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Just outside of Downtown Flagstaff lies Collective, a skate shop carrying apparel, skateboards and accessories for skating and snowboarding. However, within the community, Collective’s role is reaching far past that of being a skate shop � It’s a catalyst for connection within the local skate and snow community.

Rich Phillips, a founder and creator of Collective, said he had previously owned the Oncore skate and snow shop in downtown Flagstaff, which was sold in 2018. At Oncore, Phillips said he and colleagues had worked with talented community members, who all brought unique aspects to the shop, whether that be as a team rider, a content creator, a photographer and more.

“We created Collective as an opportunity for us all to work together again,� Phillips said.

Collective started out as an apparel shop via Instagram, Phillips explained. Phillips said he and partner Christopher Morales, a.k.a. “Weasel� decided to start up Collective in 2019 mainly as a way to reconnect with the skate and snowboard community, even though it remained mainly virtual throughout COVID.

“The idea was to create it as a space for all these talented kids that were helping us with the shop,� Phillips said. “They all had some type of input.�

In 2024, Collective opened its Leroux Street doors to the public as a full-fledged skateboard shop.

“My son was the one who really inspired me to convert it and start the skateboard shop up again,� Phillips said. “He’s 14 now; he grew in up our old shop � He saw that Flagstaff needed something like that and so he’s really the one that pushed me to do it.�

While several outdoor shops have tried to jump into carrying skateboards and accessories, their inventories are limited and not always what the local skate community is looking for. Phillips said Collective is focused on bringing the right brands and providing the community with what they need right off the bat.

Now, at Collective, Phillips said his son helps out with picking out brands and styles for the shop that keep up with what’s popular. Collective’s inventory is stocked with apparel, footwear and skateboards, but Collective’s community impact stretches past supplying those items.

Phillips explained that Collective is all about providing an inclusive space to community members, especially youth, who are involved in the local skate community or are trying to become a part of it.

Just being a physical shop allows Collective to reach out to the local skate community in ways that weren’t available to them as an “apparel gram,� Phillips said.

“You get on your device, and you can find everything you want at the tip of your fingers, you know?� Phillips said. “But the skateboard shop and the snowboard shop, I think they’re so important in the community still.�

Growing up skating and working in the skate and snow industry for a while, Phillips said that meeting up at the skateboard shop before heading to the park or meeting up at the snowboard shop before heading to the mountain was a big aspect of his upbringing. That space where adults and kids can meet up, watch videos, get stoked for the day and head out together is a part of the skate and snowboard culture that seems to be fading, and Phillips said that Collective is trying to bring that sort of space back to Flagstaff.

Aside from being a community hub for skaters and snowboarders, Phillips said Collective has also been putting on community events with a focus on inclusivity.

“We’re trying to mush [people] all together so that they don’t feel like ‘hey, just because I’m a new skateboarder, I don’t want to hang out with the cooler guys and girls ripping over there,� you know?� Phillips said, “We want everyone to feel included.�

June 21 is recognized worldwide as Go Skateboarding Day and is a day in which several communities will host big skateboarding events to bring that community together. This year, Collective hosted a Go Skateboarding Day event to announce their new direction in terms of opening up as a full-fledged skateboard shop.

Phillips said that they have also hosted a video premiere at the Collective shop, which had a great turnout.

“I guess that the overall ride of what we’re trying to do is bring everyone together as a community,� Phillips said. “Do things that really include every genre of skateboarding.�

Phillips said he really missed putting on community events like skatepark events and contests. Over the last four years, he said Collective has also been hosting snowboard events at Arizona Snowbowl. Phillips also said an early March snowboard event at Snowbowl is in the works right now.

At prior snowboard events, Phillips said they would see the same few people podiumed each time.

“That’s cool, but after time, that becomes a little monotonous,� Phillips said. “We want to give everyone a fair share.�

So, they came up with a golf-inspired snowboard contest they called “The Bushwood Open� which provided an opportunity for people of all levels to participate and have fun.

Hosting events like these, Collective gets to be part of and witness further opportunities for exceptional athletes in the community.

“I’ve gotten lots of kids on teams and sponsored, and that’s the fun of it � to have somebody in your community, and you start helping them out and then they get recognized and get to move up within the industry,� Phillips said.

Looking forward, Collective aims to really be a stepping-stone for youth in the community who want to get into snowboarding or skateboarding, Phillips said. And even the layout of the shop aims to support their goal, with its living room-like area.

“We’ve got couches at a TV and it’s like, ‘Come on, come hang out!’� Phillips said. “It’s not just our clubhouse, it’s [the community’s] clubhouse as well.�

“I think that’s all that we’ve ever wanted to do here was really just give a space for kids, adults, whoever is a part of it to come in, to hang out, to still watch those videos, talk skate, talk snowboarding, talk about anything,� Phillips said.