| Address: 756 Thomas Ave, Pacific Beach, CA |
| Phone: (858) 270 - 3361 |
| Hours: Open 10am Close 7pm Mon - Fri, Close 6pm Sat - Sun. |
| "Battle of the Shops 2008" Winning Shop & Creature/PD Deck |
Ok, i thought it was a little weird that I was tapped to write a review on the shop that isn't just a shop to me... its like my uncle. thats a bit of a strange comparison, but really..PD brought me into adulthood in the same way anyones alcoholic, porn addicted Dads-Brother could bring them up. See, i used to ride for this shop directly across the street from pac drive when I was a kid... they made fluorescent orange shirts and had a jump ramp in the parking lot... I was always so scared of the shop across the boulevard, it seemed so rad and gnarly. Way to gnarly for a melon grabber like me to ride for, let alone walk into. One time i mustered the nerve to buy a pair of shoes from there... they were these old 'es shoes with a clear outsole, about a week later the whole sole started to chip off and i went back in to return them...and the guy behind the counter asked me if i skated in them, I said that I had. He told me to fuck off. What it really all boils down to is that, Danny Way, Jake Brown, Pat Duffy, Shuriken, Borckman, and countless others have seen the light and realize a real skateshop is where you started and where you will always be... plus it doesnt really hurt that you can drink a tall can and get a blowjob in the DVS room while you are at it.
And now a interview with the owner of Pacific Drive, Jim Ruonala.
| Back to day one, what made you start PD? |
| It wasn't like it is today with businessmen golfers who think they're
going to make a killing on "board sports" mall chains and mail order. It was
the mid 80's and there wasn't any money in skateboarding. So it was pretty
simple, I was young, didn't know better, and I liked to skate and surf. So I
thought it would be cool to start my own shop. |
Deck wall
| How long did it take before you knew it was a good idea? |
| It took about a year but I finally quit my other job and paid my rent
just working for myself. Also ,the first time my shop sticker showed up in
Transworld and Thrasher on a team riders board, I was hyped. |
 Steez for all sizes
| Original team riders? |
| I was friends with Danny and Damon Way from
before I opened, so they were my original team riders along with some local
groms I knew. But, Through Danny, I was introduced to T-mag and Mike
Ternansky and through them I was introduced to all the H-street team and
later the Plan B team. Also, Through Rob Dyrdek I met most of the G&S team
and a lot of the guys from those teams became PD team riders. |
 Shoe wall
| Current Team? |
| Pros; Danny Way, Peter Smolik, James Brockman, Shuriken Shannon and
Brandon Turner Ams; Andrew Elliot, Anthony Williams, Adrian Gephart, Adrian
Mallory, Chris Larue, Truman Hooker and Paul Sewel. |
 Collectors
| PD keeps it legit. Lets hear the Pacific Drive business
models? |
| Pretty simple, we back skateboarding . You're not going to find balance
boards, scooters, roller skates, bikes, MX gear or whatever else is the
latest craze. We will leave that to the mall chains to jump on whatever is
next to make money on. We won't drop skateboards and our skate team because
there's no money in it anymore. We will go down with the ship. Also,
sometimes skateshops take shit that the employee's have an attitude. Let me
assure you if you come in and are cool to us you will get the same right
back. If you come in with a attitude and act like a douche, you will
probably get that right back also. |
Chris Larue & Jim
| This recession has made things tight for everybody. If you had to let one employee go today, who would it be? |
| Chris Larue, he's an asshole. |
The training Facility
| Any shout out to people who have helped you out along the way? |
| There are too many to name, but for sure, everyone that ever rode for
the shop and everyone that ever worked for me....well maybe not everyone
that worked for me. Keep skating! |
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