The Coast Star LETTERS 36 OBITUARIES 42 HOUSES of WORSHIP 44 STREET BEAT 47 THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 PEOPLE PAGE 41
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The Coast Star LETTERS 36 OBITUARIES 42 HOUSES OF WORSHIP 44 STREET BEAT 47 THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 PEOPLE PAGE 41 STEVE WEXLER STAR NEWS GROUP Familial skateboarding adventures occur weekly within the Danza family as Aidan [from left], Barbara, Matt and Erin coordinate ABF Skatetrips to different skateparks. Danza gets back on the grind “Skateboarding is all about looking just for having fun with my He has begun coordinating family.” what he calls “ABF Skatetrips” at a landscape and figuring out With the seeds of a re- to different skateparks. The how you’re going to perform newed interest in skateboard- first was to Second Nature ing planted in the Danza fam- Skatepark in Peekskill, New skateboarding tricks on it.” ily, Mr. Danza was also York on Jan 3, with 35 people, feeling some regret for walk- and most recently “Penn MATT DANZA Point Pleasant ing away from a successful Skate” in Allentown, Pennsyl- BY BRIAN HARRIS Shop was a thriving business, skate shop when he went off vania on Feb 28. STAR NEWS GROUP for two reasons according to to college. [For information on future Mr. Danza. “The act of taking up skate- ABF Skate Shop trips go to or most people, just “The first thing was a pro boarding again quite natural- their website, www.abf- the act of riding a skater named Tom Groholski, ly reminded me of the good skateshop.com.] skateboard akin to who lived two blocks behind old days of the shop,” he said. ABF has also begun selling F performing with the flower shop [with his With that in mind, Mr. “steel flatbar rail sliders” Cirque de Solei — family] and they had a big Danza set up a Facebook which Mr. Danza makes. They something only the most ac- halfpipe in their yard and page so old customers could are flat bars that can be stored robatic of people can do. they would open the halfpipe post photos and stories and in a garage and brought out to Once you add tricks like pop- to people and kids who want- reminisce about the ABF the driveway or the street so shove-its, kickflips and 50-50 ed to skate it once or twice a Skateshop. that the entire family can get a grinds, skateboarding moves week and people would skate “The social media of today session in without having to well beyond casual recre- on that ramp and then skate it made it possible for me to go to a skate park or skate ation. down a couple of blocks to reconnect with hundreds of spot. The bars are currently For 40-year-old Matt Dan- visit our shop. And that was old customers, which I’ve available for purchase on za of Point Pleasant, skate- pretty official back in 1988,” been doing over the course of ABF’s website and in certain boarding has been a lifelong Mr. Danza said. the last five years,” Mr. Danza local skate shops. passion. He first picked up “The other was that the STEVE WEXLER STAR NEWS GROUP said. “First, I'm encouraging chil- skating in 1988 at the age of 14 Kendall Park roller rink After years of neglecting a favorite past time, Mr. Danza has returned It all led Mr. and Mrs. Dan- dren to skateboard, both boys in North Brunswick, where opened up to skateboards to skateboarding, even introducing his passion to his family. za to discuss bringing ABF and girls, and I’m also encour- his mother owned a flower once a week and right from Skate Shop back, but in a dif- aging the dad to get back on shop. After watching some the beginning, we talked to ferent form than its previous the board or join his son kids in his neighborhood the owner and he allowed us had two children; Aidan, 9 and I said, ‘I don’t even know incarnation. They decided to skateboarding if he never did skating, he got hooked to sell skateboards there once and Erin, 7. He starting work- why I stopped doing this! I rebrand ABF Skateshop with it before because that’s better enough so that he wanted to a week at the skate jam, and ing for the family business, gotta do this again!’ And so the new concept of “family than sitting outside the park start his own skateshop. that was a great coincidence John Maltese Iron Works, as a every weekend all summer skateboarding adventures.” and the fence,” he said. “I would spend my days af- that propelled our skateshop structural engineer and set- long, we kept going to the They wanted to create a “You’re not too old, you're not ter school at the flower shop from a kind of hokey little tled down in Point Pleasant. skatepark, first Long Branch, new brand that would en- too out of shape... I’m encour- every day and when I got into ‘skateboards in a flower shop’ Around his 40th birthday then going out and trying courage families to go out aging not only the dads, but skateboarding, I had the idea to a really popular and really in June of last year, Mr. Dan- other skateparks and we and be active together. the moms to give it a try.” of ‘Maybe we can sell boards dominant business back in za start to go through what he haven’t stopped,” Mr. Danza “If you take a look at your Mr. Danza maintains that out of the front of the flower 1988.” calls a “mid-lifey thing.” said. Facebook feeds or your social skateboarding also fosters cre- shop’,” Mr. Danza said. Mr. Danza’s mom took over “I just turned 40, I was a lit- His wife Barbara noticed media feed, people aren’t re- ativity and thus gave him an With this idea in mind, he the reins of ABF Skateshop tle overweight, a little bit out not only the change in her ally sharing what they own, advantage in his career as an asked his mother Mary one when he went off to Virginia of shape and my children are husband’s health and mood they’re sharing what they're engineer. day if he could sell skate- Tech in 1993 to study engi- a little bit older now, at nine- but also their children’s doing, whether it's going to a “Skateboarding is all about boards out of the front of her neering until her retirement years-old and seven-years- growing interest in skate- gym or riding a skateboard or looking at a landscape and fig- American Beauty Flowers in 1998. old. And I felt like I wanted to boarding. learning art or something,” uring out how you’re going to shop. “My mother was ready to get active again and do things “I lost 10 pounds and my Mr. Danza said. perform skateboarding tricks “I asked my mother if this retire and move on to do oth- again... So the thing that real- wife [Barbara] noticed a “I want ABF to be about on it,” Mr. Danza said. is something that we could er things and I just graduated ly interested me was skate- change that I was more pos- helping the doing of skate- Compared to rules-oriented do, and you know most moth- from Virginia Tech with a de- boarding,” Mr. Danza said. itive and having a lot more boarding or the adventure of team sports, he said, skate- ers would say no. But my gree in engineering and I was With his son Aidan, Mr. fun plus my son started get- skateboarding, not so much boarding provides an open mom’s the coolest mom in ready to start an engineering Danza got back on the board, ting good at skateboarding the buying of paraphernalia or canvas, giving skaters, espe- the world — she actually said career and that’s what I did,” first hitting up Seven Presi- and having a great time,” Mr. equipment, but more so help- cially children, the freedom to yes,” Mr. Danza said. Mr. Danza said. dents Skateplex in Long Danza said. ing to actually do the activity... flex their minds — goodtrain- With his mom’s approval, Since the shuttering of ABF Branch then going to other “My daughter Erin skate- I’d like to serve the young kids ing for “careers where you Mr. Danza set up what he and ABF Skate Shop in 1998, skate parks all over the area, boards too, not as much as who are just starting out and need to be able to think out- called ABF Skate Shop, bor- life took a different course for which was a rejuvenation of me and Aiden, but she getting into it and the parents, side of the box.” rowing the initials of his Mr. Danza. He got his engi- sorts for Mr. Danza. skateboards too. [Skate- who might be curious and mom’s flower shop. For the neering degree from Virginia “It put me in better shape, boarding] is a great thing help them to see the benefits Brian Harris is a reporter for Star News next decade, the ABF Skate Tech, met his wife Barbara, it put me a better mindset it.” Group. He can be reached at.