William Ivy does not believe in all the bells and whistles of big skateboard shops. As a skateboarder for most of his life, he respects simplicity in a store, and believes his peers do not want to have things sold to them. He makes sure his own shop, Nine16, is a place where honest skaters can get exactly what they need and nothing else.
The deliberate barebones design is immediately apparent right through the front door. There is no sign of the grungy, cluttered atmosphere one might find at a similar place in the mall. Instead of punk or metal music blasting from above, a single television over the counter plays a skate video. This background noise never makes casual conversation difficult.
Whereas a skate shop in the mall might also carry snowboards or bikinis, Ivy does not have them. He wants his customers to be able to find what they want and get back out to the skatepark.
"A lot of those big-box stores are kind of like the Wal-Marts of skateboarding," Ivy said. "If you need to ask some questions or something you may be dealing with somebody that does not skateboard. If you go into Zumiez, for example, you are going to see some hot girls. And that is tight. I like looking at pretty girls, but at the same time if I have a question, she cannot answer it."
This is also why Ivy said he does not carry bikinis or snowboards. Since he is not familiar with these things, he feels he should not sell them.
Known as "Billy" to his friends and frequent customers, Sacramento State graduate Ivy has skated off and on since he was 8 years old. As a youth, he was also a frequent baseball and basketball player, but when he really fell in love with skating as a high school junior, he quit those other activities. Now 30, he said he still skates at least five times a week and tries to make it out every day.
When Ivy graduated from Sac State's ethnic studies program in 2006, his ambition was to go into the Peace Corps in Africa or Eastern Europe. He said this desire to volunteer his time comes from his father, who was a B-52 bomber pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He died in early 1984 when his plane crashed during a training mission in Arizona. Ivy's sister is a nurse in the Air Force. His sister was 10 when their father died, and he said she wanted to join the military her entire life.
After an arduous application and interview process, Ivy skipped the Peace Corps because no spots were available for teachers in his desired destinations.
Throughout his time at Sac State and afterward, Ivy worked in the skateboard industry in various capacities. In the summer of 2009, longtime friend Bobby Ingle offered Ivy a position at the newly-opened Nine16 shop, and he accepted.
Just months after coming onboard at Nine16, part-owner Tom Sorci died after he was hit by a car while riding his bike to the local Taco Bell, and Ingle said he had a decision to make. Ultimately, Ingle gave 30 percent of the ownership in the store to Ivy, and Ingle said it was a great choice. Now, Ivy operates the shop essentially on his own, and Ingle said he is the "backbone of the store."
It is always clear Ivy respects his customers, and they identify with him. On a busy but not overwhelming Sunday afternoon, a teenager comes in to have a piece tightened on his board. Ivy, who is applying the grip tape to a board another customer has just purchased, directs the kid to just go behind the counter and grab the necessary tool.
Customer Matt Dunlap came into Nine16 because he has skated with Ivy for years at the Mather Field skate park. He said he likes skating because of the sense of "brotherhood" shared by those involved, and he found that same feel at Ivy's store.
"It is just your classic awesome shop, pretty much," Dunlap said. "This vibe here is the same comfort level you get when you are skating."
Dunlap said when he goes to other shops, he often feels like the employees are trying to sell him things he does not need, and so he appreciates Ivy's simple take on the business.
Ivy just wants to sell skateboards. As for bikinis, he said he will leave that to people who wear them.
"I am a skateboarder," he said. "And that is what I know."
Alex Grotewohl can be reached [email protected]
