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Monday, August 30, 2004
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If your sport calls for a board, this shop stocks it
Whether you want a board to ride on pavement, water, snow or to be pulled by a kite, a new Brainerd sports shop has it all.
Jason and Melissa Jones, owners of Board Sports USA, opened their store on Washington Street more than three months ago but began selling skateboard packages online as a home business about two years ago.
The couple has found their own niche in the board sports industry in the Brainerd lakes area. They offer a wide range of custom packages for skateboards, wakeboards, snowboards and kiteboards, a new sport that seems to be springing up on area lakes. They also have wake skates, which don't use bindings, and wake surfboards for those who want to surf behind a boat.
"Our goal is to become the ultimate one-stop board shop for central Minnesota," said Jason. "We outgrew our store in the first month. ... There is no end in sight. It's an exploding industry. If you're into skateboarding, you're into snowboarding and wakeboarding."
Skateboarding is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, and with the opening of the new Jaycees Skate Park in June in Brainerd, it appears business could increase dramatically for the Joneses as more youngsters learn to skateboard. The possibility of an indoor skate park built in Brainerd as early as this winter also is expected to fuel board sports' popularity here.
"We knew there was a great need for it," said Jones. "There's a lack of this type of thing in Brainerd."
Kiteboarding, in which the boarder is propelled by a kite, can be accomplished on snow or water. Motorists traveling near Gull and Mille Lacs lakes last winter may have seen the Joneses and their two sons, Jacob, 10, and Jeremy, 8, kiteboarding. The two boys are members of Junior Team USA and compete in kiteboarding competitions in Minnesota and other states. The boys each placed first in their age divisions in kiteboarding at the U.S KiteFreeze competition on Lake Minnetonka last year.
Jones said Minnesota, particularly the Brainerd lakes area, is a great place for kiteboarding in the winter because of the availability of acres upon acres of frozen lakes.
The Joneses have instructors who offer classes for all board sports, including beginner skateboarding and kiteboarding. They have a girls' skateboarding class for girls who may feel intimidated by taking skateboarding lessons with boys, said Melissa. They also offer a line of Roxy skateboards for girls.
"We're very kid- and girl-friendly," said Melissa.
The new winter season's snowboards will replace the wall of wakeboards at the sports shop within the next week or so. The Joneses, who are 27 and 29, also offer board sports accessories and clothing designed specifically for the board sports, including a new line of water pants for kiteboarders and wakeboarders. They offer sponsorship programs for teams of at least 10 skateboarders, which will allow groups of skateboarders to get discounts, they said.
The couple became interested in board sports after they began snowboarding as a family.
They said they have found they have loyal customers who often stop in the shop and will hang out there, too.
"We're very happy," said Jason. "The future looks bright."
Board Sports USA, at 505 Washington St. in Brainerd, is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. The Web site is www.boardsportsusa.com.
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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