By Crystal Silvas

According to marketers at the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, sales for the U.S. sporting goods industry are steadily approaching $115 billion at wholesale. One of the fastest growing categories in the industry is that of extreme sports. There has been a major shift in sports trends as Generation Y has taken to the field, or more accurately, the skate park. With video games like Tony Hawk’s Wasteland or Underground, or the soon to be released EA game “Skate,” the number of skaters is on the rise.

It used to be that skateboarders were shunned by society, dismissed as a bunch of rebellious slackers, but several companies have come along and gradually changed the face of skateboarding, paving the way for the newest generations. It’s now more acceptable to be a skater, and it’s about time! Skateboarding has gained a great deal of respect over the years, and the kids these days are skating harder than ever, performing tricks unimagined just a few years ago.

One of the companies paving the way for today’s skateboarder is an up-and-coming SoCal company called Caffeine Skateboards. Located in San Diego, California, this year-old skateboard wholesaler was started by an inspirational twenty-something who—against all odds—recovered from a broken back injury (among others) only to skate again. Impressive, don’t you think? That’s determination. This kid has heart, something that any skater can appreciate. He, like many other skaters, is an adrenaline junky who knows that the harder we push our limits, the more we realize we don’t have any.

Caffeine Skateboards, which can be found at http://www.skatecaffeine.com, is unique in that it offers skateboard sponsorship at four different levels: pro-amateur, semi-amateur, amateur, and street. For those of you scratching your heads right now, sponsorship is when a company gives a rider free gear to represent them at competitions, events, etc. But you don’t have to be a pro to buy skateboard decks from Caffeine. In fact, you don’t even have to be a retailer!

Purchasing a deck under normal circumstances is a three-step process which includes manufacturer, retailer and buyer. Manufacturers mark up their decks 100% for retailers and retailers turn around and do the same so that by the time they reach the customer, they’ve been marked up about 200%! That’s the beauty of buying wholesale through Caffeine: There is no minimum purchase order and a resale certificate number is not necessary. Sales are open to anyone who wants to skate, and prices are deliciously low. Eliminating the middleman makes skateboarding affordable for more people, and quality is not compromised one bit. They’re the same high-caliber decks you can get in the big skate shops but for a fraction of the cost.

Caffeine has a variety of decks to choose from based on your skateboard needs. All of their decks are made from 7 ply 100% Canadian maple and have either medium or aggressive concaves. They also feature some of the sickest designs around. (That’s a good thing, to all of you baby boomers out there.) Most of the graphics, which are designed by the talented Willie Daniels, pay homage to the urban scene, and many of them include real photographs. My personal favorite is the Caffeine History deck which pays tribute to the skaters of yesterday while nodding to the skaters of the present and the future. (By the way, this super sweet deck is in-stock and ready to buy for a meager $27.99!)

It’s insanely easy to order online. Just go to http://www.skatecaffeine.com and click on the deck you want to purchase. Ordering is as secure as it is easy and it’s all done through Paypal. Visit Caffeine Skateboards today to get rollin’.