At a point where the Mississippi River makes a majestic statement as it carves a distinct border between Illinois and Iowa, there is unique energy brewing on 5th Avenue in downtown Moline where Keep Pushing Skate Shop stands as a testament to the staying power of skateboarding, evolving from a counterculture movement to an Olympic sport.

Shop owner Jon Marler has created a space with Keep Pushing Skate Shop where the spirit of skateboarding legends Tony Hawk, Leticia Bufoni, and Rodney Mullen live on in the boards, trucks, and wheels that line his shop shelves. More than just a ‘one-stop shop’ for skateboarding, Keep Pushing Skate Shop is where local skaters find everything for their first board as well the technical expertise needed for advanced shredders. For Jon, who personally services every board that comes through his doors, his business is about fostering the same culture that has transformed local parking lots and empty pools into places of skateboard speed and artistry.

“I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs. My addiction is skateboarding,” said Jon with a chuckle. “This is the first job I’ve ever had that’s brought me joy. It’s all I know. You know, from ten years old to 33 (his current age)…it’s the only thing that I’m passionate about besides my family.”

Skateboarding is a life philosophy that has become the foundation of Jon’s three-year-old business and the essence of the name, Keep Pushing Skate Shop.

“It’s a double meaning,” Jon explained. “No matter what you’re going through in life, just continue to keep pushing. But that’s also the only way that we get around on a skateboard.”

Jon takes pride in being what he called a “one man band,” handling everything from building and repairing skateboards to running the cash register. He is the owner and the only employee of his store. He said his hands-on approach facilitates high-quality products and a sense of authenticity he values.

“I do everything. I build the boards. I fix the boards. I’m your cashier. I am your everything,” said Jon. “Whenever you come here, I’m the guy that’s going to help you out.”

As the sole employee, Jon understands both the benefits and challenges of his position. Customers always get expert guidance from someone with decades of skating experience, but it also means no breaks or time off. Jon knows the example he sets extends beyond business hours. As the face of Keep Pushing Skate Shop, he always welcomes skating questions and conversation even when he’s out skating by himself.

Jon said his passion for skateboarding comes from the freedom the board provides. Unlike structured sports with coaches and playbooks, skateboarding gives Jon the freedom to choose his own adventure. He said some days are meant for cruising down streets and feeling the earth beneath his feet, while other days call for more ambitious challenges and aerial tricks.

“The nice thing about the job is whenever I do need a break, I can head outside and go skate or, you know, do whatever I need to do.”

What sets Keep Pushing apart is Jon’s extensive experience. Twenty-three years of skating has given John expert knowledge of the current “hot” brands, their durability, and performance.

While he acknowledges that some months are more challenging than others, the shop maintains steady business, suggesting that his authentic approach and deep knowledge of skateboarding resonates with his customers.

“I’ve been doing this for the past three years. Fortunate enough to sell over 2000 boards in that time,” said Jon. “Some months are harder than others, but it’s (the shop) still staying busy.”

Keep Pushing Skate Shop rolls into reality

For Jon, a Christmas gift in 2001 would change the direction of his life, though he did not know it at the time.

“I got my first skateboard when I was ten,” Jon recalled. “I didn’t even ask for a skateboard. I had no interest in skateboarding.” But that unexpected Christmas present sparked what would become his lifelong passion.

Coming from a background in team sports, skateboarding offered Jon something different. Skateboarding gave Jon a sense of complete independence. There were no coaches, no prescribed plays. There was just pure freedom to skate at his own pace.

“It is the one thing that’s kept me out of trouble. There’s no rules. I can do whatever I want, when I want. It’s the best,” reflected Jon with emotion in his voice.

The path to opening Keep Pushing Skate Shop wasn’t part of a grand plan. Instead, it came from a moment of frustration during a visit to a chain store at the local mall. After encountering a clerk who clearly didn’t understand skateboarding, something clicked in Jon’s mind.

“I never thought about opening a skate shop before. It was totally spur of the moment,” Jon explained. That single interaction sparked an immediate decision – one that would reshape his professional life.

