Tablet Pharmacy: Ever find yourself waiting endlessly at a big box pharmacy, feeling like just another number? At Tablet Pharmacy, they provide the personalized service you deserve. They offer free delivery and blister packaging options to make managing your medications easier than ever. Check their competitive prices online at tabletpharmacy.ca.

Rockin' Rhonda: Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. All right, join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.

Peter McCully: Welcome back to the Pulse Community Podcast. I'm Peter McCully, and Spring is definitely in the air here on mid-Vancouver Island. We're seeing all the signs from Nanaimo up through Parksville and Qualicum Beach, across the Island to Port Alberni and Tofino, and on up to Comox, all the way to Campbell River.The Island is waking up and so are we.

Dave Graham: Speak for yourself, Peter. I'm Dave Graham and I am missing that one hour of sleep that we lost with the time change last weekend. So Yes, I've been watching for signs of spring from indoors under a blanket. You know what? I think I bruised my circadian rhythm.

Peter McCully: The clocks move forward, Dave.

The sun is out later in the day. That's a good thing, and I don't think you can bruise your circadian rhythm.

Dave Graham: Oh no. Well, maybe it's dislocated then, and out of sync. Oh, that's it. I'm unsynced. I did some research. I'm definitely in need of melatonin or maybe it was caffeine. Maybe both.

Peter McCully: We'll get you a nice melatonin mocha after. How's that sound? In the meantime, we have some exciting news for fans of live music, with the Parksville Beach Festival announcing their plans for a fantastic summer at Parksville's Community Park. We'll be speaking with Entertainment Director Lloyd Derry about the lineup, including an iconic Canadian rock band taking the stage.

Lloyd Derry: Our opening concert is July 11th, and again, happy to have Van Rock Interiors back as their sponsor, featuring the highly acclaimed, iconic rock band April Wine. They rose to international prominence through the seventies and eighties, and over the course of their remarkable career, they've released more than 20 albums, I believe, and sold something in the neighbourhood of 20 million records. It's crazy.

Dave Graham: April Wine. That is so cool. When I was a kid with my first stereo system, I had an April Wine eight-track tape. Now, for our younger listeners, an eight-track was a form of music storage before compact discs. Now, for our youngest listeners, a compact disc was a form of music storage before — I don't know, whatever people are using nowadays. I can't keep up.

Peter McCully: April Wine have been a staple of Canadian rock for decades, and they still absolutely bring it live. Also in this episode, we bring you Peter "PD" Mann, founder of Skull Skates — Canada's oldest skateboard brand. PD has plenty of stories to share after five decades of skateboarding, art, and culture. Their international headquarters is in Qualicum Beach.

Peter Ducommon: We also, at a certain point, had a store in North Vancouver, a store in downtown Vancouver, of course the Nanaimo store, and Qualicum Beach being our newest, and what we're now referring to as Skull Skates Headquarters. The whole planet has to come to Qualicum if they want to get to the real deal with Skull Skates.

Dave Graham: The whole planet's coming.That's exciting. We may need to order some porta-potties and I'll see if I can round up some extra chairs.

Peter McCully: On a future edition of the podcast, we'll chat with author Steve Burgess, who has written a book, Cheapskate in Lotus Land. Hopefully he'll have some financial wisdom to share with us.

Dave Graham: Oh, I could use some of that financial wisdom.You know, my dad was a banker and my ex-wife was a banker, and none of it rubbed off on me, so I say bring it on. Let's hear more about how to stretch one's dollars. Now, I don't know if this is true, but I heard that buying lottery tickets is not a recommended component of a well-rounded retirement plan, so I could use any and all tips for managing money.

Thank you. Also coming to the podcast — a chat with Aaron Cully Drake. Aaron is an author who can tell us the ups and downs of writing a book using artificial intelligence.

Peter McCully: We'll also be learning about the Access Oceanside Association, a non-profit working to raise awareness and break down barriers for residents and visitors with disabilities.

Dave Graham: Our next contest is on right now. This is your chance to win a four-day general admission pass for two for Sunfest. This year's Sunfest has another great lineup, including John Pardi, Tyler Hubbard, Riley Green, and Hannah McFarland.

