The skate shop worker is at the service of the local skate scene. However, the skate shop lurker might be at disservice of a skate store without even realising. James Rewolinski of New York City’s Labor Skate Shop sets the record straight on in-store etiquette, no purchase required.
This story is part of ‘New Year, New Rules’ which welcomes columnist Ian Browning and his ‘Rules of Skateboarding’ series of interviews to Skate Bylines.
Interview by Ian Browning
Photography courtesy of Labor Skate Shop
Ian Browning: How long can somebody lurk without buying something before it gets awkward?
James Rewolinski, founder and owner of Labor Skate Shop: Well, I feel like I need to preface it by saying that there’s a difference in a city shop versus a suburban shop. Lurking is limited by design in the city. I don’t think there’s as much of a desire to lurk outside the shop all day when you have New York City outside the door.
Our shop is so small that the lurking issue isn’t really about buying something. If you’re just in here and you aren’t conversing with us or anything like that, that can just get frustrating because you’re just taking up space, you know? [Say] if someone else is trying to find a shoe, a deck, or something. If you’re outside of the shop it’s kind of endless lurk possibilities. Within reason.
I would say on average, stopping and saying what up, 10, 15 minutes is usually pretty solid. Much longer than that and we have to do other stuff. We might feel weird ignoring you if we have to do our jobs, I guess.
“We have the whole area outside that is almost an extension of the shop.”
Is there an etiquette to lurking and, if there is, what’s the most egregious violation of that etiquette?
The etiquette specifically for us would be being aware of the space, because it’s tiny. If it gets too crazy in here and you’re lurking just go outside, wait until it gets calm, and then we can talk.
The biggest violation is just straight up being in someone’s way: standing in front of the [board] rack or standing in front of the shoe wall and being oblivious to somebody trying to actually look at stuff. And people just trying to get in and out. If three kids are standing right here in front of the register and you come in and need griptape real quick, that’s obnoxious. I’d say the biggest violation is not being aware. Because [lurking] is cool. We have the whole area outside that is almost an extension of the shop.
TJ Rogers lurking outside Labor Skate Shop during the ‘TJ Rogers World Tour’ for his signature shoe in September 2025 éS Footwear
Are there different tiers of lurker? Can a local lurk for longer than a tourist?
I mean, yes. I would say that within that there’s different tiers; a fun lurker versus somebody that’s being awkward, not saying anything and hanging out. There’s a good crew of kids that come in and tell us what they’re doing. They might show us a video they made or tell us a story that happened in school. That’s cool.
I think people visiting are less likely to lurk because just because they don’t have as much to talk about. But they’ll say what’s up and obviously we’re going to welcome people to see what they’re doing and what they’re about. It doesn’t happen too often that somebody overstays their welcome. Although that does happen.
Word on Canal Street is that Nardwuar has exemplary shop etiquette. The most knowledgable podcast host with the Labor Skate Shop crew in September 2025, James Rewolinski pictured left in red flannel Labor Skate Shop
What about bringing food and drinks in?
Oh dude, this is my most hated one. Some people say I’m too high strung but don’t bring food in here. Just don’t. Especially not açaí bowls. Especially not pizza. Especially not coffee drinks that are always overflowing. Which they almost always are. I hate it.
Full disclosure, and again you might say I have a stick up my ass for this, but I don’t even let the guys [that work here] eat in here. I ask them to eat outside. Honestly, one of the main things is that we’ve never had a problem with any rats or roaches or anything like that. And this city is full of rats and roaches and bugs and everything. I don’t want that to change. I think a big way of making sure that happens is you don’t have any food for animals and bugs to eat. It’s a lot easier, especially in Chinatown.
“We usually keep a stack of old boards outside so if someone breaks a board we have whatever we have outside …
I think free stuff like that is fine. But, I mean, the sky’s the limit.
I’ve been asked for every possible thing you can think of.”
Free stuff: what is acceptable to ask for and what’s the worst thing someone has asked to get for free?
