Frank Aquilina is not your typical plumber. When he's not breeding pythons and mice in the back of his Rite Job Professional Plumbing workshop, rescuing cats from euthanasia at local animal shelters or rocking out with his band, he's pursuing his one true life-long passion: skateboarding.
Aquilina is straight out of a Harley Davidson advertisement. His groomed goatee and dusty bandana compliment a mischievous rock star smile. His torn, chalked blue jeans express his love for an active life. His shirt, covered in cat hair and drool, shows his love for his favorite furry friend, a cat named Lockjaw.
For Aquilina, skateboarding has been a passion since he picked it up as a teen in southern California in the 1970s. He became hooked on a sport that changed the culture and identity of teenagers countrywide, right before it exploded in the 1980s. But eight months ago, he decided to take his passion to another level.
With only a $4,000 investment, Aquilina opened his own skateboard production company. Thick Skating Co. produces old-school and new-style decks made from Canadian hard rock maple.
Aquilina says his wife was skeptical at first, but after she saw his motivation for success, she supported it.
But Aquilina isn't a typical skateboard manufacturer. To get his name and product known, he became a familiar face at Santa Rita Skate Park and gave out free Thick decks and gear to local skaters.
This eventually led to the development of sponsorships for local skaters as young as 10.
"As much as I like to do this out of the kindness of my heart, I had to get something nice in return," Aquilina says.
Aquilina offers sponsorships to kids with exceptional talent and work ethic to ride his decks both for fun and in competition.
"Frank is a really cool guy," says Frankie Sanchez, a 15-year-old regular at Santa Rita. "The Tucson skating scene is overwhelmed with companies trying to sell their product and push it on us so much, and Frank just does it because he knows how important it is to all of us."
Although Sanchez is not sponsored by Thick, he appreciates what Aquilina offers.
"When Frank comes out here and wants to sponsor you, it makes you work harder, feel like you accomplished something, knowing an adult notices what you do," Sanchez says.
Aquilina's team of seven riders has more than just skating to focus on. He requires that his team stays off drugs and alcohol and keeps up school grades. Riders lose Aquilina's sponsorship if they don't maintain these requirements.
As for competitions, Aquilina voluntarily pays for and chaperones his team at tournaments in Phoenix so the kids can compete.
Accompanied by a parent, he drives the kids to competions, pays for gas, and buys the food, so that all the riders pay is the entry fee, usually no more than $25 a kid, Aquilina says.
So far, the team has competed in two tournaments where all of his skaters placed in competition.
Aquilina says he likes the direction the company is headed.
He plans to keep marketing his gear to local skate shops and skaters around Tucson. Eventually, he wants to build his own indoor park and a Thick Skating outlet in the back of his plumbing shop.
"I...want to create a safe place where parents know their kids won't be doing stupid stuff–maybe except for breaking a leg–where they can hang with their friends and get better at their sport," Aquilina says.
Robin, a skater familiar with Aquilina's company, says, "This city has so much potential, with the weather, the market, the popularity of the sport."
Robin is sponsored by two mainstream skating companies.
"I know what it feels like as a kid to be noticed by someone and have my hobby supported by them. I think it is awesome what Frank is doing. It really gives the kids here an opportunity to pursue what they love," he says.
