Window Shopping

Matters of skate: Embassy Board Shop

By Wes Flexner

FRED SQUILLANTE PHOTO

Eric Barkow in Embassy Board Shop

"We had Pee Wee Herman Dunks, but the [MF] Doom Dunks have by far been the craziest," said Eric Barkow, owner of Embassy Board Shop, recalling the lines that have formed outside his store for the release of limited-edition Nikes. "We had people waiting out at seven in the morning."

The Clintonville retailer is the only place in Columbus that carries Nike's SB Dunk line, and one of only five shops in the state of Ohio to fit Nike's criteria for selling the shoes—long-term credibility and a relationship with skateboarders and the community.

In addition to Nikes, the store also carries Vans, iPath, DC and other shoe brands. Clothing-wise, you'll find Quicksilver, Mighty Healthy, Habitat, Rogue Status and Diamond. Embassy also stocks designs by artists like Neck Face and Ed Templeton.

And, of course, they sell skateboards.

Barkow and his shop have developed a rapport with the skateboard community in the most obvious way: He's a skater. When I arrived at the shop, he had longtime friends Adam Lowe and Mike Newton waiting for him to finish the interview so they could go and rip a spot.

Barkow has been skating for 20 years. His first deck was a Jeff Phillips model on Sims (to give non-skaters some perspective, Phillips committed suicide on Christmas Day 1993). He's witnessed skateboarding go from a subculture of musicians and artists to a billion-dollar industry that puts skaters on ESPN.

Barkow helped run the now-defunct shop Sunsports for seven years before opening Embassy last year. And through the store he maintains a multigenerational community of friends and riders.

Some of his other old skate buddies have gone on to design clothes that are sold worldwide in skateboard boutiques, as well as in Barkow's store. Two notable examples are Columbus expats Patrick O'Dell and Anthony Yankovic. O'Dell works as a photographer for Vice, Thrasher and other publications, and Embassy sells a Pat O'Dell line of jeans issued by respected brand Altamont. Yankovic designs for Alien Workshop, Foundation, Upper Playground Clothing, Complex Magazine and K2 Snowboard. He also did all the logos for Embassy.

As for the new era of skaters, Embassy sponsors a team that includes core riders Gabe Peterson, Ben Perkins, Steven Calhone and Max Palmer. The extended Embassy family encompasses the entire Iglu skate crew, a group of rowdy young bucks that definitely leave a dent in Columbus nightlife, as well as the city's curbs and handrails.

It's little wonder that Nike SB and other exclusive imprints have peeped game and got down with Embassy.

October 25, 2007

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