When the 2008 financial crisis struck Vermont businesses, Hannah Deene Wood knew she would have to close her iconic Talent Skatepark and Shop.
In its prime, Talent’s Williston Road location was the largest full-service indoor skatepark and shop in northern New England.
“It started with a bang,” Wood said. “In 2008, everything fell out from underneath us and it never recovered.”
Talent, which Wood co-founded with her husband Dave Wood, survived for another decade, but when the business closed Aug. 5, 2018, life for Wood “was over.”
“I went to sleep. I went in my room and I couldn’t — I lost my business, I lost my Talent family, I lost my identity, I lost everything,” she said, choking up.
A year after the skatepark and shop closed its doors, Wood is preparing to reopen in a new space inside Burton Snowboard’s Burlington headquarters later this year.
Wood was still reeling from the closure of her “second home” when a group of parents whose children skated at Talent approached her with an idea to reorganize the business.
“We closed in August and then I was established by November as a nonprofit,” Wood said.
Parents of “Talent kids” rallied behind Wood to raise money and create a board with Wood at the helm, now as executive director of Talent Skatepark.
One of those parents and board members is Melissa Hathaway, whose 13-year-old son started skating at Talent when he was 5.
“I’m an elementary school counselor, and I see the value and importance of having outlets for kids and kids who might not fit into team sports,” Hathaway said. “If kids are engaged in something healthy after school, that’s a protective factor for them.”
When Hathaway heard about Talent’s closing, “we were right there talking with Dave and Hannah as soon as we could about, ‘OK, what’s next? What can we do?’”
While the board tried to raise money through GoFundMe and outreach events, the need for a location was still the primary concern. Trying to find a space that compared to their previous 12,000 square feet was no small task either.
A partnership with Burton Snowboards at their headquarters on Queen City Park Road has allowed for Talent to sign a lease for an 8,000-square-foot space in their Area 13 building. Wood was handed the keys last week.
“[Burton] reached out to me, which was unbelievable,” Wood said. “It’s a great partnership between the two because it’s sideways sports, and we have a lot of the same clientele.”
Wood is hoping the new space will be open around Thanksgiving, this time with a smaller shop and more focus on the park side of business rather than retail sales of shoes, skateboards and accessories.
Wood said the rise of Amazon was one of the reasons Talent went under.
“When we wrote the business plan, the shop pretty much carried the entire business and the park was the cherry on top,” Wood said. By the time Talent closed, the park fees were carrying the business, which wasn’t enough to cover the rent.
Wood, who carried hundreds of products in her shop, said customers had apps that scanned barcodes and pulled companies that offered the same products for less online.
“It was a nightmare,” she said.
To make up for lost income, Wood ran camps and lessons every weekend and during the summers. But it wasn’t enough to make up for a 50% drop in business each year. Finally, her accountant gave Wood an ultimatum: close the doors or go bankrupt. Wood had to reimburse parents who had already paid for camps when Talent closed.
At Burton, she will focus on the skatepark side of the business. Wood is also hoping to expand operations with new camps and nonprofit involvement with other organizations like the Boys and Girls’ Club, Burton’s Chill program and the Howard Center, where Wood currently works.
As the board raised enough money to afford the rent, and more people reached out to Wood, she was surprised by how much the community cared about Talent. People who used to skate when they were younger are asking to bring their kids, and children who used to take lessons are now leading them, she said.
“It’s got to be about bringing the community back,” Wood said.
Emily Brooks has been skating at Talent for over 15 years and described the space as a “second home.”
“There’s been a lot of indoor parks around the country that have been closing in the past few years,” Brooks said, who was aware Talent wasn’t doing as well compared to when she was younger. Brooks was a student at the University of Vermont when Talent closed.
Brooks spent nearly every summer and weekend at Talent. Even when she didn’t want to skate or was hurt, she said, it was just a place for people to hang out.
Brooks learned about the reorganization from her parents, who have been attending board meetings, and now she is getting involved with the nonprofit. She and a couple other skaters are helping with the design of the new park, sharing their thoughts on what people like to skate. Brooks plans to continue helping around the park and with camps and lessons.
Hathaway and Brooks said they are amazed by how the skateboarding community has rallied together in less than a year to bring Talent back to life.
