Written by Carolina Hernández
Las Vegas has been under the radar due their constantly growing skate scene. In "The City That Never Sleeps", roller skating has found a community full of talented people working towards the growth of the sport through shops, events, and audio-visual content!
Today we get to share with you a bit of Fresas Skateshop: a Latina owned shop located in the heart of the art district of Las Vegas, where their constant work has led to having an amazing spot to reunite the community with a mini-ramp and a big offer of products for local and visiting skaters!
We chatted with Amanda Quintanilla, store owner and the one in charge of making Fresas Skateshop the great spot it is today!
Fresas Skateshop Team / picture: Kayla Guilfoy
Where does the name of your skate shop come from?
The name of the shop is my nickname given to me by my abuelita and friends since I can remember .
When and why you decided to open your own shop?
In 2020 I lost my job of 10 ten year, fell into depression and roller skating got me out of the funk I was in. I fell in love with the community and the sisterhood I much needed. My friends and I had to travel out of state or buy skates online. This was very frustrating; so I figured out quickly we had a need. With my buyer background and the love for the community why not take a risk and open a one stop shop. Where you can try on skates and book a class and signed up for the next roll out.
At Fresa's Skate Shop we offer a lifestyle and with that comes our services of : Rental skates, 101 basic roller skate classes, 101 ramp classes and custom skates.
Fresas Skateshop Storefront / picture: Kayla Guilfoy
How would you describe the Las Vegas community?
A diverse growing community. Very welcoming and willing to always help each other.
What do you find are the most challenging and more rewarding things of owning a skate shop?
One of the most challenging as a brown woman owned businesses is companies don't take you seriously. We don't get the recognition or the support as other big companies.
Most rewarding- is being able to put a smile into someone's face when they buy their first pair of skates.
What are your favorite things to do to keep the community active and spread skating?
Our monthly roll-outs; The roller skating scene in Downtown/Art district is hot and we're proud to say, we have done that. Being part of this cool area means we're bringing more awareness to the skate community.
We get people from all over the world to join us for our monthly rollouts.
New mini ramp installation inside the store picture: Kayla Guilfoy
How do you see the local community in the future?
With our shop being open and servicing all new generations of skaters, we know our local community will continue to grow.
What's next for Fresas Skateshop?
Well our future is to host in collaboration with other sponsors a first in it's kind community event with the city of Las Vegas, here at the Art District.
Our online store is up and running. https://fresasskateshop.com/
Store hours : Sun-Thur 12pm - 6pm
Friday- Sat from 12pm-7pm
Closed Mondays.