Peter McCully: To enter, visit our Facebook or Instagram pages — The Pulse Community — or head to our website, thepulsecommunity.ca, for details.

Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Ian Lindsay & Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX — Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network — since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment, and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

Fireside Books: There's exciting news for book lovers. Fireside Books in Parksville now has a second location in Port Alberni. The Bookwyrm — used books are just $5 or less. The Bookworm, on the corner of Redford and Anderson, opens seven days a week from 10 to 5. Building your personal library for less. Fireside Books at 464 Island Highway East in Parksville is a book dragon's dream come true. Browse their extensive collections seven days a week. Both locations make growing your personal library easier than ever. New and used books and so much more. Order online at firesidebooks.ca and pick up at either location. Details available online. Ask about returning books for a book credit. Fireside Books and The Bookwyrm — two locations, one amazing adventure in browsing.

Piano Heist: Hello, this is Patrick Courtin of Piano Heist, and together with my colleague Nico Rhodes, we'd like to invite you to a very special event coming up on Vancouver Island. It's the big-screen premiere of The 88th Key, a new Piano Heist short film, created by our dear friend and filmmaker extraordinaire Patrick Shoa, starring us — Piano Heist's Patrick and Nico — as well as some exciting special guests. This is happening Sunday, March 29th in Nanaimo, 3:00 PM at the Port Theatre, and Monday, March 30th in Sidney at 11:45 AM at the Star Cinema. This unique event is part film screening, part artist talk and Q&A, and part Piano Heist concert. We hope to see you there.

Dave Graham: This is the Pulse Community Podcast. Updated weekly and available on Apple, Amazon, iHeart, Spotify, TikTok, and YouTube. Plus, we're on Facebook and Instagram.

Peter McCully: Do you know of a story we should be telling? Is there someone we should be talking to? Then speak to us. Leave a voice or text message through the contact link on our website, thepulsecommunity.ca.

Dave Graham: We've added Vancouver Island webcam links to our website. You'll find links to all of our podcasts, events, and contests. I tell you, it's a one-stop resource for everything happening in our region.

Peter McCully: One of the biggest events on the whole Island sees well over a hundred thousand people through the gates each summer.

It's known locally as Beach Fest, and we're in for some fine entertainment. Here's Marilyn.

Marilyn: The folks at the Parksville Beach Festival Society have a busy summer planned. Joining us today in the Green Room to talk about April Wine and the concert lineup for Beach Fest Rocks, we welcome Entertainment Director Lloyd Derry.

Dave Graham: Lloyd, thanks so much for joining us today. I appreciate all the information and the excitement we're going to be hearing about, and it's so good to see you again.

Lloyd Derry: You as well, Dave, and thanks very much for having me today.

Dave Graham: Before we chat about this year's lineups for the musical events that will be happening in the Parksville Community Park in the fabulous outdoor theatre, can we get a sense of how things went last summer?

Lloyd Derry: Well, last summer was fantastic, Dave. It really was. We started off with Van Rock Interiors' opening concert with Chilliwack, who were on their Farewell to Friends tour, and they proved beyond a doubt that they can still rock even at that age. We had about 2,900 people, including our Beach Fest sponsors.

That's our sponsor appreciation night. So it was just a great way to kick off the season. And following that, of course, we had the Tim Horton's Free Summer Concert Series — again, a big hit with crowds. Our crowds ranged between 800 and 1,200 people for each night of those eight concerts, so we were happy with that.

Bands from all various genres performed, so it gave our attendees a pretty good variety. After that was Mid-Island Co-op Beach Fest Rocks — no longer "Rock the Park," and there's a swear jar — I have to put 25 cents in every time I say "Beach Fest Rocks." But again, it was a big success. Attendance varied between about 1,800 and 2,400 per day, depending on the day. As a twist, last year we added a couple of original bands with Prism and Powder Blues, and of course we had all the great world-class tribute bands that people have come accustomed to seeing there. So it was, again, a great success — even though we were in competition with Nickelback down island a little bit on the Saturday, but it all turned out fine.

