TitleAbacus Promo Video





































































































































The Rise and Fall of a Skate Company.

Have you ever wondered what to do if you can't pick up a sponsor in the wonderful world of skateboarding?


Maybe you are past your sell-by date. Or you really don't have the
skills or attitude to cut it as a sponsored rider. Well what can you
do? You could always start your own company. Then there's your sponsor!

Every kid dreams of sporting a company logo on their chest or on their feet. People who say they aren't, well they're lying.

I
never thought of getting a sponsor. I had friends in the industry and
friends who were sponsored. When times were hard they would sort me out
with boards or shoes. After all we are all brothers of the board.
I
lived in the best place for skating. Not because of the endless amounts
of marble, smooth surfaces and parks. We hardly had any. Our little
town in the UK had something better. We had a crew.

I moved to
Ipswich on the East coast of England in 1994 to study Art at the
college. The first day I met some of the local skaters. They took me
under their wing and I honestly had the best time of my life. I did my
stint at college and had a couple of jobs. Then I got the job at the
skate shop. Four years I worked behind the stickered counter. Not
really thinking anything about what to do. I was skating a lot, helping
build the new park and dabbling with some Art.

Like most pipe dreams
it started over a pint down the local pub. What are we going to do? I
told my drinking buddy "why don't we start a company'? He agreed. We
got the ball rolling. We met with designers, printers and riders. It
was all coming together. Then the friction began. The guy with the
money didn't quite see eye to eye with the designer. A conflict of
ideas. The money was pulled out. Well it was good while it lasted.

Starting
a skate company is actually a lot harder then I imagined. I thought
about it then decided to give it a go. What did I have to lose? Well
you will find out!

The first thing I needed was a name. My original
partner and I had got that far. We spent a whole lot of time going
through a dictionary. We came up with Abacus Skateboarding Apparel. We
thought about boards but the market was going through tough times. A
clothing company seemed the way to go.
I know what you are
thinking "Abacus"? Obviously you got bored looking through the
dictionary. We actually did go through A to Z. Abacus seemed to strike
a chord. It's made of wood. Okay. Skating uses mathematics also. So
far, so good. It sounded cool. The Job was nearly done.

My friend
whom I went to Art College with was more than happy to help out.
Another web designer also opted to lend a hand. He gave me the sickest
website which actually got hits from all around the world. It was
mostly kids wanting to get sponsored or bands wanting stuff for shows.
All good publicity though.

It was time to the bank for some finance.
I got a business loan. I had to attend a small business seminar which
was quite interesting. The loan came through and we were off.

The
person to print the shirts was my boss at the time. He had started
screen printing our own shop logo tees. So could he do mine? No
problem. Plus he was willing to give me a deal.

Okay, how about
riders? Easy. I had picked a few guys who were willing to sport the
goods. A few park rippers and street dogs. It was a good mix to be
honest.

It was all working out well. Too well. So what happened?

Well
I started with the best intentions. Money seems to find a quick way out
of a business. I seemed to be paying for advertising, free products for
riders, catalogues, stickers, screen prints, business cards and
samples. It was going out quicker than I could put in. Then the
bombshell hit. My flagship shop was to shut down. In the words of the
wise Homer Simpson."DOH"!

I considered trying to market from my
house. The printer was still going. My website was getting a lot of
hits and a magazine had given me coverage. At the end of the day I just
bit off more than I could chew.
It's funny that when I go back to
visit Ipswich, friends pull out the Abacus shirts as a memorial. We had
fun times. Mostly involving the best places we could put the stickers.

I have thought of a 'Son of Abacus' to emerge like a phoenix. At the end of the day I really think it was a one shot deal.

I
got my fifteen minutes of fame and sported some rad tees in the
process. You really have to have a good head for accounts when it comes
to a business. Don't get carried away with the little things. Try and
get legit from the get go. Research other companies. Check out
copyright and sort out the tax. The key is 'responsibility'.

I so
admire these little companies that have sprung up from nothing and are
still around today. The companies that stay under the radar and just
stay that popular that it's still cool.

Good luck to all running a
company or toying with the idea. If it's done right it can be so
rewarding! It took me a long time to wipe the slate from the bank. A
few red letters and scares from collection agencies made me buck my
ideas up. The more I think about it the more it scares me running the
whole thing. I guess I will never be that skater entrepreneur after all

Most of you probably know one of the world's largest skateparks is in Shanghai. Being that I am only a stone's throw away from China here in Taiwan I thought I should really check it out.