You’d be surprised on the last part. We usually keep a stack of old boards outside so if someone breaks a board we have whatever we have outside [for them to take from]. We also have a box of old hardware and stuff like that. A lot of times there’s loose bearings in there.
Some people may think this is lame but we do have new axle nuts, kingpin nuts, and pivot cups. Little stuff that we charge really small amounts of money for. People still feel like they’re entitled to those for free even though we buy them. There is that whole thing where people think: “Oh, it’s just a little thing.” It’s like, “Yeah but I have it [in stock] as a convenience and it’s not a lot of money, it’s like 25 cents.” Also, there’s a whole box of used stuff if you want to hack it out.
So I think free stuff like that is fine. But I mean, the sky’s the limit. I’ve been asked for every possible thing you can think of. People think they deserve free decks or this or that.
I’ve gotten asked for shoes, a complete, “You should give me this because I’m this.” People say—I’m not going to name the shops—but they’ll be like: “At this place they hook me up fully.” I’m like, “Go there. Do it. It’s over there, you know where it is. Go over there and if they’ll give you the full board or shoes or trade your crappy stuff that nobody wants for something cool, then go for it.”
“Lurking is limited by design in the city. I don’t think there’s as much of a desire to lurk outside the shop all day when you have New York City outside the door.”
What’s up with product trades?
That’s the bane of my existence.
We used to have a pretty strict policy where if it was a deck or set of wheels, as long as it was perfect in the plastic, I’d usually do a trade. I never did anything with shoes because we have such a small inventory. As most people know, one of the only ways you really make money at a skate shop is on shoes.
As we’ve grown we’ve had more friends and team riders and visiting pros or whatever so with some of that stuff we’ll make a little leeway. But the trade always has to work in our favour. If you’re going to get something for something you didn’t pay for, usually it has to help us out too. Especially if it’s something coming out that may be more valuable.
“Until I can pay my rent to my landlord in bags of crap that no one wants, you can keep the trades.”
On the face of it if a person on the street comes in and asks “Can I trade this in?” the answer is “No.” Take it to where you got it. If you got it for free, just ride it. A lot of times people will come with bags of crap they got over the years or from some company. They want to trade all this crap for a brand new pair of adidas or something and that’s just not going to happen.
I understand when people are like, “Oh, back in the day”, but it’s not back in the day. If you can make my rent what it was back in the day, I’ll start doing your trades. Until I can pay my rent to my landlord in bags of crap that no one wants, you can keep the trades.
How many questions are too many questions?
Wow. I don’t know if we could put a number on it but I feel like you know it when you know it. I feel like you probably know it. I feel like, per subject area, maybe four? Four questions on wheels, four questions on decks, four questions on trucks, four questions on bearings, maybe four questions on shoes, maybe four on all other apparel and then you’re done. Although most of us are talkers and I could talk about product all day. I usually have to stop myself.
Ian Browning is a journalist and essayist based in New York who writes about the intersection of skateboarding and culture. He has written for Quartersnacks, Simple Magic, PLANK, Closer Skateboarding, Jenkem and Eater. As a columnist for Skate Bylines his ‘Rules of Skateboarding’ series explores nuances with notable characters.
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“Why does this story matter? Why is it relevant to the current moment and that publication? Why are you the person to tell it?” — Cole Nowicki, Ian Browning, Josh Sabini, Claire Alleaume, Norma Ibarra, Greg Navarro and Alex White share insights on pitching stories to skate magazines ans brands from a variety of creative perspectives and backgrounds in ‘Making The Big Leagues’.
“One of the main ideas that led to this series was wanting to be able to bring the type of debate that happens during a slow shift at a skate shop, or on the periphery of a wound-down session, where skate nerds air out their strong opinions.” — Ian Browning discusses the origin of ‘The Rules of Skateboarding’ and his highlights from the series.
This story originally appeared on Village Psychic on November 5th 2017 date under the headline ‘The Rules of Skateboarding #3: James from Labor’. Browning joined Skate Bylines in 2026, bringing over his previous columns and continuing ‘The Rules of Skateboarding’ series.
