell and broke his knee cap. This knocked him out of work for 2 months and off the board for a few more. Luckily though, he didn't have to have knee surgery and when he recovered, he jumped back on his skateboard...this time with some knee pads! ( :

Over the past two years Brandon has continued to skateboard nearly every weekend, and even during the week. And although he liked his job, he began to wonder if he could do it forever. We joked and planned that one day he would have his own skate shop, what can we say, we're dreamers! But, about a month ago, Brandon got some good news. He got a call from one of his skate buddies who said a local skate shop owner was looking to sell his shop...needless to say, he jumped on the opportunity. Turns out the owner was getting ready to relocate and as a result either needed to sell the shop or just close it down. Seeing as it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, Brandon made an offer...and the owner accepted!

Over the past few weeks, Brandon has worked with the owner to "learn the ropes", get accounts transferred, and order new merchandise. As of last Saturday, it became official, Brandon is the new owner of Dairdevil Boards! Contracts were signed, keys were exchanged, and you can bet I had one happy husband!

Now a few things are still up in the air, such as Brandon's other job as an HV/AC installer. But for the time being he continues to work there full time, then after his day is done there, he comes home and heads out to the skate shop, where he stays till closing. Since he's not able to be there full time, a skate buddy of his is working the morning/afternoon shift until Brandon can work there full time, which will hopefully be in a few months. In the meantime, he's gone quite a bit "working his two jobs" but I know he's happy and loving it...the skate shop part that is! I just kind of see this transition time like when I was getting my Master's degree and other grad classes, on top of teaching...it was rough for a while, but it was all worth it. I know it will be the same for this.

(Since purchasing the shop back in August of 2010, here's some updates about the shop! They have a new website and online shopping is now up and ready to go...check it out!)
Here's some info about the shop: It's called Dairdevil Boards (yes, it's really spelled that way!) and it's located in Mission, Kansas located near Johnson Drive and Metcalf.

Their hours are: Monday-Saturday: 11-6, and Sunday: 12-5.

Here's their website: click here.
Their online store: click here.

And their Facebook page: click here.

Also, Brandon's looking into some GREEN options for his skateboard shop, such as: skate decks made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, wheels made from recycled materials, and even some boards with eco/green messages.

So that's the story about how my husband bought and now owns his very own skate shop. It may not seem like a big deal to some, but for Brandon, it's a dream come true. He loves the fact that his "work" is buying, selling, and just talking to people about skateboarding. I'm pretty excited for him and I'll keep you all posted on how it goes. And if you need any skateboard supplies, you know where to go! ( :