DEDICATED TO THE CORE: BRO GUMPRIGHT WORDS BY CHARLIE WILKINS PHOTO BY ROB COLLINS
This is my friend Bro. Bro is from the East Coast, more specifically Cape Cod, and it doesn’t get much more “isolated with not much to skate” than that. Skaters like Bro who grew up on the East Coast face an uphill battle for just about everything in skateboarding. Shitty weather, crusty ass spots, no industry, and no opportunities make that region of the States pretty unfriendly for us board-skaters. He could have just as easily quit skating and gotten into cars, beer, and football like most skater buddies that I grew up with. Not Bro. Straight edge for life, skate your face off ‘til you break your knees, and being an active participant in making the skate scene better is what he’s all about.
Bro did so in part by diving into the world of a brick and mortar retail skateshop, which is crazy. Who the hell makes money off of skateboards, especially in downtown Boston where everyone is a homie and wants to get hooked up? Even so, Bro opened Orchard Skateshop in 2006. Over the last 10 years the shop has moved, grown and multiplied. The shop has become the heart of the Boston skate scene, thanks in part to a free to skate mini ramp inside the shop (later metamorphosing into the one-of-a-kind Bird’s Nest Bowl), second story art gallery that’s host to a rotating series of exhibitions from different skate related artists, as well from emerging and established local artists from Boston and beyond, and events that directly benefit the skaters of Boston. Bro and the rest of the shop’s staff have helped open free indoor skateparks, helped facilitate DIY skatespots, and have collaborated with park builders on the better-late-than-never-skateparks sprouting up in a city that desperately needed them.
Boston has always had a thriving skate scene with world famous, albeit exceptionally hard-to-skate, spots. Shops and brands have come and gone, each one has helped further the skaters and scene, but none as much as Orchard and Bro. Cheers to you, Bro, and all you do for the skaters of Boston.
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