We are all tired of cabbing it all the way down to South Street for a new deck or our favorite skateboarding inspired fashion. Slave Skate Shop on 36th and Lancaster, the answer to our boarding woes, is a welcome addition to the strait-laced chain stores on campus.
Opened in the summer of 2003 by Drexel grad Jason Macias and two skateboarding twins, Slave doesn't refer to a sad part of history. Rather, owners Brax and Caz (Darnell and Darien Schell) describe the life of a true boarder as one who is a "slave to the culture." What separates this store from other Philadelphia skate shops is that it caters to skateboarding, as well as to hip hop culture. Being the only skate store in West Philly, Slave has a very laid back approach to customer service. Rather than preparing your board for you, Slave gives its customers free reign to tools, so they can fix their equiptment any way they please. Slave provides a chill spot for local skaters, complete with a leather couch and a Playstation that is almost always in use.
Skateboarding materials are fairly inexpensive, averaging $45 for a deck and $150 for a whole set (including deck, wheels, barings, hardware, griptape etc.). A range of men's apparel is also available -- from shirts to shoes, including Brax and Caz's own line, Slave Clothing. Slave carries many well known and underground brands such as Billabong, Duffs, Elwood, Aesthetics, Krew, Subzero, Bootleg and Habitat. The store intends to add women's clothing later in the year, in addition to the Dickies' Ladies brand the store already carries.
From the owners' starting to sell their popular t-shirts on 52nd Street to opening a store that even employs a semi-professional skater, the creators of Slave have introduced the intriguing world of skateboarding to unsuspecting residents of West Philadelphia.
