Trey Lowery played a vital role as an unofficial liaison between City of Cullman leaders and Cullman’s skateboarding community in the development of Skate Depot Park. The longtime skater is looking to continue to grow the community he loves with his own shop.

Lowery spent Saturday, Feb. 18 — also known as Skate Shop Day for those in the community — at Riderz on 1st Ave.

“It’s a day when people will go out and support their local skate shops and get some pretty good deals,” Lowery said.

However, other people visiting Cullman’s Warehouse District probably noticed a “closed” sign hanging in the window. That’s because before the ink had barely dried on Lowery’s agreement with Scott and Jacquline Keller to take over majority ownership of the shop, he began a massive renovation and rebranding to make the store something entirely his own.

Lowery said that he rejected the Keller’s original offers to have him partner saying only that he wished to start his own board company.

“It just seemed way easier and there’s way less overhead. You just have some boards made, have a team and sell the boards.”

He is still planning on creating his own line that he will sell at the store, but Lowery began to think back on how important the times he spent with Jason Green at Green Skateboards had been to him when he was still a fledgling skater. He wants to provide the younger skateboarders of today the same type of place that he experienced.

“I just love skateboarding. It means more to me that just skateboarding itself. Right out of high school I was just partying a lot and just lost myself for a bit,” Lowery said. “I hadn’t seen Jason for a few years, but he didn’t judge me one bit and I started skateboarding again and just caught the fever. From then on nothing else mattered.

“Jason Green and skateboarding drove me to safety, it really did, I don’t know where I would be without skateboarding. That’s why I hold it so close to my heart and why it means so much to me and that’s honestly why I took over the shop.”

The Keller’s will retain partial ownership and have been assisting Lowery throughout the process of reopening — that moving forward will be known as pearl. skate shop. Lowery has also received help from Peter Karvonen — owner of Faith Skate Supply in Birmingham — and is planning on offering Fatih products as a part of his inventory and he has been discussing the possibility of future promotional events with his friend and professional skateboarder Jake Wooten.

Lowery said that he is hoping to have the renovations completed within the week and would like to open pearl. to the public by the end of the month. He said that since he was unable to participate in Skate Shop Day, that the store will hold a belated celebration — complete with the savings that the day has become known for — at some point in the near future.