Easy Street Skate Shop opens on York's Bishopthorpe Road

She wants Easy Street, on Bishopthorpe Road, to be a place where like-minded people come together.

“I don't skate anymore. I can't balance,” admits Ruth, who is in her mid-40s.

But she is pleased that three of her four teenage children are “avid skaters”. “I'm really happy that the kids are involved. We have a really great community.”

Outside Easy Street, Bishopthorpe Road (Image: Dylan Connell) She points out how skateboarding has brought together different people across generations in York, particularly in Rowntree Park, after Fosbank's Zoo Skatepark was closed during the pandemic and has not reopened since. .

For them, Ruth says, skateboarding is more than just a sport, it's a “counterculture” that spans music, art and fashion.

Her new shop, housed in a former hairdresser's shop, supports this.

Inside Easy Street, Bishopthorpe Road (Image: Dylan Connell) Skateboard decks and clothing from big-name brands like Santa Cruz, HUF, Anti-Hero, Creature, and Crooked fill the walls.

But there are also candles and jewelry by independent artists that Ruth wants to support.

Skateboard deck on the wall of Easy Street, Bishopthorpe Road (Image: Dylan Connell) In the back corner are records from Leeds-based label Come Play With Me, a non-profit organization that supports new artists. The label has been an early supporter of Leeds-based indie band English Teacher, who this year became the first band from outside London to win the Mercury Prize in 10 years.

“I want to promote independent artists,” says Ruth, explaining how she wants them to be seen in big street retailers.

Records on sale in Easy Street, Bishopthorpe Road (Image: Dylan Connell)

She decided Bishopthorpe Road was the perfect place to do so and opened the store in November.

“This is a really nice place for people to hang out,” Ruth says. “That's logically where it should be.

“There has been a huge change here…You can meet people from all walks of life here.”

Ruth says the shop has been a hit.

Ruth says the shop has been well-received and “we just wanted to do something positive” to help the city's skateboarding scene by opening.

“A lot of older skaters came and said, 'It's great to have a shop,'” she added.

Hats and helmets on sale at Easy Street, Bishopthorpe Road (Image: Dylan Connell) Ruth hopes the store will help more people take up skateboarding.

She said it can be “very difficult” for kids ages 7 to 12 to find something interesting to do, and skateboarding may just be the answer.

Hats on sale in Easy Street, Bishopthorpe Road (Image: Dylan Connell) Ruth says more girls, including her daughter, have become attracted to the sport in recent years, which is contributing to its growth.

And she feels that skateboarding's participation in the Olympics will only help this.

“I think this is a really positive thing,” she says of the sport's debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “You're seeing more and more girls[entering the sport].”

For more information about the shop, follow Easy Street on Instagram (@easystreetyork).