Today we’d like to introduce you to Dimitri Crippen
Hi Dimitri, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started the business as an idea back in 2018 when I was living in Brooklyn NYC. I was taking photos of skaters since photography was one of my first passions. I had done a lot of research and since I was considering moving to GA back then I had created my rough draft of a business plan. I have been skateboarding for 13 years and I had a lot of great experiences through friends I met through skateboarding.
We had a “secret place” called the winter bowl that was invite only and another place that was a bar in Williamsburg called “Black Bear” that had a ramp/bowl inside of a bar. The coolest part about Black Bear was that ramp was operated by a man/professional skater called Daniel Carreiro who became one of my closest friends and “skate coach” he’s one of the gnarliest guys I know.
A major bonus to having an indoor place to skate at a bar was that people could walk by and see you skateboarding and want to come inside, grab a drink, watch you skate, and cheer you on. The energy in that place was something I’ve never experienced in my life and haven’t since it closed down years back.
I wanted to model my dream career after a place like that but make it 10x better where everybody can come in and watch and encourage skaters, learn to skate themselves, have fun, make friends that could last a lifetime like I did. With Black Bear being inside it was a place you could go rain/snow or shine and it was open pretty late as well. When doing my research I realized that GA had no indoor parks and due to its hot summers and cold winters, an indoor place to skate was an absolute must!! Thus the birth of UTILITARIAN SKATESHOP.
When I moved to GA in 2020 I met an amazing woman who would eventually become my wife for almost 3 years now name Da’ja who motivated and pushed me to grow the thought into an actual business. Over the years we’ve made board designs, sold skateboard decks, shirts, went to pop up events, and hosted our first “release jam” at Old Forth Ward skatepark in July 2023. I am forever grateful for her and every part she has played making my dream come true.
The main goal is to be a multifaceted recreational center (globally) so we can bring more people together all over the world. Utilitarian skateshop name comes from the meaning: “doing the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of of people.”
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest struggle as of right now is balancing my work life with creating content and hype around the company. Due to work I can’t skate as much so I can’t make videos showcasing my skating or the quality of the boards. We still don’t have a store front so we’ve mostly been selling online. We need a brick and mortar so we can team up with major distributors so we can have a broader variety of products other than just our decks.
We’ve been impressed with Utilitarian Skateshop, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Utilitarian Skateshop is a skateboard brand by skaters, for everybody. The goal is to bring people together in common interest, not just skateboarding, which will be the ultimate goal for the recreational center that will have an indoor skatepark in it. We specialize in knowing our culture, creating opportunities for lifelong bonds, going above and beyond for customers, and trying to make every person/community we meet better than it was before.
We are a black owned skateboard company with quality products ran by the most customer driven team in the industry. As of right now we only offer shirts and skateboard decks but plan to expand our inventory and product line in the very near future.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Follow us on Instagram to be a part of our journey to becoming the best multifaceted skateboard company to exist!! We are based in Atlanta and have top quality product’s that beat industry prices/standards.
Pricing:
- Our skateboard decks range from $55-$65
- Our shirts are $30
- Our stickers are $3
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utilitarian_skateshop?igsh=MW9lM2sxdGNyZzhreQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@utilitarian_skateshop?si=cLLFJ5PXnbprPqjd
Image Credits
Glenn Joyce
Burnout
