Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Alex Holzinger

A half-pipe, a nose grind down the ledge, a 360 spin-these tricks cause most Conway skateboarders to fall on their face. But now these skaters have a store in Conway that can outfit them when they take their boards off of sweet jumps.

Goodwheel Skateboards is a skate shop located on Oak Street in downtown Conway. University of Central Arkansas (UCA) junior Joey Hambuchen owns the small shop. The 20-year-old business major, who does not wear a suit to work, decided Conway had a demand for a skate shop since there is nothing else like it in town, so he used his own money and a little help from Dad to open the store in May 2004.

Brightly colored skateboard decks line the wall of his narrow shop; the most popular being a deck that has the Goodwheel logo printed on the cover. Hambuchen said if you go down to the skateboarding park, there are usually several kids with Goodwheel boards because the cover is only $25, which is a great deal.

It is a one-stop shop for skateboarding gear. They have everything from shoes and clothing to safety gear and "shoe goo," which is used to rebuild worn down heels of shoes and makes the soles less slippery. The unique thing is Goodwheel carries long boards, which are often hard to find. Bownan's girlfriend, UCA junior Clark Bownan, helps around the shop because they have no real employees.

"People aren't totally used to it being here, but there is definitely a following that has been building. We have several regular customers," she said.

In fact, during my visit to Good Wheel, Conway High School West student Jordan Nobles was hanging out in the shop because he said there is no other place like it in Conway.

"My friends and I come by pretty much everyday just to hang out," he said.

Visiting the shop definitely made me want to buy a skateboard, although I think I'll stick to activities without wheels. You get to pick your deck, your axle, your wheels, and even your stickers. They hope the store will bring things such as skateboarding demos from popular skateboarding teams. Who wouldn't want Bam Margera in Conway?

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