Utah is widely regarded as a staple destination for extreme sports. A state that hosted both the X-Games and Tony Hawk's Vert Alert this summer, it's known for its mountainous slopes, its skateparks and "the greatest snow on earth." This status has brought several enthusiasts to the area. Now a new movement is on the horizon — one with small boards and a dedicated community. 

On June 14, co-founders Shaun McBride, known online as Shonduras, and Clark Checketts introduced Layton to Skatestation: Utah's first brick-and-mortar fingerboard business.

“We get a lot of brand new people who are just learning about fingerboards coming in and then we also have the people who have been finger boarding for 20-plus years,” said Ethan Alvey, manager at Skatestation. “Those people are all mingling, getting together and just having a good time.”

An activity where riders use their fingers to control a miniature skateboard, Skatestation not only supplies fingerboarders with new parts, decks and obstacles, but a place to indulge in the hobby. The ambiance of the store matches that of a traditional skate shop, with exposed brick and a worn-down floor complimenting walls of apparel. Set up across the shop are miniature parks as well, each featuring a variety of ramps and rails to string together tricks from. 

Those looking for more need only to ask an employee to access the business' underground park area — a basement filled with setups to skate from.

“Not everyone that walks in our doors buys something and we don't ever really expect that,” said Alvey. “We're kind of a place of community and then we also have stuff that you can buy to get your pro setups or get, you know, your dream setup or something like that too.”

Checketts and Alvey, as well as Checketts’ brother Seth, first got into fingerboarding through the famous Tech Deck toys. Coping with boredom at a call center job in college, Checketts became more invested in the activity and began skating with friends. It was during the pandemic when he began working with his 3D printer to create parts and obstacles to skate on.

During that time, the three began promoting and hosting fingerboard events on social media. Meeting with other enthusiasts in Alvey's father's basement, they created a more significant following – connecting them with McBride. After teaming up with the local internet personality, they began hosting events from McBride's warehouse.  

Today, the shop hosts all gatherings. That said, a lot of Skatestation's work still takes place at the warehouse. An entity within McBride's Spacestation company, the fingerboard operation has a dedicated space in a facility that houses e-sports efforts and social media production resources. Balancing their Skatestation responsibilities with day jobs, Checketts and his staff work to create new items for the shop from the building. One of those is Dude Guy Fingerboard — a company Checketts started that's known for creating high-end fingerboard wheels.

“I really love this and if it made me zero dollars and I could make it work, I would still do it,” said Checketts. “When I am doing my fingerboard work, I'm not clocking in and checking my hours and making sure I'm getting paid enough. I'm just doing what feels fun and cool, and hopefully it all works out at the end of the day.”

Much of what separates Skatestation's products from others in the fingerboard industry is the quality. Each Skatestation deck is built from traditional skateboard materials, rather than just plastic. Most of the parks have also been built by Checketts, his brother and Alvey.

Though new to the area, Checketts and McBride have their sites set on the future, with discussions of a second Utah location in the works. According to Checketts, this would likely be a smaller location, and potentially reside within a skate shop. 

“This is definitely super trial run test, like figure it out,” said Checketts. “I obviously am like going to do everything to make this succeed, but I'm also just kind of like figuring this out.”

Skatestation is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 3-9 p.m. as well as Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. at their location on Main Street in Layton.