Behind the business at Division 24: Wakefield’s skate store which has been open for more than two decades

The store — which is located in The Old Vicarage, one of the city’s oldest buildings — sells everything from skateboard hardware and footwear, to apparel and accessories.

The shop has been owned by Wayne Miller since 2005, but its origins go back to 2001, when it was opened by Wayne’s brother Dave, under the name Boardriders.

“I was on my first snowboarding holiday with my brother [...] and he sort of said over a few beers, I’m thinking about opening a skateboard shop, would you work for me?” Wayne said.

“I said yeah of course I would.”

At the time, Wayne was working in the motor trade, but was “fed up with it” and liked the idea of working in retail.

He said: “It was a bit of a nerve wracking moment for me, to walk away from a completely good job, to start something that might not work.”

Luckily, 2001 was a “boom year” for skateboarding, and their first year of trading was successful.

In 2005, Wayne took over the business, and rebranded as Division 24.

Describing why he likes skateboarding, Wayne said: “The freedom I guess it gives you really to express yourself.

“It’s an amazing physical exercise. When you're skating you can’t really think about anything else other than what you’re doing, otherwise you fall off really quite easily.”

Over the years, Wayne said he has experienced skateboarding dip in and out of popularity, but recently has noticed a decline in younger people taking up the sport.

“There is a skateboard scene definitely, but it’s nowhere near what it was.”

Wayne suggested the rise of mobile phone usage among younger people as a possible cause.

He said: “It’s definitely down at the moment, although it appears massive, especially if it’s in your algorithm on your social media platforms.

“But it’s actually whether it’s sport, art, culture, music, there’s definitely a down trend with all those, because the youth are so buried in their phones.”

“Skate boarding, it’s dedication, it’s time, it can take months and months to learn one things and you sometimes have to go through a lot of pain, as well, to get that, but when you achieve what you’re trying, the boost from that can carry you for days, weeks even,” he added.

During the first few years of Division 24, Wayne was involved in the long process of creating a skate park in Wakefield.

A group formed, which included Wayne, councillors, youth workers, West Yorkshire Police, and others, which ultimately led to the Thornes Park skate park opening in 2009.

On the benefits of the skate park, Wayne said: “Usually if a place has a skate shop or a skate park, it will have a skate community.

"If it has both it has a much better chance of a skateboard community, so it just sort of bred talent really, and gave the youth somewhere to go and skate or ride their bikes .”

The shop, and seemingly the skate industry, has faced difficulties over the years.

As well as a depleted skate community, Wayne spoke of a number of skate shops across the country which have closed down in the last 12 months alone.

Wayne said he has managed to keep the shop going by avoiding the higher rents of premises on the high street, as well as keeping his own pay low.

He said: “What’s helped me survive is low overheads.

“If I was on the high street, I’d have shut down 19 years ago.

Wayne described his role as a “dream job” which he does not think of as work.

“I could earn twice the money sticking tiles on a wall, or with a trade, but I’ve chosen this.

"There’s been some really tough times, but I wouldn’t swap it for anything. I’ll keep going as long as I can.”

The store holds skate ‘jams’ at various points in the year, and last year held a special event to celebrate its 20th anniversary since rebranding as Division 24, which included an exhibition and live music.

More information about Division 24 can be found on its website, or Facebook and Instagram accounts.

About the owner

Name: Wayne Miller

Age: 47

From: Hemsworth

Favourite thing about your job: Being my own boss