Peekskill’s Indoor Skate Business Comes as 2nd Nature (VIDEO)

Amongst the warehouses of Industrial Park Drive in Peekskill, Doug Brown found a space to make a (non-industrial) dream come true.

An empty Verizon warehouse presented Brown with the perfect space to create an indoor skate boarding park, something that no other town in Westchester offers.

Brown’s 2nd Nature Skate Shop and Park is a 8,000 square foot facility with a 5,000 square floor skate park offering a real brick bank, bowl corner, wall rides, a mini ramp, a small half pipe and more. There is also space for a party room where you can “create a skate” and a retail store stocked with some of the most limited edition skater gear.

In an economy where many are struggling to even find jobs, at 31-years-old Brown made it through the economic crash unscathed and has now expanded his business. He opened Peekskill’s 2^nd Nature in June of this past summer, seven years after he opened his first skater retail store in Sleepy Hollow.

Brown learned the business from a former skate shop owner, Henry Cheng of Henry’s Sports Boutique in Hartsdale, who went out of business, started small and then expanded according to his means. The downturn in the economy lowered rents, which became an advantage to Brown’s business. His personal interest and affinity for skating naturally gives him the expertise he needs.

“I started the business on probably $10 to $15,000,” Brown said of his first small shop in Sleepy Hollow. “It took off pretty good.”

Three years later he moved the store to Mamaroneck. He was seeking a spot for a skate park for years before ending up in Peekskill’s Industrial Park.

“I have been looking all over the county for years for a place with low enough rent and where we could get through zoning,” Brown said. The owner explained that in better times he would be paying one and a half or twice as much to rent the space he is in.

Peekskill’s 2^nd Nature offers skating classes, group skate, drop in times and events.

“We are actually doing pretty well,” he said, explaining that the mix of offerings helps the whole place work. Brown’s friends and family share his passion for the sport. His sister Christine runs the concession stands and helps with other aspects of the business. His brother Brian helps run the business.

The next closest indoor skate park is in Suffern, NY, about 45 minutes away.

There are outdoor skate parks in Cortlandt, Yorktown and other towns throughout Westchester, but those are less appealing when they are not well maintained, if it is snowing or sweltering hot. Before 2^nd Nature Skating opened, Brown held skate classes for kids at the parks in Yorktown, New Rochelle, Ardsley, Chappaqua and Rye.

2^nd Nature is heated in the winter and cooled in the summer.

 “I like it here because everything is modern,” said 10-year-old Elias Knapp from Putnam Valley, who comes to 2^nd Nature as often as possible. Knapp says the outdoor park he goes to is muddy and not always well maintained.

Knapp’s mother added, “And it is better than him skating in the street.”

Brown says he has a couple dozen regulars like Knapp.  As they finish setting up the upstairs birthday and “create a skate” (design your own skateboard) room, and some other final details, Brown has big ideas for other uses of the space.

He hopes to connect with the local artist community to host art shows for bigger pieces and find other ways to work with organizations in town.

This weekend 2^nd Nature is hosting its first big event, where participants can win prized for best tricks, best prizes and in other contests.

For more information check out their website.

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