Glenview Skate Culture Thrives
A hardy group of aggressive inline skaters and skateboarders keep subculture vital.
Traditionally, skateboarders and inline skaters have had a friendly rivalry. "Some skaters call boarders 'wood pusher,' and the boarders call skaters 'fruit boots,' " said Ray Christie, owner of Grind Gear Skate Shop in downtown Glenview. Even so, the athletes unite on the Grind Gear skate team, which has eight inline skaters and five skateboarders. "Our inline team really rocks," Christie said. "The boarders do all right, too. They're pretty young." Team members, ages 15 to mid-20s, are almost local heroes among the subset of users in Glenview's two skate parks. "The little kids come in and talk about them," said Christie, who opened his shop in 2001 at 1820 Glenview Road. His teams participate in several local tournaments. On July 31, …
