A crowd of local skateboarders wait outside Classic Skateshop on April 5 to meet professional skater Paul Rodriguez.
Reno’s Classic Skateshop might seem like a relic from a different time, but for skaters, that’s a good thing BY MATT BIEKER
Photo/Matt Bieker
Over
the past two decades, corporate sponsorship and branding have grown skateboarding into a multi-billion dollar industry, with a cultural aesthetic aimed at skaters and non-skaters alike. As interest in skating exploded, local skateshops everywhere fell to online markets and an influx of cheaper, sub-par products. Now, Reno’s last skate shop seems like a relic of a different time, but for those who just want to skate, that’s a good thing. Eric Lantto owns and operates Classic Skateshop in Midtown. Born in Gardnerville, Lantto has been skateboarding since 1984.
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“At 18 years old, I started promoting my own skate contests in Northern Nevada to help strengthen the scene,” Lantto said. “Along the way, I decided I wanted to be a part of the business side of it.” Lantto’s love of skateboarding took him to California, where he worked for prominent skate brand DC Shoes and eventually opened his own business. In 2013, Classic made the move from a small retail space in the back of Neverender Boutique and Gallery to its current location. “Once we outgrew the space, we moved to 677 South Virginia Street, and we’ve been here ever since,” Lantto said. Classic shares a retail space with Aces Tattoo Parlor. Vintage posters and
old-school memorabilia line the walls of the small shop; a single rack of T-shirts sits in front of the large display window opposite a wall of skateboard decks. Including a small workshop and sales counter, it seems almost sparse—and that’s by design. “Classic is a throwback to what a skate shop was, not a ‘board shop,’” Lantto said. “You can find everything you need to ride or service a skateboard. What we don’t do is jump on trends to pay the bills. We don’t carry snowboards, wakeboards, scooters, vape products, bikes, drug paraphernalia or body jewelry.” While other stores in the area may sell skateboarding gear and accessories, Lantto believes that there is
a fundamental difference in quality between these more generalized “board shops,” and a traditional skate shop. “We cater to our customers: skaters,” Lantto said. “We only carry products with proven quality and are skaterowned. We sponsor local skaters, we sponsor local contests; these are things that should be the responsibility of a true skate shop.” Aside from just supplying gear to skaters, Classic places an emphasis on fostering the skateboarding community in Reno. This sense of responsibility for the scene is emblematic of a time when local skate shops were the crux of skating culture.
