“This interview showcases the incredible work that was done at Sal’s Skate Shop in the 2019-2020 school year. Kristian is continuing the program for the upcoming school year under the name Spo’s Skate Shop. Follow along with their journey on Instagram @salsskateshop.”
Hi Kristian, can you tell me a little about yourself and what you do?
My name is Kristian Basaraba and I’m an educator based in Sherwood Park, Alberta. I’ve been teaching for approximately 20 years, mainly high school physics and chemistry. It was this past year (2019-2020) that I was able to offer my “SK8trepreneur” program at my high school, so now you can say I’m the purveyor and “boss” of what I dubbed “Sal’s Skate Shop”. This program was heavily inspired by the work of Craig and Lauren at the Oasis Skateboard Factory in Toronto where I had the fortunate opportunity to visit for about a week in 2018.
How did you hear about Roarockit? What inspired you to bring skateboard building into the classroom?
I first heard about Roarockit from my visit to Oasis Skateboard Factory in 2018. It was there that I saw what can be done using Roarockit technology. As mentioned above the inspiration to start my program came from the work of Craig and Lauren at OSF. I modelled my program after theirs and am indebted to their vision.
Tell me more about what makes your board building program special. What are some of the projects you work on at Sal's Skate Shop?
I guess what makes it special is that I’ve found a way to meld entrepreneur skills with skateboard culture in order to engage students. They were tasked with creating their own brand, manufacturing branded ‘prototypes’, marketing these products, setting up an e-commerce site and selling the branded products at our semester-end merch sale.
Projects included: handmade skateboard, branded grip tape, t-shirt, brand logo sticker. Each student brand was also required to partake in one of the 2 collaborations with outside creatives John Cardinal of JCAT Art or Ali Shick of SUKA Clothing.
How do you feel this program benefits the classroom? How do you work this into your curriculum?
In Alberta we have a curricular program that allows for this program to exist under CTS - Career and Technology studies. “Career and Technology Studies (CTS) is designed for high school students so they can explore their interests and career options. CTS offers students opportunities to develop skills that can be applied in their daily lives and improve their employability following high school.”
The skills I had my students work on were multi-disciplinary and covered a variety of outcomes in the CTS strands including “Enterprise and Innovation” which looked at entrepreneurial skills of setting up a venture plan and executing it. We also looked at ”Management and Marketing” which included them setting up their own e-commerce site as mentioned above and product photography and promotion via social media.
What were the students reactions to getting to build skateboards in the classroom? Do you have any special stories to share of the effects it had on your students?
Students were generally really excited to learn they would be building their own boards. Some took a deep interest in the process and spent a tonne of time hand crafting their deck. I feel they all walked away with a board they were proud of.
A few of the boards really blew my mind with regards to the craftsmanship and especially the graphics. This attention to detail continued with their branded work as well - everything was top notch. Two brands in particular stand out for me; Lucid Skate and Clubhouse Co. The imagery seen in the Lucid branded work was extremely well implemented and created a brand cohesiveness that was unparalleled in the class.
As for the Clubhouse Co brand the work had a sneaker culture influence and also implemented a deck of cards theme throughout. I had a professional product/ad photographer Adrien Vaczan come in to speak to my students about the industry and branding. He also offered some studio time for the “best in show” of the interested brands and a panel ended up choosing Clubhouse Co. for the opportunity. The student got to direct the photoshoot and concept, all with the assistance of Adrien. What an amazing opportunity. The result was the photo below:
Here are a few more shots of the Clubhouse Co. branded work.
Your program is so immersive! What reactions do the students have when they find out they get to create their own branded line?
Most of the students were really excited to get started and had some very thoughtful brand purposes and logos. It was interesting to see the evolution of their brands and ideas as we delved into what it takes to create an effective brand. I had a number of guest speakers that discussed branding, logo effectiveness, social media marketing, and as mentioned above product and ad photography. Their expertise was invaluable to the students (and me) and really allowed for mentorship opportunities to arise. For example, I had graphic design expert Nigel Hood of Hotel Graphic Design Co. come into the class and give a brief talk about brand identity and logo design. He then worked with each student to critique their brand purpose and logos which then set the tone for the whole semester. I feel that once the students had this identity in place it made the branding of the products that much more effective and easier for them. Once this was established some students just ran with this and created as many products they could think of.
How did it turn out? Are the students riding their boards afterwards, or do they use them more as an art project?
The work that the students produced exceeded my expectations and I was impressed at the creativity and hard work they put into their brands. Most of the students did not want to skate their decks because of the time put into the graphics and craftsmanship so I’d say most have kept them as art pieces. A few of the students sold their decks at our semester end pop-up merch sale to customers that wanted them hanging on the walls of their home.
How were you able to get skateboard building started in your class, did you have to jump through any administrative hoops to get there?
Getting the program started was easy - I just asked and proposed my idea to my principal. She thought it was a great idea and supported me all the way through, for that I’m extremely grateful as it’s really a dream come true.
Thanks again for your time Kristian, any last words for the readers back home?
A huge shout out to all those people that have been supportive along the way. The power of skateboarding to make positive change is real and this class is proof of that.
Keep shredding!
Read more about Sal’s Skate Shop:
Creative Vibes Flowing at Sal's Skate Shop - Sherwood Park News
Students Creating Clothing Line to Combat Addiction and Poverty - Global News
Sal's Skate Shop Explores Indigenous Issues with New Project - Sherwood Park News
Follow along their journey in the upcoming school year at @salsskateshop on Instagram.
Taryn O'Grady,
Social Media Expert, Roarockit Skateboard Company