The Snowboarder's Journal - frequency 16.1
Minneapolis Mentorship: Scott Oreschnick and 30 Years of Cal Surf
Words and Photo: James Hancock 2018-09-17 18:55:30
If you happen to hail from the vast, windswept expanses between the Front Range and Great Lakes and you stand sideways on a board, chances are you’ve heard of Cal Surf. More than just a snowboard shop, it is one of the great community centers of snowboarding and the hub of the Twin Cities shred scene. It has helped launch the careers of numerous household names over the years: Zac Marben, Joe Sexton, the brothers Michilot, and Dan “Danimals” Liedahl, to name a few.
Perched on the shore of Lake Calhoun (hence the name) in Uptown, Minneapolis, Cal Surf was founded in 1988 by John Kokesh and Gary Wiebusch and was one of the first shops in the region to carry snowboards; those iconic early brands like Sims, Kemper and Avalanche. Thirty years later, Cal Surf has become an iconic brand itself, and a lot of that has to do with the man at the helm: owner, operator and elder statesman Scott Oreschnick.
Like many snowboarders—especially especially those who came of age during the ’80s—Scott’s roots are in skateboarding. He skated vert and first strapped in on a friend’s Burton Woody in the mid-’80s atop a local golf course. Scott, whose youthful energy belies his 50 years of age, started working at Cal Surf in 1991 and would later purchase the shop from its founders in 1999.
“My buddy Tony Hecker was the manager,” Scott says. “I had just graduated from the University of Minnesota during the first George Bush recession and was looking for work in the corporate world while contemplating grad school—business and advertising—but I wasn’t making any headway. So, Tony was looking for someone. The idea of coming in at 11 a.m. sounded great. One of the first big things we did was put a shop team together. The shop hadn’t sponsored anyone before I came on.”
Sponsoring riders would be just the first small step toward building not only a legit brand, but also a truly thriving community. And at the center of it is Scott.
“It all comes down to Scott,” longtime Cal Surf rider Jordan Michilot says. “It’s not a fancy shop, but everyone could just do their own thing, be themselves. We’d always meet at Cal before going on film trips—me, Joe [Sexton], Zac [Marben]. It was a home base. The attitude of the shop was, ‘We’re people too; we’ll listen to your shit.’ When I worked at the shop, one of my best memories was paying that forward—setting up a kid’s first deck, and including them.”
Push through the glass doors of the small, two-story white brick storefront on West Lake Street and the embedded history immediately hits you, along with the slightly musty smell of snowboard wax, new shoes and old carpet. There’s not much in the way of formal decor, with any open space occupied by cataloged history and memories. Classic skate and snowboard decks hang from bare ceiling joists in place of lost acoustic tiles. Signed posters and pro models from hometown heroes and visiting snowboard dignitaries plaster the walls. It’s like the office of a proud parent.
“Scott’s like a father figure. You didn’t want to disappoint Dad,” pro rider and PUBLIC Snowboards founder Joe Sexton says. “He was really good at letting us all find our own way. That’s what a mentor is. He gave me a shot to ride for the shop, helped launch my career, and now is selling my brand in the shop. How sick is that?”
To remain in business all these years is nothing short of miraculous, and to remain relevant is mandatory. So what’s the secret formula for success?
“Supporting the community,” Scott says. “We always allowed our customers to help dictate our direction. We work with outreach groups, host student art shows, support the kids. We always tried to hire or sponsor our customers, those core kids. I appreciate the impact a skate/snow store can have on a rider’s life and the safe space the shop provides, where they can let loose and feel at home. I’m getting invites to all these graduation parties. Who in their retail job gets those? It’s humbling.”
He flashes that quintessential Scotty smile and quickly adds, “But I feel like if you say, ‘It’s humbling’ it’s not actually being humble.”
Photo Caption: Scott Oreschnick in his happy place: Cal Surf.
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