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Skateboard Style By Janet Bennett Washingtonpost.com Staff Wednesday, July 25, 2000

Watch this video, filmed at Vans Skatepark at Potomac Mills T1/DSL stream
Stephanie Kuykendal/ washingtonpost.com

Skateboards are going into the closets, alongside soccer balls and lacrosse sticks, says Robby Roberts of Evolve in Annapolis. Thanks to skateboarding's recognition as a legitimate sport by ESPN 2, it has really begun to take off and in the process gained a more wholesome image, according to Roberts who has been selling skateboards since 1993 at Evolve in Annapolis and now, too, at the recently opened Bethesda branch. In addition to being a skate shop, Evolve (also a snow, surf and wake board store) divides its mostly male skate clientele into what Roberts calls the "old school" (the thirtysomethings), who specialize in vert skating and the "street/technical" skaters (ages 14 to 25), characterized by their kick flips and control of the board with their feet.

The store can equip both with the necessary arsenal of equipment, such as a variety of differently shaped (flat, concave, e.g.) boards from names like Element and World Industries, which start at $100 and go up depending upon the hardware. Stylish shoes from DC, Etnes, Globe, Circa and Lakai change with the season. Whatever style you choose, though, partially laced is in vogue now. Skateboarders started the cargo pants trend, and dark denims are the way to go. And Evolve can satisfy your yearnings with other de rigeur clothes, such as backpacks to accommodate your boards, wrap sunglasses from Oakley, Dragon or Smith to protect your eyes and G-Shock Casio watches to withstand the impact of your falls. Evolve also carries the very popular Timbuk2 messenger bag ($50 to $80), for which you can pick the colors, fabric, strap, pockets and the company does the stitching. Of course, like with any sport, dressing for skateboarding is as much science as art, and looking cool is at least half the equation.
Evolve 189 Main St., Annapolis, 410-267-0800; 4856 Bethesda Ave, Bethesda; 302/654-1510

Other skateboard outfitters:
East Coast, 10358 Lee Highway, Fairfax, Va., 703/352-4600
Pit Crew, 153 North Market St., Frederick, Md., 301/698-1813
Solid State, 150 North Jennifer Rd., Annapolis, Md., 410/266-6615

For fabulous tricks and more style, check out Tony Hawk, the world's best skateboarder, on July 29 at Vans Skatepark in Potomac Mills.