Shifted Skateshop, the newest addition to Ralston’s business scene at 8523 Park Drive, was to be the ultimate father-son project for Josh Kammerer and his dad, Matt.
For years, the two had been dreaming up ways they could start a business together and with Josh’s interest in skateboarding, opening a shop to cater to the burgeoning sport seemed the likely route to take. But the timing never seemed to be just right.
“All I ever wanted to do was open a shop of my own,” said the 21-year-old Josh, who has worked at similar skateshops around the metro area for more than six years. “And my dad, all he wanted to do was help me with that. But it was never a good time.”
Then, in July 2010, Matt’s position as the head of security at the Omaha Auto Auction was eliminated — a blessing in disguise, the Kammerers thought, and on they went with their plans.
They began looking at open storefronts, drawing up a business model, browsing inventory catalogues and trying to find the perfect niche for their venture.
“I think we both knew that a skateshop isn’t the kind of place where you make tons and tons of money,” Josh said. “It’s a place where you can put your passion out there and do something you really love.”
And indeed, that’s what Shifted was to have been — a labor of love between a father and son.
But on Oct. 12, everything quite literally shifted on the Kammerers.
Matt Kammerer was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. Doctors said he had six months to live, maybe fewer.
“After that, everything just went so fast,” Josh said. “There was no transition time. There wasn’t time for anything. I was trying to figure out what to do and I didn’t know what I could do.”
Just over a month following the diagnosis, on Nov 18, 2010, Matt Kammerer died at the age of 54.
“Mentally, I just couldn’t really get my head around that,” Josh said. “You think you’re prepared for something like that, but you never are.”
But even as he mourned, Josh threw himself into the business venture he’d begun with his father with a renewed sense of purpose and on April 1, Shifted Skateshop opened for business.
“It’s what my dad always wanted me to do,” said Josh, who is a 2007 graduate of Papillion-La Vista High School and now lives in Bellevue. “The way I look at it, if he hadn’t passed away, it’d be the two of us right here, so I want to make sure I carry that on.”
In some ways, Matt is still very much a presence in the shop.
Looking out from the behind the register is a photograph of Matt and Josh at Josh’s wedding last year and Matt’s initial investments in Shifted have helped the business get on its first legs in the last month.
“He still did help me get established,” Josh said.
And the shop is beginning to gather a clientele and fill a need in the Ralston area.
Josh said there is a renewed interest in skateboarding as an athletic pursuit and one that helps keep kids focused and out of trouble.
He said his shop and others in the area are trying to break down the stereotype of kids on skateboards causing havoc. At the shop, skating enthusiasts can buy boards, wheels, accessories clothing and other gear, as well as give their boards a roll in the parking lot.
“Skateboarding kept me out of trouble,” Josh said. “We get a lot of kids come down here from Ralston High School when school’s out. It’s a good place to hang out, the kids can skate in the parking lot.
“There’s that stereotype out there that kids are vandalizing things, up to no good, but we’re trying to lead them down the right path.”
Josh said as part of trying to grow the business and encourage young skaters, students from the Ralston and Papillion-La Vista school districts are being offered a 20 percent discount on purchases at Shifted.
With the installation of a skateboard park at Seymour Smith Park at 72nd and Harrison streets, Josh said he’s seen an uptick in skating interest and he feels his business is coming around at just the right time to serve a growing need for skateboarders.
“Any time of day at any skate park, it’s full of kids skating,” he said. “There needs to be more of that.
“It doesn’t have to be a huge area, just a few ramps and rails will work. What people need to see is that skating, really, it’s an art. It’s a way for a kid to find some creative expression and the more that gets encouraged, the more kids are going to get out there.”
In addition to retail sales, Shifted Skateshop also does service.
“We can bring an old board back to life,” Josh said. “And the boards themselves can be works of art.”
Josh and the Shifted Skateshop are also sponsoring a skateboarding team to participate in various contests throughout the region.
The hope is to continue promoting skateboarding as a positive activity for youth and an outlet for creativity and action and for Josh, the shop, even in its early days, is an infinite source of inspiration and passion.
“Like I said, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “It’s the thing that I’ve always had a passion for, the thing that my dad and I were going to do together. And I hope that I’m providing some of the younger kids with motivation and showing them that skateboarding is something they can keep doing and having fun with.”
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