The opportunity arose when my friend Haidee told me she had to go and do some work there. Her company had offices there in Shanghai. What a great reason to visit. I get to see my long lost friend from the UK and skate the park. My girlfriend and I were sold on the idea. Shanghai get ready to be Shawn Allenated!

My girl booked the flights for the end of last year, sorted out the hotel and got her visa. (Being that she was from Taiwan she had to get a landing visa for China)

When we arrived at the airport Joyce scratched her head and looked at me as we queued to show our passports.

"Do you need a visa for China"?
"Of course not, I'm from England. I get a landing visa for 30 days".

"Excuse me sir, where is your visa for China"? Said the angry woman at the counter.

I then get told because I live in Taiwan I have to apply for a visa. I then get the good news I can stop over in Macau (A small island just off Hong Kong). Next time I should not be so obnoxious when it comes to my British passport. It is not actually the key to the world like I used to think!

The flight to Macau is short, just an hour and a half. We jumped in a cab and got to the visa office in Macau.
Macau is cool. It was occupied by the Portuguese so everything had a very European feel. The roads were cobbled and the signs were in Portuguese.

The visa office was open even though it was a Saturday. We had an hour to go before it closed for lunch. When we got there I had to quickly get some passport photos and fill out some forms. I could pick them up at the end of the day.

"Impossible" was the reply from one of the rudest office workers I have ever met. Even though the office was open. It was not open for visa processing. Only collection! I would be able to pick it up on Monday!

Thanks for that then! So Joyce and I had to find a hotel for two nights in Macau. That was going to cost us about $200. Nice. Half my spending money gone then!

Macau is basically the Asian version of Vegas. Although it doesn't have any of the atmosphere! Gambling is big business. It is just a job to the tourists there. Plus it is expensive.
The skate spots are just as random. I found some rad places. My favorite was a little undercover spot. It had banks, ledges, drops and manual pads. All under these huge tents. Bizarre.

Another place which gets hit up by travelling skaters is the Macau tower. It has a crazy bowl. You have to skate it to believe it.

Would I ever go back to Macau? Probably not! It was fun though. Another check on my places to skate list. My pit stop was over. Shanghai here we come.

When we arrived in Shanghai it was so different from what I expected. It is really a tale of two cities. Poor working class to rich business types. They saw my white face and pounced on me. Fake watches, designer bags, DVDs and anything else they thought I would want. These guys would sell me their Grandmother if I offered them the right price.

They would also get so angry if you didn't give the right price. The mainland Chinese are out for the dollar more than anyone I have ever met.

The scariest thing was when we actually went to the SMP skatepark. We decided it would be fun to travel by motorcycle taxi. We hopped into the undercover carriage attached on the back of the bike. It was so freezing but what the hell. We were only going to do this once.

My girlfriend bargained the price with the driver and he was cool with it. We were off to the world's largest skatepark and I was stoked.

It is an epic journey to the park. You have to catch a train out of Shanghai. Then grab a cab to the park. Most drivers don't even know where it is. Our man knew. We got there in about twenty minutes.

That's when the drama starts. The driver said the price he gave us was each, not for both of us. Basically he was trying to scam the foreigners. My girlfriend was taking none of his sh#t. She basically told him "you have this or nothing". You go girl! Well he snatched the dollar and starts cursing us down. He even followed us into the park. All this just to get some more money from us. Not a good start to my epic journey. Enough with this! I want to skate!

I got to the park and was shocked. The place is huge. Vert ramps, bowls, rails, steps, ledges, a full pipe and a street course. I had forgotten the taxi drama. I paid my seven bucks and entered 'the Sex, Money, Power ' skatepark. It was a Tuesday around midday. AND THE PLACE WAS EMPTY!! The place was all mine to myself. Amazing!

It is actually a tough park to skate. The concrete is pretty gnarly. Some of the bowls are massive too. It was scary to say the least. I had a go at everything though. I had the most fun on the street course. I know I travel all this way and I just skate street. Well, I have never been a park dog. I'm the first to admit that.

All in all, looking back at my little adventure, it was all worth it. From being stuck in Macau to skating the park. I'm glad I did it. From the good stuff to the bad. It all makes the memory of a visit. If you are out this way it is worth a visit. I just warn you, you may get a bit more of an adventure than you bargained for!

