Modest is not the first word that comes to mind to describe skateboarding. Yet a Berwyn-based skateboard and apparel shop run by two young Oak Park and River Forest High School graduates is named just that. “I thought of a trait I would use to describe myself,” admits Matt Ward, 26, of Oak Park who co-owns the store with Kevin Breen, 21, of River Forest. “You know, we want to give skateboarding a good image; we want to be respectful and be respected.”
Ward is all that and more. The neatly-groomed, well-spoken, BMX pro-biker turned skater firmly believes skateboarding someday will get the international athletic recognition it deserves. “It will be in the Olympics,” he says confidently. “It’s just a matter of time.” Breen is a professional skateboarder.
Ward worked at the skateboard shop for several years when it went by the name First Gear. Then the owner decided to sell. Ward seriously considered the opportunity and put together a business plan. He first presented the co-ownership to Zach Stuart-Fry, Ward’s best friend from Oak Park who is also a leading Chicago-based skateboarder and the “star” of the First Gear team.
“He didn’t want the risk,” Ward says simply. “I understand it. Skateboarders don’t make big money; they need real jobs.” Stuart-Fry joined the skate team of Uprise! a large skateboard shop in Chicago but still keeps his day job working for the financial markets downtown. Ward then presented the opportunity to Breen, a top local skateboarder, who agreed to take the chance.
But for the guys, it’s not all about the money. “These kids wouldn’t have a place to hang,” Ward says, referring to the young boys gathering in the store. “What would they do? Mess around, get into trouble.” The boys are at the shop so much that their families are in the habit of calling the store to talk with them.
A hub in the local skating community
“I want to be a pro skater,” says 10-year-old Ryan Garcia of Cicero quietly, hands in his sweatshirt pockets, nodding his head. His father is living in their native country of Guatemala. His mother recently lost her job at a local bakery. “My mom wants me to be a pro.” When asked if Garcia wanted to be like Bam Margera, skateboard star and pop culture icon, the normally stoic Garcia cracks a smile. “I want to buy my Mom a house,” he says softly, “but I wouldn’t wreck my uncle’s car” referring to Bam’s over-the-top antics on his MTV program.
“I want to be a pro,” echoes 15-year-old Ricky Albera of Berwyn. The two boys have been skating together, along with Garcia’s older brother, for four years. Garcia is the youngest member of the Modest skate team.
“When I was their age, I didn’t really have a place to hang out,” says Ward, whose mother is a pediatrician and father is a community communications specialist. He admits to identifying strongly with Garcia and Albera. As a kid growing up in Oak Park, Ward experienced the same restlessness that kept him constantly outdoors, moving energetically from sport to sport. He knew all the other kids in Oak Park and River Forest who were the same way. After graduating from Lincoln Elementary School, Emerson Middle School (now Gwendolyn Brooks), and Oak Park and River Forest High School, he made several attempts at attending college but kept switching majors and schools before temporarily stopping in favor of work. But with the kids on his skate team, he stresses academics and discipline.
“The kids on my team know they have to do more than just skate well to be on the Modest team,” Ward says sternly. “They have to go to school, get good grades, not use bad language, listen to their parents.” Garcia and Albera’s eyes are focused on Ward as he speaks and they nod solemnly. “When they do well in school, they get stuff”they get free shoes, discounts on boards. I give them incentives.” While Ward would like to see members of his team turn pro and go further, he feels it is more important to see them learn the skills that will carry them successfully through the benchmarks of adulthood. He says if he had not turned to business, he would have become a teacher.
It is Ward’s relationship with skateboard vendors that allows him to get the stuff. “When we opened, we had three shoe companies that backed us”DVS, Adio, and LaKai,” he says. The store now carries a full line of top brands including Nike, Es and more. “We get all ages coming in,” says Ward. “I mean, Tony Hawk is close to 40, and he is showing you can still do the moves at that age and not get hurt.”
Tony Hawk is the world’s best “vert” skater while the trend now is street-skating. Still, Ward admits the age difference is there. “Just like the majority of the younger skaters can’t do the moves of a mature skater, older skaters can’t usually [either].” Ward also notes a small but growing interest by girls. “Many are into the fashion aspect of skateboarding,” he says. “But more and more are actually skating.” To date, no girls have expressed interest in being on the Modest skate team.
A Modest budget
“We’re not rich”our parents aren’t bankrolling this as a tax dodge or something,” Ward laughs. “I keep all costs down; I need to sell so many pairs of shoes each day to cover the heat, the electricity,” he explains. “It’s not warm in here.” Indeed, the heat is down in the store and an electric heater kicks on in waves. The guys are all wearing Modest-logo’d hooded sweatshirts and occasionally stand in front of the floor heater. As part of Modest’s promotional business plan, establishing the skate team was first, creating Modest apparel was next, creating a website on the Internet is coming and traditional advertising is last.
The cost to skate can be anything but modest. “Shoes cost $50 to $80 for basics. That doesn’t include special editions which are more, but we have sales a lot,” says Ward. “Active skaters can go through two pairs a month,” he says. Skateboards are $80-$150 and are custom-built, which means selecting a board, wheels, truck and bearings. Active skaters can break, split and grind boards on a monthly basis. With the popularity of “street skating” there is more opportunity to wear down equipment.
The shop resembles a trendy downtown loft or an exclusive high-end boutique”exposed brick walls, clean wooden floor. Boards hang precisely on the brick wall in the back of the store. Shoes are neatly arranged on the west wall and a few well-placed racks feature a limited number of T-shirts and sweatshirts. Prominent are the Modest shirts”one looking like an el train map noting all local stops with a star where the store is located. The T shirts sell for $15 or two for $25. The zippered sweatshirt is $35. “I design the shirts and order them in very small quantities,” says Ward, a former design student at Columbia College. “The small quantity makes sure I can sell them and not tie-up money in inventory and also it means I can introduce new designs regularly which our clients will want to buy.”
Of the skaters hanging out at the store, he notes, “It’s cold and snowy out today or they’d be out there practicing.” He usually gets the kids to skate two hours a day during the week and all day on the weekends.
The skate team
Each skateshop sponsors a team of skateboarders who compete in area competitions at local skateparks. The kids promote the name of the shop and help get the name and word on the street. Vendors with whom the skateboard shop has relationships give the team free gear”it is the primary way for the skateboard manufacturers to keep their products top of mind with these trendsetters. “The latest in boards, shoes”these kids have them,” Ward says of his team. The kids then wear the items and establish a “cool factor” that makes others”even non-skateboarders”want them.
Modest is located at 6912 W. 16th St. in Berwyn, between Kenilworth and Clinton, and can be reached at 749-0036.
You will have to look carefully for it but behind the modest brick storefront lies a skateboard powerhouse.