Scott Cullumber wanted to run his own skateboard shop, but he wasn’t sure about all of the things that come with starting a business from scratch.
Not only do you have to find the perfect location, there’s already competition with two skateboard shops in Carmel: The Ripple and Rise Skateboard Shop.
So Cullumber decided to see if he could buy one of his favorite board shops: Rise, 622 S. Range Line Road, in the Monon Square Shopping Center. He ended up buying the place last month.
“I’ve been wanting to get into this business, but I didn’t know if I could sustain it,” he said. “Buddy Best, the guy who owned this shop for about 17 plus years, I just thought I’d talk to him since this is a well known shop, and even guys from out of town come to this shop. So I approached him to see if he was open to the idea of selling, and that was back in November, and I think I got him at the right time.”
Cullumber said Best still wants to be involved in the skateboard community, and he sold it to move onto other things. Cullumber said the shop was thriving when he bought it, but he wants to add his own ideas as well.
“He wanted to make sure I maintain what this shop is,” he said. “It’s a big part of the skate culture in Indiana.”
One of the biggest things Cullumber wants to add are online sales, which he said is a way to connect with people who used to live in the area but still love this shop. He said Rise has a reputation in the skateboard community as a great place to hang out and watch skate videos and buy the latest gear.
He said he also wants to add more sizes in shoes and some higher-end longboards.
Some of Rise’s employees teach classes at the skate park at the Monon Center and Cullumber wants to continue to make his shop for all experience levels.
“If you’re new to the sport, I don’t want people to feel intimidated or feel like they can’t come in and ask questions,” he said. “If you have kids, I can give advice to get them started. We want to be inclusive.”
