4.5/5
Call it what you will, midlife crisis, pandemic boredom, or a little of Column A & a little of Column B, but I thought it would be cool to take up skateboarding. It's one of those things I always wanted to do, so now was a good time as any, right? I loved surfing when I took a lesson while visiting Hawaii a few years back, and I thought of skateboarding as similar except no ocean needed! A Yelp search steered me to Cowtown. The Tempe location is in the downtown area, a place I despise with a passion due to the traffic and general lack of parking BUT it's not too bad getting here or finding a parking spot! It's a pretty straight shot down University and then you can turn off of Ash into their private parking lot.
The employees here are alright. My first trip here was to get my first skateboard. I told the employee exactly that too. He went to the completes and deck section and explained very generally what to look for, and to ask lots of questions. He then meandered off back to the cashier counter. That was pretty much the extent of my guidance. I'm glad he said I can ask as many questions as I want but if it's my first time there's probably a lot that I don't know, so I don't know what I don't know, ya know? I did ask what brands he recommended for a beginner but all he said was "All our boards here are high quality so pick whatever feels right to you." Touché, skate dude, touché. So, I got out a few boards and stood on them to get a feel. It was a very low key, no pressure environment. I finally found one that felt just right, but it was all scuffed up. I know it's going to get scuffed up just by using it when I ride, but if I'm paying good $$ for a board it might as well be one that hasn't already been used amirite? I want to be the only one messing up my own board :p. Another employee at the counter was nice enough to check with the other locations to see if they had the same board but in better condition. I was in luck because they had it still in the plastic, in pristine condition. YES! Even better was that they could transfer the board over that same day. I got a call just a few hours later, very speedy service!
They have a wide variety of completes and decks, ranging from 7.3-9+ from what I remember, and I ended up with an smaller sized Antihero complete. The employee that ordered the board for me mentioned I could switch out the wheels for some softer, larger ones for cruising which I might do once I actually start going places on the board vs. practicing.
I've also ordered some shoes and I feel like their shoe selection is also curated with care much like their boards are. The Vans I wanted was actually available here in my size vs. the actual Vans website. If you buy anything online and are local you can have the item shipped to one of their stores for free pickup vs. paying for shipping. My order was ready the next day and I got a call when it came in. The shoes were in perfect condition and feel great on my feet and on the board. read more