Skateboarding
Skateboarding
Established: Familia Skateshop
Learn more about Familia Skateshop in Minneapolis.
Steve Nesser and Familia co-owner Dennis Burdick took an empty space and built it into a community hub for Minneapolis skaters. On top of the shop, they operate the winter haven Familia HQ skatepark. See how they made it work in the Midwest in this episode of "Established."
The below story originally appeared in Lucas Beaufort's book "Heart," a 428-page celebration of skate shops - the community hubs that keep this culture alive. What started from interviewing a few owners, "Heart" grew to 90 stories from around the world, capped off with an A-Z list of almost 1,000 shops globally. This book is available for purchase at your local skate shop.
From Steve Nesser, owner of Familia Skateshop:
I'm Steve Nesser, I'm 42 years old and I own Familia in Minneapolis, but it wouldn't be here without Dennis, Bratrud, Kirian, Eddie, Vinnie and the crew from day one in. The shop has been open for a little over 15 years. Back then, I was pretty much just working every odd job I could, skateboarding and traveling as much as possible.
Familia Skateshop
© Alex Sveda
My friends and family and ever since I started skateboarding motivated me to have my own skate shop. It was kind of a dream to open one up. I also worked at one for a while and they went out of business so once that happened it was the time for me. A few friends had a shop as well and they hyped it up.
© Courtesy of Familia
Family is so important, and the worldwide vibe of skateboarding is like that, so the name Familia was a no brainer. Being around for this long, there has been so many memories. When I think back on it there's been everything from Tony Hawk at the grand opening and BAM signings to shot gunning beers with Carroll and the crailtap crew on the back steps. All the art shows and collabs and every time we get to have people visiting the shop in Minneapolis is typically an unforgettable moment!
We try to do what we can to help out in any genre, promote local artists and skaters as they grow. We have an indoor skatepark that keeps people skating in the winter and we host a lot of events in there as well.
Familia Skateshop
© Alex Sveda
A physical skate shop will always be the place to meet up with your friends or visitors from out of town to check out and get info on good spots etc. A place to stand on boards and try on shoes and grip your board. I would say that is the main roll of a shop just to be there and do your best to spread a good vibe. FOBIA skate shop was a huge inspiration for us. They did so many fun events and demos that we wanted to try and keep that going after they went out of business.
Thanks for the support.
