Retailer Profile: Mini Ramp – Two Decades of Skate Culture and Community
Mini Ramp is a pioneering Polish skate retailer that’s been in the scene since 2004. What began with a mini ramp has grown into a trusted name in skateboarding and streetwear, known for supporting local culture while staying ahead of global trends.
Please give us a brief history about your store.
In 2004, after many years of effort and collecting materials, we managed to create an indoor spot, with the main element being a mini ramp – probably the best one in Poland at the time. At the same time, I came up with the idea to open a skate shop. The name came naturally – Mini Ramp.
Miniramp has been running for over 20 years now. What do you think has been the key to such long-term success in Poland’s skateboarding market?
Keeping up with trends, listening to young people – what they want, what excites them – and continuously supporting the local skateboarding scene.
How has your customer base evolved since you opened in 2004? Are you seeing different demographics or behavior now compared to earlier years?
Customers have changed a lot. In 2004, mostly skaters came into the shop. Today, skateboarding is heavily mixed with streetwear, and big footwear brands have transformed the entire industry. Nowadays, our customers are everyone – regardless of age, gender, or lifestyle.
We now sell way more shoes than gear, but that’s not a bad thing – sneakers have always been a key part of skate culture and have always excited us. What makes us especially happy is the number of girls coming in, even with their moms – and often they’re not even skateboarders. Skateboarding has become more inclusive.
You operate both a brick-and-mortar store and an online shop. How do sales currently split between the two, and how important is e-commerce to your overall business strategy?
The internet has completely changed this industry. Today, running a store without online sales is practically impossible. Online sales account for the vast majority of our revenue.
You were the first skate shop in Poland to offer your own boards. What role does your own brand play in your product offering today?
Yes, we were the first shop in Poland to produce our own decks. Our goal was to make them affordable and good quality – back then it was all about the skating, the gear, and supporting the local scene. Today the situation has changed – young people prefer foreign brands, and we now sell many more complete skateboards, which was rare back in the day.
The Mini Ramp brand is still going strong, although in times when every skateshop has its own decks, we mostly sell ours locally. We’re about to release a new deck collection in collaboration with renowned artists: @pawel_swanski and @eskaer.
Which brands do you see trending among younger skaters?
It’s constantly changing. New brands keep popping up and shaking up the scene. For example: Violet, Limousine, Parra, Cash Only, Homeboy, but also classics like Carhartt WIP, GX1000, Hockey, Fucking Awesome, Palace.
You launched an eco-initiative where you plant a tree for every skateboard sold. Do you find that sustainability efforts actually influence customer decisions?
It’s hard to say whether customers choose us because of the ecologism, but the initiative has been well received and appreciated by many people. We know that skateboarding contributes to deforestation, so we wanted to do something good for the planet – every Mini Ramp deck bought online equals one tree planted.
Do you have a skate team? Is managing a team an important part of running a skateshop?
Yes, our team is constantly evolving. Over the years, we’ve had many awesome skaters who we’ve supported and built Mini Ramp with together.
Currently, the team includes: Dima Tishenko, Janek Jaroszewicz aka Pacyna, Patryk Sadzki, Weronika Choromańska, Emil Wolan, Agata Halikowska, Grzegorz Cygań, Adam Winowiecki, Jakob Laube.
Looking ahead, what’s next for Miniramp? Are you planning to expand, develop more in-house products, grow your digital presence, or explore new formats?
We can’t reveal all our plans, but we do have some cool ideas for the future. One thing we can say it’s that we’re actively working toward the creation of an indoor skatepark in Poznań.
