Smitty nearly cried onto one of his last shadyskates t-shirts when he found out they were closing

Everything comes to an end. However with the passing of Shadyskates so ends an era of skating, rollerblade and skateboard alike, in Pittsburgh. For over two decades Shady has been the main place for skating and skating supplies in and around Pittsburgh. It was the skating hub of the city. Sure there were extremely popular places to skate street, but everyone went to shady at one point or another. It was a meeting place, a gathering place for skaters all over the city. With its location being so close to the city it was also a good place to do all this. With the passing of this legandry place few people realize how much is gone and how much is lost.

My first time I was at Skadyskates was the first time I ever tried to drop in. I say try becasue I fell right on my ass. That is the place where I learned my first coping stall, as well as first coping grind. It is also the place where I first jumped a spine and a box, rode a quarter bowl, and a half pipe. It was the place where I bought my first aggressive skates, as well as my first snowboard. Its also the first skatepark I ever went too that I could stay all day and not care about anything else but the moment. All in all its the place that tought me how to skate! With its passing I hope future generations of skaters will be given half as good an opportunity as I had. -Smitty

Smitty at Shadyskates after the first big revamp