Last week, we had the cool opportunity to join a panel about wellness and skateboarding, thanks to an invite from Cath Shanks (Shanko’s Skateschool CIC). The venue was Samsung’s pop-up in Shoreditch, London, and let’s just say it was pretty impressive.

  Picture this: a massive heated room set up like a giant inflatable tent—kind of like a warm bouncy castle. This was the hub for our talk and a slew of other happenings, from fashion shows to DJ sets.

  Then there’s the skatepark part: equipped with a midi-sized halfpipe, a mini ramp, and a street section. They’ve designed it so even when it’s packed, everything flows smoothly and no space is wasted. Plus, it’s free to skate there, and they offer free lessons daily for newbies. And all this is up and running for just two weeks, wrapping up today.

  So, what’s all the fuss about? It’s for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 phone. The phone is a big part of the event, featuring in flip-phone photo booths and even as giant flip-phone shaped skate obstacles.

  Now, how should we view Samsung using skateboarding to promote its product? It’s tough to overlook the benefits this brings to skateboarders and the local community. They’ve essentially given us a free indoor park in the dead of winter—pretty sweet.

  More crucially, they’ve financially supported the skateboarding community. Influencers have been involved in their marketing, coaches have been paid for lessons, park builders were hired for the setup, and pros got paid for demos.

  The free skate lessons might inspire newcomers who could end up supporting skate shops and the broader industry for years. Samsung has even helped fund a position at SkateboardGB as a “Skateable Spaces Development Officer,” which sounds like a win for everyone.

  We saw this Emerica t-shirt recently that perfectly captures the mixed feelings about non-skate companies tapping into skate culture. But honestly, as long as these companies invest wisely and positively impact our community and industry, it’s hard to fault them. Right?

Though we’re all for the skatepark, we’ll probably skip on buying the phone.