Brick & Mortar – Spotlight | Boardsports [NEW LOCATION] | #shoplocal

Boardsports recently moved from Davisville to a larger 4600-square-foot storefront near Eglinton Avenue East and Laird Drive, but former-employee-turned-owner Steve Martin’s goal is still the same. “The sports we do, they’re all really fun. We want people to be excited about them,” he says. As Boardsports’ name suggests, it focuses on board-based pastimes from skateboarding to windsurfing, selling popular items like Vans snowboard boots and Naish paddleboards. Customers are helped in other ways, too. “We do a lot of service, repairs, fixing stuff, basically anything that needs to be done,” adds Martin. But beyond being a retailer, the sporting-goods shop is a gateway into niche activities. “For a lot of the sports we do, people don’t know how to start,” explains Martin. That’s where Boardsports’ free out-of-store demos—like group paddleboarding sessions on Lake Ontario—come in. “We really just try and encourage people to come out and get involved in sports.”

Visit Boardsports at their new address – 105 Vanderhoot Ave. – (416) 485-9463 – boardsports.ca