Oncore

Oncore offers equipment for hardcore skate and snowboarders

The new year and new snow has given Oncore Skate & Snow a lot of business this week.

The skateboard and snowboard shop at the corner of West Birch Avenue and Humphreys Road has been doing a brisk business since more than a foot of snow fell on Dec. 31.

“We were really busy on New Year’s Day; everyone was coming in because a lot of the other shops were closed because of the holiday,” said one of the owners, David Hilton.

Hilton and his business partner, Rich Phillips, opened the shop three years ago.

“We were working at a shop down in the Valley. We’d been up to Flagstaff numerous times. I actually went to (Northern Arizona University) for a couple of years,” Hilton said.

There were a number of smaller skateboard shops in Flagstaff, but they never really stuck around, he said. There are also plenty of ski shops around town, but very few that specialize in snowboards.

“This was the only mountain town we knew that didn’t have a skate shop or board shop open year-round,” Hilton said.

The name Oncore refers to the fact that the shop focuses only on core products for skate and snowboarding.

“We don’t sell skis,” he said. “That was our whole point. We also like to carry the smaller brands that most other shops don’t.”

Hilton said he and Phillips wanted to offer brands that customers would be able to find in the latest snow and skate board magazines but wouldn’t be able to find at one of the other stores in town. The snug shop carries brands such as Yes, Capita and Niche.

That was a bit tricky at first, because there weren’t a lot of smaller board companies, Hilton said. But in the last five years, a lot of the skate and snowboard big wigs have branched out into their own companies.

Besides boards, the shop also carries clothing, shoes, sunglasses and goggles, bindings, and any other equipment a snowboard or skateboard enthusiast would need. It also offers repairs, waxing and tune-ups for snowboards.

The worst repair job Hilton said he ever had walk in the door was a guy holding the edge of his snowboard in one hand and the rest of the board in the other hand.

“He hit a rock,” Hilton said.

The shop also prides itself on good customer service.

“We like to chat with our customers and figure out exactly what they’re looking for,” he said. “That’s one of the most common comments we get back from customers -- we’re very personable.”

Hilton said he grew up skiing and took up snowboarding in 1997 when he moved to the Lake Tahoe area and started working for one of the local ski lodges.

“I absolutely loved the industry,” he said.

He met Phillips when he moved to the Valley and started working at a local ski shop there. The owners of the shop had just had a baby and didn’t have the time they used to have to spend in the shop, so Hilton and Phillips found themselves running the shop by themselves. They would brainstorm ideas for opening their own shop during slow periods. The two eventually collected enough money to set up shop in Flagstaff.

Snowbowl was a big draw, of course, Hilton said. Having the ski and board venue open for the whole season due to snowmaking has been great.

“We wouldn’t be open if they weren’t," he said. “We’re also one of the sponsors of the Sunset Terrain Parks at Snowbowl.”

The terrain parks are new this year and contain a number of ramps, rails, hits, spines, banks and other obstacles for snowboarders. Snowbowl and the sponsors of Sunset Terrain Parks are working on a number of competitions and prizes to hold in the new year.

Reference: Adams-Ockrassa, S. (January 4, 2015). Flagstaff Daily Sun, C1

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