Most of you probably know one of the world's largest skateparks is in Shanghai. Being that I am only a stone's throw away from China here in Taiwan I thought I should really check it out.

The opportunity arose when my friend Haidee told me she had to go and do some work there. Her company had offices there in Shanghai. What a great reason to visit. I get to see my long lost friend from the UK and skate the park. My girlfriend and I were sold on the idea. Shanghai get ready to be Shawn Allenated!

My girl booked the flights for the end of last year, sorted out the hotel and got her visa. (Being that she was from Taiwan she had to get a landing visa for China)

When we arrived at the airport Joyce scratched her head and looked at me as we queued to show our passports.

"Do you need a visa for China"?
"Of course not, I'm from England. I get a landing visa for 30 days".

"Excuse me sir, where is your visa for China"? Said the angry woman at the counter.

I then get told because I live in Taiwan I have to apply for a visa. I then get the good news I can stop over in Macau (A small island just off Hong Kong). Next time I should not be so obnoxious when it comes to my British passport. It is not actually the key to the world like I used to think!

The flight to Macau is short, just an hour and a half. We jumped in a cab and got to the visa office in Macau.
Macau is cool. It was occupied by the Portuguese so everything had a very European feel. The roads were cobbled and the signs were in Portuguese.

The visa office was open even though it was a Saturday. We had an hour to go before it closed for lunch. When we got there I had to quickly get some passport photos and fill out some forms. I could pick them up at the end of the day.

"Impossible" was the reply from one of the rudest office workers I have ever met. Even though the office was open. It was not open for visa processing. Only collection! I would be able to pick it up on Monday!

Thanks for that then! So Joyce and I had to find a hotel for two nights in Macau. That was going to cost us about $200. Nice. Half my spending money gone then!

Macau is basically the Asian version of Vegas. Although it doesn't have any of the atmosphere! Gambling is big business. It is just a job to the tourists there. Plus it is expensive.
The skate spots are just as random. I found some rad places. My favorite was a little undercover spot. It had banks, ledges, drops and manual pads. All under these huge tents. Bizarre.

Another place which gets hit up by travelling skaters is the Macau tower. It has a crazy bowl. You have to skate it to believe it.

Would I ever go back to Macau? Probably not! It was fun though. Another check on my places to skate list. My pit stop was over. Shanghai here we come.

When we arrived in Shanghai it was so different from what I expected. It is really a tale of two cities. Poor working class to rich business types. They saw my white face and pounced on me. Fake watches, designer bags, DVDs and anything else they thought I would want. These guys would sell me their Grandmother if I offered them the right price.

They would also get so angry if you didn't give the right price. The mainland Chinese are out for the dollar more than anyone I have ever met.

The scariest thing was when we actually went to the SMP skatepark. We decided it would be fun to travel by motorcycle taxi. We hopped into the undercover carriage attached on the back of the bike. It was so freezing but what the hell. We were only going to do this once.

My girlfriend bargained the price with the driver and he was cool with it. We were off to the world's largest skatepark and I was stoked.

It is an epic journey to the park. You have to catch a train out of Shanghai. Then grab a cab to the park. Most drivers don't even know where it is. Our man knew. We got there in about twenty minutes.

That's when the drama starts. The driver said the price he gave us was each, not for both of us. Basically he was trying to scam the foreigners. My girlfriend was taking none of his sh#t. She basically told him "you have this or nothing". You go girl! Well he snatched the dollar and starts cursing us down. He even followed us into the park. All this just to get some more money from us. Not a good start to my epic journey. Enough with this! I want to skate!

I got to the park and was shocked. The place is huge. Vert ramps, bowls, rails, steps, ledges, a full pipe and a street course. I had forgotten the taxi drama. I paid my seven bucks and entered 'the Sex, Money, Power ' skatepark. It was a Tuesday around midday. AND THE PLACE WAS EMPTY!! The place was all mine to myself. Amazing!

It is actually a tough park to skate. The concrete is pretty gnarly. Some of the bowls are massive too. It was scary to say the least. I had a go at everything though. I had the most fun on the street course. I know I travel all this way and I just skate street. Well, I have never been a park dog. I'm the first to admit that.

All in all, looking back at my little adventure, it was all worth it. From being stuck in Macau to skating the park. I'm glad I did it. From the good stuff to the bad. It all makes the memory of a visit. If you are out this way it is worth a visit. I just warn you, you may get a bit more of an adventure than you bargained for!