Plano South | June 2023

BUSINESS FEATURE Carriers Skate Shop Local business interlaced with experience S andwiched between skating at Eisenbergs Skatepark in Plano as a kid and opening

BY KAREN CHANEY

invest in more products. So, people would come in for a certain size; I wouldn’t have it. Those were missed opportunities,” he said. “One day I decided to take out money from my savings and invest in enough product where, whenever someone comes in, they don’t leave empty handed. The moment I did that was the moment I realized I could aord to move to a bigger shop.” The shop stocks a

Carriers Skate Shop in Plano in 2018, Plano East Senior High alumni Fritz Peitzner toured much of the world as a professional skater. “I was [at Eisenbergs] every weekend from 9 a.m. to midnight and ended up turning pro when I was 16,” Peitzner said. “In 2010, I ew to the biggest competition

Carriers Skate Shop customers will nd a variety of skate types, including roller blades, roller skates, ice skates and kids skates. The shop also sells helmets and protective gear. (Photos by Karen Chaney/Community Impact)

“THE GOAL IS TO KEEP PEOPLE MOTIVATED TO SKATE.” FRITZ PEITZNER, OWNER

in roller blading in Amsterdam. While there, my sponsor oered me and my friends the opportunity to travel, as long as we wanted, through Europe.”

wide range of inline skates, roller skates, wheels, ice skates and protective gear. They also service skates and oer skating lessons. “The goal is to keep

Fritz Peitzner started the shop after years as a professional skater.

All sta members at Carriers Skate Shop are skaters.

people motivated to skate. We have so many genres in skating, a new person can come in and be over- whelmed,” Peitzner said. “We ask them as many questions as possible to get them into the right skate for what they want to achieve.” With the benet of hindsight, Peitzner said he realizes that when he was 10 years old, rolling around on his rst pair of inline skates, he was setting out on a pivotal adventure. “I found community in skating—a place I t in,” he said. “In skating, there’s no coach; you are mainly self- taught. That proved benecial for the shop because I learned how to build my own website. I barely graduated high school, but the moment I wanted to pursue running a business, I learned everything I needed to do, and it turned out pretty good.”

Buoyed by the popularity of the sport, Peitzner eventually started Carriers Clothing, a clothing brand for skaters. However, when he was at skate parks, skaters continually asked him where he got his skates, and he told them about his friend who owned a skate shop in Peru. “One day, my friend from Peru said, ‘Start a skate shop,’” Peitzner said. “He gave me all his wholesale contacts. I contacted them, and I started my business with $1,000.” The business started online in 2017, progressed to a mobile business then to a brick-and-mortar location on K Avenue in Plano in 2018. In Novem- ber 2022, due to increased volume, he moved his business across the street to a larger location, 1420 K Ave. “When the amount of interest started going up, I was too afraid to

TOP SELLERS

No. 1: Fitness inline skates prices range from $150-$250. No. 2: Roller skates prices range from $120-$200. No. 3: Helmets and protective gear are priced between $45-$65.

Fritz Peitzner opened Carriers Skate Shop in 2017.

Carriers Skate Shop 1420 K Ave., Plano www.carriersskateshop.com 469-367-0083 Hours: Mon. closed, Tue.-Thu. noon-8 p.m., Fri. 12:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Sat 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun. noon-5 p.m.

15TH ST.

14TH ST.

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM