Episode description

Full version of the episode on Patreon. Labor Skate Shop for Living Proof Radio. Opened in 2012 by James Rewolinski, Labor was founded to serve as a core skate shop for New York City.

Before the rise of mainstream media and the explosion of skateboarding into the global spotlight, skate shops were the center of the skateboarding community. They weren’t just retail spaces but epicenters of culture where people went to immerse themselves.

Preceding Labor, Autumn Skate Shop, which opened in the early 2000s and closed in 2008, was one of the pioneering shops in the city. Located near Tompkins Square Park, it played a key role in nurturing the local scene, serving as the go-to shop in the area. Autumn created a community around New York’s skateboarding culture at a time when the city lacked these locations and commercialized skateboarding had not yet taken over.

The closure of Autumn Skate Shop in 2008 left a void in the Manhattan skate scene. Labor Skate Shop stepped in just a few years later to fill that gap, continuing the legacy of community-focused, independent skate shops that prioritize local talent and the spirit of skateboarding. In a way, Labor is the torchbearer for what Autumn Skateshop represented—a space for skaters to gather, share ideas, and push the scene forward in an otherwise commercialized urban landscape. Labor has played a critical role in shaping the identity of New York City's skateboarding and while there Brooklyn location has recently closed, the doors of their Manhattan shop remain open.

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