Our closing concert last year was quite different. We had the Naden Band from the Royal Canadian Navy, and everybody was just blown away that day as they performed not only different genres of music — they had a very accomplished vocalist. I think most people were expecting military marching band material, and that just wasn't the case. They ended up with a very heartfelt tribute to those in attendance who had served in defence of our country. So it was a great day and fairly patriotic. It was just a great way to end last season.

Dave Graham: As the Entertainment Director for Beach Fest, Lloyd, how long have you been at this?

Lloyd Derry: I think it's 10 or 11 years this year. I'm at the age now, Dave, where if I say something was five years ago and I look it up, it was 10. I don't know how that works, but that's how it goes.

Dave Graham: I don't know how you keep doing it. I mean, your sense of how this has grown over the years — you must be pretty satisfied, I'd say.

Ah, job well done.

Lloyd Derry: Thank you very much, Dave, and I think I remember saying to you last time we interviewed that it takes a village, and of course we have a lot of help along the way. The theatre's popularity has just grown exponentially. A dream is one thing — having it come to fruition is another. We may have created a Frankenstein; I'm not sure.

Dave Graham: And I don't know how you keep doing it year after year, but you find these iconic bands. It was just made public recently — one of the big acts coming to town this summer — and I'll let you take it from there.

Lloyd Derry: All right. Our opening concert is July 11th, and again, happy to have Van Rock Interiors back as their sponsor, featuring the highly acclaimed, iconic rock band April Wine. They rose to international prominence through the seventies and eighties, and over the course of their remarkable career, they've released more than 20 albums, I believe, and sold something in the neighbourhood of 20 million records.

It's crazy. They've earned a lasting place in Canadian music history. They're going to perform such iconic songs as "Roller," "I Like to Rock," "You Could Have Been a Lady," and of course their iconic power rock ballad "Just Between You and I," which got them international recognition — certainly on the North American stage.

They have 11 combined Juno nominations, they've been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and have Lifetime Achievement Awards. Really, it's a band you don't want to miss. They're still actively involved in touring across North America, and I recently heard that they were actually overseas for some shows, and they've got a big tour coming up, so we're lucky to get them with all that busyness they're currently performing in.

As the opener that day, we have special guests. Victoria's Tumbling Dice will open the show with a selection of popular country and some rock tracks, which they're not generally known for, but they have changed a little bit, so we're happy to have them. They'll be a great way to open that show. Our tickets are very reasonably priced — $59.95 for adults, $35 for students, and free for children under 12 when accompanied by an adult.

We're just really excited about that one.

Dave Graham: That's gonna be a humdinger, some of us might say. Now, how about Beach Fest Rocks? Can we touch on the lineup there?

Lloyd Derry: Maybe I'll do this in order. So right after April Wine, the next weekend we start our Tim Horton's Summer Concert Series — eight free concerts.

That'll be on July 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th, and 31st, and then on August 1st, 14th, and 15th. Very pleased to have our perennial sponsors Tim Horton's back on board for another year. We went to an online application form this year, Dave, for bands wanting to play these eight free concerts. We had over 60 bands apply.

Everybody wants to play here. As for Beach Fest Rocks — again, happy to have Mid-Island Co-op back as our title sponsor for that this year. It'll be held from August 7th through [date to be confirmed], and features some new and some returning world-class tribute and rock review bands. Friday's performance features a returning headliner — Parksville's very own Zachary Stevenson, who, apart from performing his Buddy Holly hits, which he's most famous for, is going to do lots of other rock and roll favourites that day. Also on the Friday, we have a night of Bowie, and we have Sticky Fingers, which is a Rolling Stones tribute. Saturday's lineup includes headliners Petty Fever, which is a multi-award-winning, full-production tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — coming all the way up from Seattle. We also have A Rival, which is an ABBA tribute; Good Times Roll, a Cars tribute; Dreams, a Fleetwood Mac tribute; and Backbeat, a band that does a '60s review out of Victoria. I had a chance to hear them for the first time last summer, and whether they're doing Beatles or Beach Boys, they're just fantastic.

