Jobs In Skateboarding - Sales Manager

Jobs In Skateboarding - Sales Manager.

Looking from the outside in it may seem as if jobs in skateboarding are few and far between, but once you delve deeper into the possibilities there's a plethora of careers surrounding our favourite toy. We hit up as many people as possible to investigate deeper to ask ‘What do you even do?’, so hopefully you’ll learn something new and find helpful ways to get into our so-called skateboarding industry. 

What's your name?

Jerome Loughran.

What is your current role and who do you work for?

Sales Manager for Out of Step Distribution for HUF, Poler Stuff, The Hundreds and Afends.

What is it that you actually do? What takes up a majority of your work time?

Juggling...professional status, I'm part of a small family sized sales team that deal with our brands and the network of retailers across the UK & Ireland. Dealing with almost every aspect of account management, from hustling shop owners on their days off or be the face to shout at when a courier loses a box, finding UPC barcode info for products that eventually get cancelled and a host of other fun things. But my day is usually work hard to make sure I'm doing right by the brands and right by the store owners, so they can do the hard graft of selling. I’m the connection to the stores and our brands and everyday feels different.

Did you have any roles in the skate industry before this?

I cut my teeth through what I feel was a proper path, first skate shop retail at Freestyle in Newport, then went on to manage the original Cardiff skate park for a number of years until I got the opportunity to move to Shiner Dist where I did skateboard sales and UK team manager for about 8 years. 

What’s the best thing about your job?

I think the friendships I have made over the years with store owners and staff that I know extremely well. Being involved in direct contact with the brands and having my two pence’s worth heard from time to time. But mainly representing a Brand like HUF and a person's legacy such as Keith Hufnagel’s, so the reason I left Shiner to work for Out of Step and HUF was I had met Keith and the HUF team on a UK tour where is was shooting photos for Sidewalk and he pretty much off the bat called me a C*NT, but in a manner that was like jovial and trying to test me, I knew from the moment I was down for whatever he was slinging.

What’s the worst thing about your job?

Losing your friends..we have lost some great shops due to the nature of business, (I don’t think there is a skate shop owner out there that got into this industry to make it rich quick!) or through their passing. Guess its' a sign of getting older. But every job has a downside, you just have to try and see past them to move forward. If I had to throw one thing in the fire it would be...spreadsheets.

Any advice for skateboarders out there who want to pursue your line of work?

Wow, so I sat in Northern Ireland in the early 90’s and told my careers teacher I wanted to work in skateboarding...he laughed and said "Pigs might fly kid”. So, I moved to Wales, where Ray at Freestyle gave me a chance to work in the shop and begin on the right path. 

1. Ask for advice.
2. Never give up on what you want to achieve. 
3. Get out of your hometown and make friends and see this country.
4. Put the work in and always go beyond what’s expected.
5. Don’t be a dick and never lie.
6. Treat everyone as equals, as we were all grom's once.
7. Enjoy it and if you don’t get the hell out and let someone else who wants in.

Support your local skate shop. I owe all the memories and where I am today on the lifeblood of any scene, the local skate shop.