Eastern Revival Skateshop owner works to promote skateboarding in Painesville

Mar. 15—Donovan Knebusch's longtime interest in skateboards led him to open Eastern Revival Skateshop in Downtown Painesville, and after more than four years in business, he is working to promote skateboarding in the local community and raise funds for a new skatepark.

Knebusch has been skateboarding since he was 12, and he noted that "it ruled everything" through his early 20s. The Riverside High School graduate opened Eastern Revival in 2018 as part of a desire to "revive the skate scene" on the east side.

"That's kind of what it's been doing," he said. "There's a lot of people in this community that didn't know skate shops existed and all that. We hadn't had one in our proximity for years."

He said that Eastern Revival offers skateboards, skateboard clothing and parts such as trucks, wheels and bearings, while he will order other skateboard-related items as well. He accepts older skateboards as donations, giving them to people who cannot afford new boards.

"I don't charge, I spend time with people as well if they need to learn where to put their feet or it's like some really quick, basic stuff," Knebusch said.

"If anybody's looking into getting into skateboarding, or they want, need a helping hand to figure out where to get started at, or any questions about it, feel free to come in," he added.

Since opening Eastern Revival, Knebusch has also worked to promote skateboarding in the community. The shop recently held a "winter games event" at a neighboring business, and he hopes to do an event later this year around Go Skate Day, which is June 21.

He added that the shop partnered with the Lake County General Health District last year for Ride Your Bike to School Day, offering 50 skateboards to students at Harvey High School and teaching them how to ride the boards.

"It's not just me, there's a whole community of invested skateboarders," he said.

Knebusch is also part of a group working to replace the skatepark at Painesville's Kiwanis Recreation Park. He said that he has talked with city officials, while Pam Morse and the Painesville Community Improvement Corporation have supported the fundraising efforts.

He added that apart from PCIC, the group "might have still been trying to get a nonprofit together."

Knebusch noted that the group has raised about $10,000 in funds at skateboarding events over the past year, though he noted that "it's a long road" to raising enough funds for the park.

"We're looking for something that's not anywhere around here," he said, adding that he wants a park "not just for locals, but to make it more of a destination for people traveling along the way. If you're coming from New York and going to Florida, you're going to want to stop by here and go to the skatepark."

"In a perfect world, if we raised $500,000 and we got all that together, we could get ourselves a nice destination skatepark, not just a little town skatepark," Knebusch added.

He said that the group plans to look for grant opportunities and donations from businesses looking for a tax write-off.

"That's probably the most important thing that we have going on right now," Knebusch said.

People who are interested in donating can visit Eastern Revival or go to gofund.me/01584faf to donate online, though he noted that "cash or check donations would be best" while GoFundMe receives a portion of online donations. Larger in-person donations may require a visit with the group's treasurer.

"I think a lot of people really appreciate what we're doing as a whole trying to get the whole skatepark thing together," Knebusch said. "I think they see that and it's like, it's not just a business really. We're active in the community."

He also highlighted the benefits of skateboarding in his own life.

"I think it's a good outlet, because I really wasn't the type to play school sports and stuff, so it's like, I was still out, active every day," he said.

"The culture of skateboarding will always be like, you know, people are going to skate anywhere they see a possibility," Knebusch added. "That's something with skateboarding, it's everywhere you look, you see a possibility."

Eastern Revival Skateshop is located at 216 Main St. in Downtown Painesville.