The Sunday — the last day of Beach Fest Rocks — the headliners are a band called Odyssey, who perform classic rock songs from the seventies, and they're comprised of some of the best musicians and vocalists from Vancouver. Other Sunday performers include The Rod Show, which is obviously a tribute to Rod Stewart; Classic Rons, a tribute to Linda Ronstadt; and March Hare, who we've had previously. They can do everything, but this year about half their set they're going to focus on Roy Orbison. I've been trying to get somebody to do Roy Orbison for years. He's an artist that's close to my heart. Just a stellar lineup again for Beach Fest Rocks.

Ticket prices for that event: $99 for an adult weekend pass, $50 for a student weekend pass. Or if people prefer daily passes, it's $55 for an adult and $35 for a youth pass, and again, children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. We're still working on a Sunday concert for the last day, Sunday, August 16th, and we hope to feature some music for the younger set.

Can I talk about something I can't talk about? As an added bonus this year, the Parksville Beach Festival Society, in collaboration with the Collective Entertainment and Events out of Victoria, are adding one more concert on Friday, August 21st. And as I said, I can't tell you who yet, but what I can tell everyone is — mark that date on your calendar, as it features one of Canada's most enduring and important bands, who have received numerous Juno awards and nominations, several CCMA and other awards, and have about 4 million album sales.

This will be the single biggest concert in Parksville's history, and this concert will be announced to the public on April 7th.

Dave Graham: Thank you for sharing even that much, Lloyd. This is very exciting — just the list of talent coming to town, and imagining all that wonderful music under the stars in the park by the beach. You're in paradise.

What a wonderful event. That brings to mind — now, getting tickets. Let's get to the practicalities there.

Lloyd Derry: First of all, David, I just wanted to talk for a moment, if I could, about ticket prices. During these days of escalating ticket prices for concerts — they're just going through the roof everywhere — it's very important to our Society to try and keep the ticket prices reasonable, in keeping with our family-focused values and events.

And I think what a lot of people don't realize is the cost to put on these concerts. It's not cheap when you consider the cost of the bands, the production of the concerts with state-of-the-art sound equipment and professional techs. Then you've got to get washrooms, and security, and traffic control, and first aid — in addition to all the ongoing operational costs. It does add up, and people do ask us why tickets are priced where they are. How come there isn't a seniors' rate? And I just tell everybody that every rate's a seniors' rate, because compared to other places, I truly believe that it is. And where else, for that kind of money, do you sit in an idyllic setting such as our beautiful Community Park, with a world-class facility, listening to world-class entertainment?

When you look around at other venues and concerts, it becomes apparent that we're pretty lucky here. You don't see that anywhere else. So, as for purchasing tickets — again, we're happy to partner with the McMillan Art Centre. They've done a spectacular job acting as our box office right from the very start when we began our ticketed events.

And even better, Dave — the box office fees go right back into supporting arts and culture endeavours right in our community. So it's a win-win, and we are sure happy to partner with them. To get tickets for any of our ticketed events, you can visit the McMillan Art Centre Box Office, which is located at 133 McMillan Street, Tuesdays through Saturdays between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM, or you can purchase your tickets online at shop.mcmillanartcentre.com.

Dave Graham: People can check out more where online?

Lloyd Derry: All of our concerts, whether they're free or ticketed, will be on the Beach Fest website — that's parksvillebeachfest.ca. For the ticketed concerts, people can go online at the McMillan website to check out the lineups and artist bios. There are pictures on there, there are videos of the bands on there. Their website address, again, is shop.mcmillanartcentre.com.

Dave Graham: Well, Lloyd, I want to thank you again for your time, and on a broader scale, thank you for being a key player in bringing such amazing talent to our wee little town by the sea for another summer. I look forward to seeing you there.

Lloyd Derry: Thank you, Dave, and you as well. And I just want to thank you and Peter and the podcast for always giving us the opportunity to speak to the community. We certainly do appreciate everything you guys do on our behalf, so thank you.

Peter McCully: I am so excited to see April Wine again. Summertime is a wonderful time to fall in love with live music all over again.

When I was growing up in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, April Wine was the premier band. They were the Canada Day entertainment for many years, along with the fireworks at the Citadel in Halifax, and I'm telling you — when those rockets went up and the band launched into "I Like to Rock," the whole world was going crazy.

