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SCENE

This Vans Skate Park (there are a few others in the Southern California area) is located in a shopping entertainment complex called "The Block at Orange," in Orange, California (about 45 minutes south of Los Angeles). "The Block" contains a 30-screen movie theater, an arcade, and mostly junior and young men's retail shops. Vans fits right in, providing not only a place for kids to skate, but a place to shop. A full line of merchandise—shoes and apparel for both sexes—is available for sale in their store, which is adjacent to and accessible from the entrance to the park.

Although the merchandise in the shop was predominantly skate-related (mostly shoes), they did carry some snowboarding gear. Long sleeve tees with camouflage detailing were a feature in this section.

Among the skate shoes, the men's options all utilized dark color schemes—navy, gray, red, olive, while the women's veered towards the pastel-pearl gray, baby blue, pale pink.

Interestingly, the skateboards displayed in-shop were dominated by surf graphics-waves, hula girls, palm trees, etc.

You must pay to use the facility, which you can do on the first floor across from the store as you make your way back to the ramps and rails. A few arcade games are located on the first floor as well, and a more extensive area is alloted for them upstairs.

The park itself is both indoors and outdoors, and the two spaces are divided by immense garage doors which, when left open, offer a smooth transition between the two.

Inside, a viewing deck and balcony have been created on the second floor for onlookers and skaters looking to take a break. The afternoon we went, the atmosphere was very family-oriented. Lots of parents and grandparents were watching their kids and grandkids skate. Since the age range of the skaters was about 11 to 14 (all male), it makes sense that their "rides" would need a place to hang out while they skated. Bleachers are provided for sitting, giving the feeling of being in a large sporting arena, and posters featuring Vans team riders cover the perimeter of the balcony.

As mentioned above, there is also an arcade on this viewing deck, along with machines vending snacks, water, and lots of Mountain Dew, as well as three terminals with internet access to the Vans website. Unfortunately, none of them were in very good working order. We asked some kids whether they looked at the Vans site at home, and they responded that they didn't even know it existed until they came to the park. Just a few young impressions, but perhaps Vans needs to educate its core customer more about its site content. From what we could glean, the kids seemed primarily interested in the stats and event listings on the site.

REPEATEDLY SEEN

•Brights—yellow, red and green paired primarily with dark denim but sometimes khaki
•Spiked hair
•Tipped hair—brown with blond or golden tips—most often paired with the spiked look
•Flame graphics—not in the skate park but on everything from shoes to snowboards in the retail shops in the mall
•Brands—Quiksilver, Hurley, Media, Dealer, Royal Polaris, World Industries, Adio, Ezekiel, Dojo
•Brights for girls in the mall shops—oranges, pinks, and yellows