Locals at Vans' The Block skatepark practice terri...

Locals at Vans' The Block skatepark practice territorialism. For a private, pay-for-use park, this reflects poorly on Vans and compromises their image and branding right in their own front yard. Managers were mostly polite after one of the Vans self-described "flow team riders" (employees deny he is on the team) snaked me one night. I gave the guy a chance to apologize, or at elast acknowledge his wrong-doing, but instead he winked at me from the corner he had retreated to (which can easily draw up sexual harassment charges if the circumstances were different). I wasn't interested in wasting the rest of my $10 evening, so I asked the management if etiquette is enforceable. At a one of the only pay-for-use parks in SoCal, Vans relies upon its reputation as a safe, family-friendly environment. I guess not so much with its team riders...

I won't be wasting any more money there if this is the way their team members behave, it creates an unsafe and hostile environment and it's simply a horrible investment, when Volcom has a fre park in Costa Mesa that is not far away. At least there behavior is self-regulated and there aren't any trumped up expectations of professionalism or safety that Volcom's own team tarnishes.