It didn't feel just like a song title anymore. Their music is woven into the soundtrack of my life. And just between you and me, there's nothing quite like hearing those songs under an open sky. So say hello to Parksville, April Wine. This is tremendous news and we can't wait to see you roll right into town.

Dave Graham: Tickets for April Wine go on sale March 16th, and Beach Fest Rocks tickets will be available as of May 1st. The Pulse Community now includes Cindy Thompson of Parksville. Cindy hosts A Resilience Project, a podcast that encourages us to move from surviving to thriving. It's a powerful series and well worth your time.

Peter McCully: Parksville City Councillors Joel Grenz and Sean Wood know how to make municipal politics accessible and interesting, with their insider's look at local government in Nonpartisan Hacks.

Dave Graham: Our Skookum Kid Stories feature Captain Dave and the crew of the Mellow Submarine, and Peter and Gracie the Eskimo dog.

Our stories now offer colouring pages to go along with each new episode. In our latest story, Captain Dave and his first mate Larry the Lobster help a diver rescue a lost camera.

Peter McCully: Our Radio Archaeology classic radio series features original episodes of Dragnet with Sergeant Joe Friday, and Marshal Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke.

In this week's edition of Gunsmoke, we'll be introduced to a very young Billy the Kid.

Dave Graham: Billy was so young, they called him Billy the Child. You'll find all these podcasts and more at our website. Plus, we encourage you to sign up for our weekly newsletter — thepulsecommunity.ca.

Raven & The Duke: Hi, this is Brian Denhertog. I'm an acoustic singer, songwriter, and guitarist and one half of Raven and the Duke. I'm excited to let you all know that my partner, multi-instrumentalist Jill Russell, and I are on the road this spring to play some shows on Vancouver Island. Thursday, March 26th, we'll be at Char's Landing in Port Alberni — a place we've played in the past and are super excited to return to. Friday, April 10th, we'll be at the McMillan Art Centre in Parksville, a wonderful converted schoolhouse and gallery. Together, Jill and I as Raven and the Duke play an eclectic program of original songs, original instrumentals, original stories, and a whole lot of fun. Hope you can join us. We'd love to see you out at a show.

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Dave Graham: Our next guest has me wondering if maybe I might have just found my next passion. Skateboarding.

Peter McCully: Oh, as long as you remain a spectator, you're probably okay.

Dave Graham: Oh no, just watching won't be enough. I'm going to have to get on a board and just dive in. But it's okay — I'll start slowly. Maybe just sit on it for a while and rock back and forth, get a feel for it before I try anything involving balance or motion. We have an expert in our midst, actually. Here's Marilyn.

Marilyn: Peter Ducommon has been shaping skateboard culture since first stepping on a board in Nanaimo in 1974.

As founder of Skull Skates — Canada's oldest skateboard brand — and PD's Hot Shop, he spent over five decades bridging skateboarding, snowboarding, art, and music. He recently relocated his international headquarters to Qualicum Beach, just up the road from where it all began.

Peter McCully: Thanks for taking some time for us today, Peter.

It's been a while since I bumped into you.

Peter Ducommon: Yes. Nice to see you, Peter. Thanks for coming through.

Peter McCully: We're here in the shop in Qualicum Beach — Skull Skates — and Peter, let's go back to where it all started. You jumped on a skateboard back in the seventies when you were living in Nanaimo. When you were that kid riding around on a skateboard, did you ever imagine that your life's work would be skateboards?

Peter Ducommon: No clue at all. In fact, I could have never imagined that this is where it would have taken me — to a life as a skateboarder. It was my older brother Rick who had skated in the sixties on clay-wheel boards. He and I built my first board together, and the parking lot is still there — it's a dentist's office in Nanaimo where I first skateboarded.

Peter McCully: Didn't your mother open a skateboard shop in Nanaimo at one point?

Peter Ducommon: The way it started was that my brother had a T-shirt company. He'd go to California several times a year to get the latest iron-on T-shirt transfers — if anybody remembers those. What started happening was that I'd give him lists of skateboard stuff I wanted, because he couldn't get the stuff in Canada.

