Former professional skateboarder Reggie Barnes was 24 when he took up the business side of skateboarding in the ’80s.

Over the years, he’s grown Eastern Skateboard Supply into the leading “skater-owned and operated B2B wholesale distributor in the industry,” according to the company.

Besides its headquarters on Amsterdam Way and adjacent 20,000-square-foot skatepark, Eastern also has warehouse facilities in Texas and Florida.
 
“We diversified a lot into surfing too in the last few years. That’s really nothing new, but it’s growing,” said Barnes, whose son Mason also caught the competition bug and is a pro surfer.
 
For more than a year, Eastern has worked with Australia-based surfing accessories brand Ocean & Earth to distribute its products.
 
“I’ve surfed almost as long as I’ve skated now. To be combining surf with it makes it a better fit,” Barnes said.
 
The businesses started when he moved to Raleigh and started a retail store in 1986 called Endless Grind – a store that remains open despite the company’s move into wholesale.
 
“It’s got so much history,” Barnes said. “It keeps me a little more in tuned with retail because we sell things there that we don’t even distribute.”
 
Now in his third decade of building the company, Barnes said he has other plans for adding even more projects.
 
“It’s a combination of what I love, with a way to earn a living,” he said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted.”