He was looking for some trucks for his skateboard – trucks being the axles that hold the wheels in place.
The Yarmouth skateboarder didn’t have quite enough money so Hattie gave him a deal. And he also threw in a free t-shirt for Easter.
A couple of days later Purdy – who has been a business regular since Hattie opened up his shop last fall – messaged Hattie asking for some help in getting the wheels off his skateboard.
“I said, ‘No problem Lyndon, bring it in, we’ll see what we can do,’” Hattie says. “Well, as soon as he showed me the board I was like, ‘No, that’s not a good board at all.’”
The holes on the board didn’t line up for the wheels, which Hattie couldn’t even get off because things were so rusted and the bearings were seized.
And so Hattie did the only thing he felt he could do.
“I grabbed a board off the rack and grabbed some wheels and some bearings and set him up with a new board,” Hattie says, telling the nine-year-old as he handed him the free skateboard, “Here, this is what you should be riding.”
Now when it comes to Business 101, giving away your product might not be the most profitable thing to do, considering that a deck (plain board) starts at $40 and completes start at $96.
But Hattie remembers growing up and how important skateboarding was to him. And he knows that Purdy is keen on the sport.
“He’s a good, quiet kid. He’s always in here. He’s respectful. Usually he just has two or three dollars for stickers and that’s about it,” Hattie says. “I’ve seen him at the skate park with a scooter and he’s asked to use my skateboard before.
“I know what it’s like to be that kid.”
In a way, Hattie still is. Hattie says he’s been skateboarding for 27 years.
While his business – Fishnet Sk8board Company at 342 Main St. – is relatively new, Hattie had been kicking around the idea for a long time.
“My wife said, ‘Are you going to do it or not?’” he says. “It was always my dream. I skated for shops when I was younger. So it was always my thing to eventually have my own shop.”
In addition to selling all of the things you would need for skateboarding – from the clothing to the hardware – he also does some silk screening on the side. The business hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
Hattie also has three shop riders – Jabez MacEachern. Jamie d'Entremont and Alec Hebb – that he sponsors and plans to take to competitions.
“They’re good skaters, they know the tricks and everything, but my key thing is attitude,” Hattie says. “They have great attitudes. They’re willing to hang out with the younger kids at the park and help them out, that’s what it’s all about.”
Hattie is also lining up sponsors and hopes to see a competition held at the Yarmouth skate park this spring when the weather warms up.
Hattie says there are a lot of benefits to the comradery that comes with skateboarding.
“It’s like being a motorcycle guy with the Harleys, you’re in the club for life,” he says. “And there’s not a thing that a skater wouldn’t do for another skater. You build those friendships.”
Much like the friendship he and Purdy have built up.
The nine-year-old, who started skating a year ago, says he was very happy when Hattie gave him a free new board. His mother Ashley Nickerson was very grateful as well.
“It was really awesome and he was really happy,” she says. “The town needs more people like James.”
Because, she says, sometimes the littlest gestures can have the biggest impacts.
He was looking for some trucks for his skateboard – trucks being the axles that hold the wheels in place.
The Yarmouth skateboarder didn’t have quite enough money so Hattie gave him a deal. And he also threw in a free t-shirt for Easter.
A couple of days later Purdy – who has been a business regular since Hattie opened up his shop last fall – messaged Hattie asking for some help in getting the wheels off his skateboard.
“I said, ‘No problem Lyndon, bring it in, we’ll see what we can do,’” Hattie says. “Well, as soon as he showed me the board I was like, ‘No, that’s not a good board at all.’”
The holes on the board didn’t line up for the wheels, which Hattie couldn’t even get off because things were so rusted and the bearings were seized.
And so Hattie did the only thing he felt he could do.
“I grabbed a board off the rack and grabbed some wheels and some bearings and set him up with a new board,” Hattie says, telling the nine-year-old as he handed him the free skateboard, “Here, this is what you should be riding.”
Now when it comes to Business 101, giving away your product might not be the most profitable thing to do, considering that a deck (plain board) starts at $40 and completes start at $96.
But Hattie remembers growing up and how important skateboarding was to him. And he knows that Purdy is keen on the sport.
“He’s a good, quiet kid. He’s always in here. He’s respectful. Usually he just has two or three dollars for stickers and that’s about it,” Hattie says. “I’ve seen him at the skate park with a scooter and he’s asked to use my skateboard before.
“I know what it’s like to be that kid.”
In a way, Hattie still is. Hattie says he’s been skateboarding for 27 years.
While his business – Fishnet Sk8board Company at 342 Main St. – is relatively new, Hattie had been kicking around the idea for a long time.
“My wife said, ‘Are you going to do it or not?’” he says. “It was always my dream. I skated for shops when I was younger. So it was always my thing to eventually have my own shop.”
In addition to selling all of the things you would need for skateboarding – from the clothing to the hardware – he also does some silk screening on the side. The business hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
Hattie also has three shop riders – Jabez MacEachern. Jamie d'Entremont and Alec Hebb – that he sponsors and plans to take to competitions.
“They’re good skaters, they know the tricks and everything, but my key thing is attitude,” Hattie says. “They have great attitudes. They’re willing to hang out with the younger kids at the park and help them out, that’s what it’s all about.”
Hattie is also lining up sponsors and hopes to see a competition held at the Yarmouth skate park this spring when the weather warms up.
Hattie says there are a lot of benefits to the comradery that comes with skateboarding.
“It’s like being a motorcycle guy with the Harleys, you’re in the club for life,” he says. “And there’s not a thing that a skater wouldn’t do for another skater. You build those friendships.”
Much like the friendship he and Purdy have built up.
The nine-year-old, who started skating a year ago, says he was very happy when Hattie gave him a free new board. His mother Ashley Nickerson was very grateful as well.
“It was really awesome and he was really happy,” she says. “The town needs more people like James.”
Because, she says, sometimes the littlest gestures can have the biggest impacts.
