Bucks County skateboarding has a new home in Dogwood Skate Shop, a new specialty shop which recently opened along Maple Avenue in Langhorne Borough.
Across from the Langhorne Coffee House and Borough Hall, Rich Van Horn has set up a community bastion for skaters. They can gather, check out new gear, watch skating videos and commiserate around the sport.
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Van Horn grew up in Lower Bucks County and has been a skater all his life, so creating a place where he could give back to that community was huge for him.
Growing up, Van Horn worked at G Spot, a skating shop on Lincoln Highway and then at a skate park near the Franklin Mills Mall. From there, he moved up to management and traveled around the country managing different skate parks before coming home to the Philadelphia area. He was involved in Reign Skate, but as that store was closing its Fairless Hills location, he looked toward his own beginning.
“I prepped to go into business myself, because I know there is a need in this town,” Van Horn explained.
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A spot in Penndel where Van Horn was looking to open his shop lost availability at the last second. Soon after, walking a couple doors down from his own address, he stumbled upon his current location.
“It all kind of fell into my hands,” Van horn explained.
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The shop sells everything a skateboarder might need, including decks, trucks, wheels clothes and they will be selling shoes in the future.
Many of Van Horn’s customers followed him from Reign Skate and that is a loyalty he wants to return.
Aside from working to open up his own skate shop, Van Horn has also been working tirelessly to fund raise for the Middletown Skate Park project. He has appeared before the Middletown officials a number of times to plead the case and is now working on the front lines to raise money for the cause.
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At the checkout station, Van Horn has a jar where people can make donations to the park and where the money from certain sales goes. All of that money goes directly towards the new park.
“I’m not even worried about it bringing business, I want a quality skate park to be in the neighborhood where I grew up and live,” Van Horn said. “Hopefully we can make it happen in the next year.”
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“Without the community, skateboarding wouldn’t be what it is,” he explained. “I try to give back in each purchase that is made here.”
