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Brady-Higgins Family Newsletter>
Family celebrity and business owner featured
May 17, 2007
I thought you would like to see this information from the
Wednesday Journal, Inc., Web site.
Andre,
This article is about my son's business. Karen (Jennie's
daughter)
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Modest it's named, but modest it's not
HTTP://www.wjinc.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&subsectionID=4&articleID=4102
Web Posted 3/21/2006 10:00:00 PM
By S. CARDOSO
Article :
Modest is not the first word that comes to mind to describe
skateboarding. Yet a Berwyn-based skateboard and apparel
shop run by two young Oak Park and River Forest High School
graduates is named just that. "I thought of a trait I would
use to describe myself," admits Matt Ward, 26, of Oak Park
who co-owns the store with Kevin Breen, 21, of River
Forest. "You know, we want to give skateboarding a good
image; we want to be respectful and be respected."
Ward is all that and more. The neatly-groomed, well-spoken,
BMX pro-biker turned skater firmly believes skateboarding
someday will get the international athletic recognition it
deserves. "It will be in the Olympics," he says
confidently. "It's just a matter of time." Breen is a
professional skateboarder.
Ward worked at the skateboard shop for several years when
it went by the name First Gear. Then the owner decided to
sell. Ward seriously considered the opportunity and put
together a business plan. He first presented the
co-ownership to Zach Stuart-Fry, Ward's best friend from
Oak Park who is also a leading Chicago-based skateboarder
and the "star" of the First Gear team.
"He didn't want the risk," Ward says simply. "I understand
it. Skateboarders don't make big money; they need real
jobs." Stuart-Fry joined the skate team of Uprise! a large
skateboard shop in Chicago but still keeps his day job
working for the financial markets downtown. Ward then
presented the opportunity to Breen, a top local
skateboarder, who agreed to take the chance.
But for the guys, it's not all about the money. "These kids
wouldn't have a place to hang," Ward says, referring to the
young boys gathering in the store. "What would they do?
Mess around, get into trouble." The boys are at the shop so
much that their families are in the habit of calling the
store to talk with them.
A hub in the local skating community
"I want to be a pro skater," says 10-year-old Ryan Garcia
of Cicero quietly, hands in his sweatshirt pockets, nodding
his head. His father is living in their native country of
Guatemala. His mother recently lost her job at a local
bakery. "My mom wants me to be a pro." When asked if Garcia
wanted to be like Bam Margera, skateboard star and pop
culture icon, the normally stoic Garcia cracks a smile. "I
want to buy my Mom a house," he says softly, "but I
wouldn't wreck my uncle's car" referring to Bam's
over-the-top antics on his MTV program.
"I want to be a pro," echoes 15-year-old Ricky Albera of
Berwyn. The two boys have been skating together, along with
Garcia's older brother, for four years. Garcia is the
youngest member of the Modest skate team.
"When I was their age, I didn't really have a place to hang
out," says Ward, whose mother is a pediatrician and father
is a community communications specialist. He admits to
identifying strongly with Garcia and Albera. As a kid
growing up in Oak Park, Ward experienced the same
restlessness that kept him constantly outdoors, moving
energetically from sport to sport. He knew all the other
kids in Oak Park and River Forest who were the same way.
After graduating from Lincoln Elementary School, Emerson
Middle School (now Gwendolyn Brooks), and Oak Park and
River Forest High School, he made several attempts at
attending college but kept switching majors and schools
before temporarily stopping in favor of work. But with the
kids on his skate team, he stresses academics and
discipline.
"The kids on my team know they have to do more than just
skate well to be on the Modest team," Ward says sternly.
"They have to go to school, get good grades, not use bad
language, listen to their parents." Garcia and Albera's
eyes are focused on Ward as he speaks and they nod
solemnly. "When they do well in school, they get stuff-they
get free shoes, discounts on boards. I give them
incentives." While Ward would like to see members of his
team turn pro and go further, he feels it is more important
to see them learn the skills that will carry them
successfully through the benchmarks of adulthood. He says
if he had not turned to business, he would have become a
teacher.
It is Ward's relationship with skateboard vendors that
allows him to get the stuff. "When we opened, we had three
shoe companies that backed us-DVS, Adio, and LaKai," he
says. The store now carries a full line of top brands
including Nike, Es and more. "We get all ages coming in,"
says Ward. "I mean, Tony Hawk is close to 40, and he is
showing you can still do the moves at that age and not get
hurt."
Tony Hawk is the world's best "vert" skater while the trend
now is street-skating. Still, Ward admits the age
difference is there. "Just like the majority of the younger
skaters can't do the moves of a mature skater, older
skaters can't usually [either]." Ward also notes a small
but growing interest by girls. "Many are into the fashion
aspect of skateboarding," he says. "But more and more are
actually skating." To date, no girls have expressed
interest in being on the Modest skate team.
A Modest budget
"We're not rich-our parents aren't bankrolling this as a
tax dodge or something," Ward laughs. "I keep all costs
down; I need to sell so many pairs of shoes each day to
cover the heat, the electricity," he explains. "It's not
warm in here." Indeed, the heat is down in the store and an
electric heater kicks on in waves. The guys are all wearing
Modest-logo'd hooded sweatshirts and occasionally stand in
front of the floor heater. As part of Modest's promotional
business plan, establishing the skate team was first,
creating Modest apparel was next, creating a website on the
Internet is coming and traditional advertising is last.
The cost to skate can be anything but modest. "Shoes cost
$50 to $80 for basics. That doesn't include special
editions which are more, but we have sales a lot," says
Ward. "Active skaters can go through two pairs a month," he
says. Skateboards are $80-$150 and are custom-built, which
means selecting a board, wheels, truck and bearings. Active
skaters can break, split and grind boards on a monthly
basis. With the popularity of "street skating" there is
more opportunity to wear down equipment.
The shop resembles a trendy downtown loft or an exclusive
high-end boutique-exposed brick walls, clean wooden floor.
Boards hang precisely on the brick wall in the back of the
store. Shoes are neatly arranged on the west wall and a few
well-placed racks feature a limited number of T-shirts and
sweatshirts. Prominent are the Modest shirts-one looking
like an el train map noting all local stops with a star
where the store is located. The T shirts sell for $15 or
two for $25. The zippered sweatshirt is $35. "I design the
shirts and order them in very small quantities," says Ward,
a former design student at Columbia College. "The small
quantity makes sure I can sell them and not tie-up money in
inventory and also it means I can introduce new designs
regularly which our clients will want to buy."
Of the skaters hanging out at the store, he notes, "It's
cold and snowy out today or they'd be out there
practicing." He usually gets the kids to skate two hours a
day during the week and all day on the weekends.
The skate team
Each skateshop sponsors a team of skateboarders who compete
in area competitions at local skateparks. The kids promote
the name of the shop and help get the name and word on the
street. Vendors with whom the skateboard shop has
relationships give the team free gear-it is the primary way
for the skateboard manufacturers to keep their products top
of mind with these trendsetters. "The latest in boards,
shoes-these kids have them," Ward says of his team. The
kids then wear the items and establish a "cool factor" that
makes others-even non-skateboarders-want them.
Modest is located at 6912 W. 16th St. in Berwyn, between
Kenilworth and Clinton, and can be reached at 749-0036.
You will have to look carefully for it but behind the
modest brick storefront lies a skateboard powerhouse.
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