Two lifelong skaters are ramping up to take on Baton Rouge.
Ben Boone, 2008 University alumnus, and Kyle Cox, 2001 University High School graduate, came together to start a skateboarding shop.
The shop, called Fidna — slang for “about to” perform a move — will sell boards, clothing, shoes and other skateboarding necessities, Boone said.
Boone earned a bachelor’s degree in printmaking from the School of Art, and he said he intends to use skills he learned at the University to design a logo, shirt and deck graphics.
He said the store will feature artwork from skateboarders in the Baton Rouge area, which will be for sale with all profits going directly to the artists.
Fidna will be located in a strip shopping center on Perkins Road and South Acadian Thruway, near Uncle Earl’s and Happy Note Lounge, Boone said.
He said the store is expected to open in early May and will cater to college skateboarding customers.
Boone said he and Cox are experienced in skating and are more passionate about skateboarding than earning money.
Boone said he began skating at age 5, has been skating ever since and plans to skate the rest of his life. Cox said he began skateboarding at age 6.
Cox and Boone became friends in middle school and considered opening a shop for years. They began planning Fidna last year.
Boone said he became familiar with the industry through his personal pursuit of skating.
“I’ve been around skate shops my whole life, so I know how they work,” Boone said.
Cox said Fidna will strive to support lesser-known businesses and artists.
“We want to support local skateboarding and any businesses that our friends are somehow involved in,” Cox said.
He said they also want to support up-and-coming skaters and plan to help by sending videos to skateboarding companies.
“We want to keep it growing and keep it rolling,” Cox said.
Boone said they are searching for a distribution company for branded items, but they will also sell off-brand board decks with his graphics.
Cox said skateboarding teaches people to be persistent, and it’s a mode of transportation used more often than Razor scooters or roller blades.
Cox said he and Boone are motivated by adversity.
“We’re used to people saying, ‘You can’t do this,’ so we just want to do it even more,” Cox said. “We just keep going.”
Boone said the skater mindset will encourage him to persevere.
“There’s definitely a mentality that you can constantly improve,” Boone said.
Cox said he was amazed by the explosion of the popularity of skateboarding. He said he was the only person he knew in high school who skateboarded, but it is “socially acceptable” now.
People are also wearing skateboard-brand clothes, even though they do not skateboard, he said.
“It’s such a style thing now,” Cox said.
 
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Contact Meredith Will at [email protected]