An Indoor Oasis for Skateboarders

Ed DuClos, owner of Red Alert. (Matthew J. Mowry)

During its 21-year history, Red Alert Skateboard Shop and Indoor Skateboard Park has experienced more stumbles and falls than a newbie on a half-pipe for the first time. The organization has had five owners and even closed its doors in 2015.

But a software engineer’s decision seven years ago to revive the venture and move it from Dover to Rochester has transformed Red Alert into a flourishing business with 50% year-over-year revenue growth.

Skateboarders from across New England now flock to one of the few remaining indoor skateboard parks. “Our closest competitor just closed its doors in Sanford, Maine,” says Ed DuClos, owner of Red Alert. Some customers even stay overnight to get in two days of skateboarding, he says.

Tucked away in a warehouse, Red Alert is a 6,500-square-foot indoor skateboard park offering various ramps as well as a retail shop. The organization offers lessons and rents out its space for parties, people who want the park to themselves, professional teams and even for a music video shoot. “Three years ago, we would do 50 lessons for the year and now we are doing 50 lessons per month,” DuClos says.

Red Alert posted its highest revenue in 2019, then COVID forced the park to shut down. “I was freaking out,” DuClos says.
E-commerce ended up being its saving grace.

Until the pandemic, e-commerce accounted for 2% of gross revenue. In 2020, Red Alert tripled its social media promotion and began posting videos on YouTube. Those efforts, coupled with more people trying skateboarding (80% of its pandemic business came from first-timers), led to a boom in business.

“I was delivering skateboards to people in their cars in the parking lots of Market Baskets,” he says. As a result, e-commerce jumped to 17% of revenue in 2020. “People got addicted to skateboarding.… On a weekly basis, we probably get around 300 people coming through the door,” he says.

DuClos says he is looking to either expand in his current location or seek out a larger space. “My dream is to have this whole building and have a skateboard oasis.”

For more information, visit redalertskateshop.com.