Tired of working for "the Man," Big-Daddy-Don-Skate decided it was time he opened up his own business. This is like the Summer of 1976. Recalling the days of his youth spent making skateboards out of old rollerskates, and tapping into the 70's rollerskating craze, he opened up shop out of the back of an old VW van. From that van, he rented rollerskates at Lake Elizabeth in Fremont. The first incarnation of The Station was aptly named "Lake Skates" (...bet y'all didn't know that one).

It wasn't long before people started asking to buy skates. BDDS knew he needed a physical location to stock more product (you know like skate pom-poms & checkerboard laces). He finally settled in a small 500 sq. ft. location near a Nation's Hamburgers and across the street from The Hub. With his new location came a new name too, The Station's second name: Skate Station.

Now that he had more room to work with, Don started selling skateboards too. What'cha know about Hobie skateboards, Bennett trucks, & Road Rider wheels? This was the era of open ball-bearings too; every time you changed your wheels, you'd have like an avalanche of tiny silver balls spilling all over. Thank God for precision bearings. Anyway, business was steady but not brisk...until the early 80's that is.

Around 1983 skateboarding enjoyed a surge in popularity. This was the "good ol' days" for a lot of skaters out there. Boards got wider (some almost 10 inches). Sims skateboards was hot. G&S too. Powell Peralta ruled. Business boomed. BDDS started selling snowboards too. He had the original "flying yellow banana" snowboards (basically a big piece of plastic you could strap your skate deck to); and he sold Burton Airs when they were still all-wood with 2 big rubber straps for bindings.

The Station quickly expanded beyond the size of it's original location. It was time to find some place bigger. Don looked around and found a much larger location in Newark (about a block West of Newpark Mall). Now, by the mid to late Eighties The Station was selling surfboards, boogie boards, skimboards, skateboards, snowboards, rollerskates, and even the first inline skates when they came out. So, with all of these different "sports" being represented BDDS once again opted for a name change. So, when he moved the store to Newark he tried on the name Sports Station. That didn't last very long though. People kept calling for basketballs & golfclubs and crap like that. So, quickly Don corrected the name to Surf & Skate Station (The Station's 4th incarnation).

Somewhere around the late Eighties, The Station started to slowly build a reputation for it's fashion too. BDDS sold brands like Billabong, Stussy, & Rusty when they were just small "core" surf companies. He sold Vans before they were a huge corporation, and he even had Oakley when they were first getting started. All these brands are huge now, but they were very cutting edge at the time. So, by the early Nineties, The Station was earning as strong a reputation for dressing folks as it already had for being the East Bay's premier skate shop.

In 1992 Don noticed the shopping center where he was at in Newark getting "tired." So, he took action and scouted for someplace new. After weighing his options, he decided to bring the store back to Fremont--to where it is now. He's had the same location for the last 13 or so years now. He's seen a lot of trends come & go...companies too. Yet, after 29 years of the business, BDDS has stayed true to his vision. Treat people like people. Carry the brands that are unique & have something to offer. Stay loyal to his skate roots.

And, the next chapter? The next chapter is still being written...