That turned into my friends giving us lists of stuff, and before we knew it we were bringing things back for everybody in the crew that needed good skate stuff. The first shop really wasn't a shop — it was basically my bedroom in my parents' house in the 1970s. And then, some years later in the mid-eighties, my mom ended up opening a skateboard shop in downtown Nanaimo on Fitzwilliam Street, and it ended up being a pretty iconic spot for its time.

The eighties was a dynamic time in skateboarding.

Peter McCully: Has anyone ever wandered into your shop here in Qualicum Beach and said, "Hey, you used to pick up a set of wheels now and again from your mom?"

Peter Ducommon: Actually, I would say the first year or two that we were open, we had several people come through reminiscing about my mom and saying that they'd got their first skateboard from her.

My mom was an interesting lady. She had to be in her seventies at the time. Very sweet — just don't get on her bad side. That was the perfect combination to host a skate shop, I think, at the time.

Peter McCully: And now Skull Skates is Canada's oldest skateboard brand.

Peter Ducommon: Yes. The shop started around '76 and the brand started in 1978.

Here we are — we've just been doing it because we really don't know how to do anything else, so it's brought us this far along. We're still making skateboards and related stuff. And we've made a lot of neat things over the years, including snowboards and bicycles and skim boards — anything that catches our interest somehow makes its way into the product line.

Peter McCully: I did want to ask you about that. You alluded to it — Skull Skates helped pioneer the snowboard industry as well.

Peter Ducommon: I think what happened when we started was that we didn't think "Skull Skates" was such a great name for a snowboard. I don't know why, but we came up with the name Crystal Ocean — Crystal Ocean Snowboards by Skull Skates.

We got in pretty early. I think '83 was the first year that we put boards out. I think I probably stepped on a snowboard around 1979. The industry of snowboarding really didn't get fully established until the late eighties, early nineties, and I think by '95 we were out of it. It became, for my personal taste, a little bit too mainstream by that point.

Peter McCully: And Skull Skates has left a lasting impression on the market with pioneering the Hammerhead.

Peter Ducommon: The Hammerhead skateboard deck came out in the eighties. It was not my design. It was designed by professional skateboarder Christian Hosoi — as the name denotes, it was influenced by what a hammerhead shark looks like.

So if you can imagine the shape of a regular skateboard — it looks like a scaled-down surfboard — this one had these hammerhead bumps on the nose. Christian was a dynamic and very talented skater during that era. He came up with the shape, his father Ivan came up with the graphic, and it was a hit.

It was most definitely the board that we produced in the largest quantities.

Peter McCully: These boards come in all shapes and sizes. You were showing me recycled water ski boards.

Peter Ducommon: Longboarding's been with us since the start of skateboarding, but it became a thing unto its own somewhere around the mid-nineties, and it really caught fire.

I want to say up until about 2015 — people still do it, but that was the explosive time of longboarding. The original longboards actually came about in the sixties, and people would, at that time, take an old water ski, pull the bindings off, put on trucks and wheels — usually clay wheels of that era — and that became the very first longboards.

Peter McCully: I wanted to go back to something you were mentioning about your brother Rick, who had a career as a stand-up comedian. He was, I believe, one of Canada's first late-night hosts on television, and then he was in a bunch of movies, one of them being with Tom Hanks. Two questions, I guess: one — in the Hollywood era, did you open a shop in California, and did Skull Skates ever work its way into a movie or a show?

Peter Ducommon: Rick was a very talented stand-up comic, also a writer and an actor. I would say his following to this day was a cult following. They would call him a comedian's comedian. We ended up, for a time, with a retail store on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, which was the place to have a shop in the eighties.

It was a place where a lot of people went, and it was a cool place to be. At the same time, we had a warehouse and distribution outlet based in Van Nuys, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The logo has always crept its way into things through the side door. Our first logo appeared in Skateboarder magazine in 1979.

Another banner at this contest in Marina del Rey was torn down and our banner was put up in a clandestine operation. Rick was in a movie called The 'Burbs with Tom Hanks, which — I don't know how well it did in the theatres — but I know that over time it definitely gained, and to this day has, a real cult following.

In that one, there was a skateboard brand out of California that had paid a substantial amount of money and given a lot of product trying to get placement in the movie. Well, Rick sort of had his own technique, which was to go to one of the actors and give him a little bit of cash and a T-shirt and say, "Hey man, why don't you wear this?"

