By Meghan Steingold
Living In The Ledge
Although largely unknown to the general public, the Yoor Mom Skate Shop is a unique business to the Grand Ledge community, with little recognition.
Being a little shack next door to the Sun Theater, the store at 320 S. Bridge St. exhibits very unique attributes that differ from those of the surrounding businesses. With old skateboards bolted up on the sides of the entrance, and graffiti along the side of the building, the shop is clearly geared toward the youth of Grand Ledge.
Shop owner, Jerry Norris keeps the skateboards nailed up on the wall at all times for purchase and also for people to stop in just to gaze. The store also sells other skateboarding equipment.
Jerry Norris, the owner of the skate shop, opened the business May 13, 2012 because of his son Rain Norris and his friends.
“We are an incubator for skateboarding companies, so any kid that has an idea to start a skateboarding company whether it be t-shirts and apparel or making decks or being a photographer or videographer, they can come here and sell through here. We’re a skate shop, but we’re really a hang out for these kids,” said Jerry Norris.
The shop is only open from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. during the winter, with different hours in the summer.
The shop is a good place for kids to congregate and hang out, Rain Norris said: “Me and my friends always come here just to chill.”
One of the more unique aspects of the shop are the one-of-a-kind skateboards that are distributed. “We take old chipped-up skateboards that are not usable and we cut them into a new pattern so that they can become cruisers. We also buy skateboards off of the Internet that are already pressed and we put our logo and artwork on them,” Jerry Norris said.
The kids of the skate shop take old skateboards and recreate them into their own masterpieces. They take beat up, unusable skateboards to rebuild and redesign new ones. These pieces are found everywhere in the shop for use.
Being on display all over the shop, the one-of-a-kind skateboards are hung up on the walls for anyone to admire. Each embody different personalities that appeal to youth of Grand Ledge.
The skate shop will be pressing their own skateboards this upcoming spring as well as designing them, according to Jerry Norris.
The city of Grand Ledge previously had a highly–popular skate park that closed down in 2010 due to its dangerous nature. According to Jerry Norris a quarter of the skate park was not constructed well and when exposed to the weather, it quickly degraded, making it unsuitable for kids.
With the demolition of the skate park, a demand for a new one is inevitable.
The 21 kids of the skate shop and the Mi Sk8 Park Club are hopeful that they can make this happen, and bigger than anyone is expecting.
According to Jerry Norris, they plan on constructing one of the longest skate parks that spreads through the city of Grand Ledge like a “fitness trail for skateboarders.”
Additionally, Jerry Norris claims that it will also be one of the most high-tech skate parks, with web cams and sensors built into each obstacle.
Although in the works, the skate park does not have any concrete funding just yet and it will all depend on the size and how tech savvy the entire project ends up being, according to YES Center Executive Director Jay Miller.
Miller is closely associated with Jerry Norris in the hopes that one of the obstacles can be located outside of the YES Center on Harrison Street.
The City of Grand Ledge is still not on board with the entire project, but more and more efforts are being made every day by the Michigan Skate Park Club as well as the Yoor Mom Skate Shop, according to Jerry Norris.
Despite everything the skate shop intends to accomplish in the upcoming years, Yoor Mom is still unknown to the general public.
When asking around, it was discovered that many were unaware of the skate shop or even what it attempts to do. Both Nicole Marker and Jeff Bryant, Grand Ledge residents, agreed that they had never heard of the shop, even after its location was described.
Preston’s Bar owner and Grand Ledge resident Victor Preston said he had heard of the shop, but had no idea what it did. “I’ve definitely seen it before, but I’ve never actually gone inside,” Preston said.
One of the more interesting aspects of the shop is the laid-back nature that is appealing to so many kids. There is a rack of shoes that are kept right by the door for any kids that want them. Being first come, first served, anyone is free to take a pair.