Until the past few years, Gainesville has had little to no skateboarding scene. Along with the building of the Gainesville skatepark came a new community of skateboarders, and spear heading this motion was Mobile Skate shop.
Mobile Skate shop is a skateboarding store originally from Gainesville, run out of the inside of a remodeled truck. Owner Nick Borlie renovated the inside of a bus to hold all the supplies that any decent skate shop should have. Services provided by the shop include skate lessons, equipment, apparel, skating obstacles, and even snacks and drinks. The shop provides a wide array of shoes, boards, and other gear. Not only do they have their own shop boards and local boards, but they even have brand name boards as well.
The shop has travelled all over the country, even going as far as Hollywood, California. “I kept breaking boards and didn’t want to drive too far to a shop, especially not during a session,” said Borlie, “I was doing a little DIY skatepark back then, and the ice cream dude kept pulling up to serve the skaters. I thought about it for a little bit and decided maybe I want to do something like that.”
The shop has had a large impact not only on the skate scene within Gainesville, but also in the rest of the Georgia community. The shop and its riders have been known to help out young skaters however they can, often teaching youth and giving away boards when possible. On top of this, the shop consistently hosts events and raising awareness for issues since its creation, even putting out a full-length video titled “Gainesville The Movie” along the way.
“I try to always influence the most positive things I can on people, especially kids. I’m not a saint but I do try to teach kids to do good in school and invite anyone to skate if they’re not bringing negativity.”- Nick Borlie.
The shop hosts events quite often, with many being held at the Gainesville skatepark. Even when not hosting events, Mobile’s name can be found quite often on the sponsor list of local events. The most pressing one of these is on Saturday, October 29 at Duncan Creek Skatepark. This event is held by Blacktooth skateboards and is being sponsored by Mobile Skate Shop. Fittingly, the contest is Halloween themed, and will be hosting both BMX and skateboarding events.