Actually, I remember being in the theatre at the screening in Nanaimo, and when the character comes out — I think the logo looks like it's about six feet tall on the screen. So he did a good one there.

Peter McCully: Let's talk locations for a minute — Peter's Hot Shop Vancouver, you had the shop in Nanaimo, you're now in Qualicum Beach, at one point you're in California, and there's a shop in Japan.

Peter Ducommon: Yes. Gifu, Japan — which is central Japan, just south of Nagoya. That shop opened in 1994, run by a good friend of mine, Satoshi. He's had good success based on what we consider good success. We've had this idea with Skull Skates and with the shops that we intentionally throttle it a bit.

We don't want to blow it out and make it too big and too crazy. And so our guy in Japan really understands that. He's got a brick-and-mortar location as well as does online throughout Japan, and I believe he services probably somewhere around a dozen or 15 skate shops in Japan. We also, at a certain point, had a store in North Vancouver, a store in downtown Vancouver, of course the Nanaimo store, and Qualicum Beach being our newest — and what we're now referring to as Skull Skates Headquarters.

Peter McCully: International Headquarters.

Peter Ducommon: Indeed, yes. The whole planet has to come to Qualicum if they want to get to the real deal with Skull Skates.

Peter McCully: You announced recently that you were moving your international headquarters to Qualicum Beach. Tell us about that.

Peter Ducommon: Well, the original plan was to keep Vancouver going, and we did that for a period of about four years. I love Vancouver — like, really love Vancouver. I spent about 45 years there, which is how long our shop has been there. I know Vancouver in a very intimate way because I got around primarily by bus, bicycle, skateboard, and walking. So you get to know a city in a very detailed way when that's how you experience it. So it wasn't easy for me to get out of Vancouver. I would say that we are very hands-on in the way that we produce product and run our store. I was finding it very difficult to keep that focus of attention on the two — what we were considering — really two kind of primary locations, which doesn't make a lot of sense, but that was the idea.

The other thing is that Vancouver is great as a city, as I still think it is, but it's become more difficult to do business based on overhead and based on the difficulty of people getting around the city. We used to always be in a kind of out-of-the-way location to get affordable rent and count on people making their way to us, and we found in the last 10 to 15 years that's just become much more difficult for people to do.

Peter McCully: So now you're running a shop, a distribution centre, and a popular culture museum — which we'll chat about — all under one roof in a small town. How do the people of Qualicum Beach react when they walk through the doors of what you call Castle Greyskull for the first time, and who comes through the doors?

You have everything here — boards, hats, clothing — you name it.

Peter Ducommon: It's been an interesting ride so far. I mean, we weren't exactly sure — logistically, we're opening a skateboard shop in a retirement community — but it turns out people have been very welcoming. And I think I was not fully considering just how ingrained skateboarding is in the culture.

If you're fortunate enough to retire in a place like Qualicum Beach, it probably means you've lived a pretty interesting and fulfilling life, and that includes things like surf, skate, and snowboard culture — stuff that we traditionally, I think in the past, considered a little bit stigmatized and a little bit outcast. There's still an element of that in skateboarding. But really, a lot of these retired individuals — if they don't skate, they have kids and grandkids that skate, so they're aware of it. People have been very welcoming, which has been a nice surprise for us.

Peter McCully: Let's talk about your website for a moment. Peter, you dive into the popular culture of skateboarding, and your website has what really is an online museum of skateboarding history from the twenties right up through to the nineties.

What drove you to preserve that history when your competitors in the industry are just looking for the next best thing?

Peter Ducommon: Because I think at a certain point in the nineties, I had this realization — and people around me who were like-minded had this realization — that we had built up enough of a culture and a history that there was a story there, and that we wanted to tell that story and share it with people.

And the way that we approached it was through the artifacts — using the boards themselves and the gear. And that's where all the stories come from. It's how the evolution of the equipment has been completely conjoined with the evolution of how people skate. In fact, how the Pop Culture Museum came into being here in Qualicum — we had been given a favourable review when our online museum went up, back in, I want to say, the mid- to late nineties, by a Vancouver newspaper called the Georgia Straight.

