Small Business Profile: Chris Budinet - Penn Skate

So you want kids to stay off the streets but where can they go?  You want them to ditch the computer for some physical activity but what can they do?  Penn Skate in Allentown PA. aims to answer that question by being the premier skate park in the area.  Owner Chris Budinet established the park in 1997 and has worked to consistently improve the facility and continues to do so to this day.  Even now he’s barely been able to squeeze out a few minutes to put together this post with me as he’s been making upgrades to the bowls and ramps in his park.

A native of Allentown, PA Chris was the middle child of three.  His best childhood memories are of trips with the Boy Scouts and of skateboarding with friends.  His love of skateboarding has lead him down this path but there is also a fierce independent spirit inside him “I have a problem with authority. If I know I can do a better & more efficient job than the people I have to answer to, we have a problem”.  

One of the larger challenges for Chris has been the emergence of public skate parks in the Lehigh Valley area.  “How do you compete with free?” he asked out loud during our conversation.  His edge, he believes, is in a number of things: Penn Skate is an indoor facility and operates year round giving skaters and bikers a weatherproof place to go.  He provides supervision where public parks generally do not, and he also offers lessons on skateboarding and BMX biking.

Another way Chris competes with other skating facilities is with his involvement with the Vans Warped Tour.  Penn Skate hosts a local qualifier for this national extreme sports competition/festival.  The finals for the Warped Tour are held in Orange County California.

Chris considers his very close friends to be his most important influences.  Among them John Krapf, who past away earlier this year, was a mentor to Chris. John also ran a small business and shared his experience and advice with Chris, who soaked it all in.  Chris remains close with John’s family.

Maintaining the skate park is demanding work.  Which brings me back to trying to find time to gather the information from Chris for this post.  The projects he’s been working on include building new floors, resurfacing ramps and painting bowls.  He plans to build a spectator area, more bowls and ramps in the future.

When asked about the best piece of business advice he’s received he responded, “never be afraid to work and it’s not what you know but who you know”.