It caught the attention of the Vancouver Museum. The Vancouver Museum contacted us, and we did an installation there. Highly successful. It was scheduled for six months, got stretched to 12 months, got stretched to 18 months. Eventually they wanted to take it on the road to seven other cities, which we declined in the end.

But it really opened up our eyes to the fact that people are interested — even if they don't skate, they're interested in the culture. On the heels of the success of that Vancouver show, we started thinking, "Man, we need to do a museum — like a permanent location where we can showcase not only skateboarding, but all this other neat stuff that comes off of skateboarding, which could be anything from unusual bicycles to music, art, skim boarding, snowboarding."

There are so many things that kind of spin off of skateboarding. Well, we started to look around Vancouver — we realized pretty quick we weren't going to be able to afford a space in Vancouver to do that. And that started about a 15-year search up and down the Sunshine Coast and the Island, trying to find a space to house this museum.

It just turned out that the space was in Qualicum.

Peter McCully: You've had some really interesting exhibitions — I know, because I've been here for them all. Skateboards, snowboards, bicycles, popular culture, and art.

Peter Ducommon: Yes, it's been really fun. It's been a good time staging them, and it's been neat to see how people respond to the various exhibits.

Because of the timing, with our shifting of our international headquarters to QB, we're actually just now in the process of planning a Skull Skates retrospective show. So the next exhibit is going to really delve into the starting point and the evolution of this brand in particular, and how it's existed within skateboarding and beyond.

Peter McCully: And that will make a great coffee table book.

Peter Ducommon: There was actually a coffee table book for the Skateboarding Vancouver show that happened at the museum there. So yes, might be a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion, Pete.

Peter McCully: How much stuff do you have, Peter, and where do you keep it all? Bicycles, snowboards, the whole thing.

Peter Ducommon: I think if I readily admitted to that, I'd end up on one of those hoarder shows. And I will say that before we got this opportunity to really start sharing this stuff with people, I essentially was a hoarder. And seemingly overnight, I turned into a curator. And "curator" just sounds so much more fancy and legitimate than "hoarder." I don't know why — it just does.

Peter McCully: And it might be tax deductible. Possibly. After all this time — the skateboard business. What do you know now that you'd like the next generation of skateboarders and small business builders to carry forward?

Peter Ducommon: This is something that people always get a little bit of a chuckle over — but we've never had a business plan.

Other than to get up every day and make cool things happen. I would say, in a sort of tongue-in-cheek kind of way, we like to say that dedication is our gimmick. It mirrors the act of skateboarding. There's no sort of halfway to ride a skateboard — you're either in or you're not. And so I would say, looking back, there's nothing that we would imagine doing differently. Other than — my advice to any sort of small business owner, or skateboarder for that matter, is: you're either in or you're out. If you're not ready to give a hundred percent plus, no big deal — just find something else to do.

Dave Graham: Peter Ducommon — 50 years of skateboarding and he ended up right here in Qualicum Beach. You know, Peter, I've been thinking.

Peter McCully: Not again.

Dave Graham: I've been inspired by all this talk, and I have a feeling that if I work at it, I bet I could start doing some skateboard tricks in just a few weeks.

Peter McCully: I don't know, Dave. I've seen you fall off a stationary bike.

Dave Graham: I'm going to need padding. Lots of padding.

Peter McCully: Hey folks, don't forget to enter our latest contest. We're offering a four-day Sunfest Pass for two — details at thepulsecommunity.ca.

Dave Graham: As soon as I get my circadian rhythm repaired or replaced — whatever they do to fix these things — I'm going to get a skateboard.

Do you happen to know if boards come without riggers?

Peter McCully: I don't think so, Dave.

Dave Graham: Maintaining balance has never been one of my strong suits. So if I could have my body completely encased in — I don't know, maybe a foot of padding — and then get a skateboard with a seat on it and training wheels, oh, that'd be great.

Peter McCully: Maybe we should get you a tricycle.

Dave Graham: Me on a tricycle. Oh, I don't know. That might look funny.

Rockin' Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter, here comes Dave, oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves, no missing. Spinning tales in the podcast cave, so to speak. Laughs and insights everywhere — what a treat. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. All right, join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.