“After I left the mall, I called my wife, and I told her I was going to quit my job and open a skate shop. And that’s exactly what I did,” Jon remembered with a smile. “She was super supportive of it, actually. Even though we just had a baby, she was still telling me that I should do it. Because she knew that I was passionate about it and that I cared about skateboarding.”

Skating to success

From the beginning, Jon approaches his business with realistic expectations and a focus on community over profit.

“You don’t open a skate shop to make money,” Jon explained. While the shop has been profitable each year, Jon said he has not taken a salary in three years, prioritizing making sure he has the most current inventory and taking care of the bills.

Operating as a brick-and-mortar-only business, Keep Pushing Skate Shop has thrived during a period of growth in skateboarding.

“I think I’ve been able to keep the lights on because skateboarding is growing so much”, explained Jon. “Covid definitely helped with people going outside. But it’s also now an Olympic sport. So, I have a lot of younger kids seeing it and wanting to get skateboards because they saw somebody on TV skateboarding.”

Today, kids who have never experienced the pure rush of skating can now head to Keep Pushing Skate Shop to get their first skateboard and to experience the sport’s freedom and excitement.

“It’s been really awesome to set them up and hopefully have them stick around as long as I have been able to,” said Jon with a smile talking about handing a new young customer their first skateboard.

Jon’s business philosophy extends to a deep commitment to paying it forward in the Quad Cities. He launched a grade-based discount system for kids who want a new skateboard. He’s offers a 10% off for students with a 3.0 GPA (grade point average) and 15% for those with a 4.0. “I do believe school is important,” explained Jon, reflecting upon how professional skateboarders have used academic achievement to advance their own skating careers through scholarships.

“Not everyone is going to go to college,” added Jon. “I never went to college, but I think just sticking it out through high school is super important.”

Another successful initiative at the shop is its “pay it forward” program, which has provided 40 custom, complete skateboards to beginners. The program works similar to how customers at a coffee shop will pay for the coffees of the next person to order. At the skate shop, customers will contribute to a gift card that accumulates to fund complete setups (skateboards) for new skaters. A typical beginner’s board might cost around $130, but Jon’s pay-it-forward setups reach $200, allowing kids to get a fully customized first skateboard.

“Especially around the holidays. I’ll have people come in and just say, here’s $20, put it on a gift card, have a nice day,” explained Jon. “It just builds up and builds up, so we can give these completes (whole skateboard) out to kids. If it’s a kid’s first board and I don’t have a gift card available, I try to make it as cheap as possible for the parents. It’s really cool to see the kids really get to explode (with excitement) and pick out everything that they really want.”

Jon’s shop has become a community anchor amid a resurgence of downtown retailers in Moline. He said local businesses have come to support the skating culture.

“It’s been amazing. All the businesses down here, we’ve built this kind of friendship relationship together,” said Jon about being part of downtown Moline. “They (his business neighbors) allow us to skate in the streets as long as we’re respectful of their customers. It’s been really awesome.”

Jon has even partnered with the City of Moline to propose a new skate park, with designs and location already approved.

Keeping the dream going

Jon’s love of skating has only grown as he has aged. He said his son picked up skateboarding last year and that he bought him his own skateboard after he made straight A’s.

“Skateboarding is such a beautiful thing where it doesn’t matter what age you are, what ethnicity you are. It doesn’t matter who you are,” said Jon about his love of skateboarding. “We all have the same joy and that’s skateboarding.

“As I get older, everything does hurt a little bit more though,” Jon sheepishly admitted. “I’ve been staying a little bit closer to the ground, but I’m still trying to skate every day when I can. I can still do the tricks. It just hurts a little bit more.”

For Jon, a chance encounter at a mall was all it took for him to realize that opening his own retail shop focused on skateboarding was his destiny.

“What I want the people of Illinois to know about being a retailer is it is possible. It’s definitely hard, but if you want it, you can do it,” said Jon with a confident voice. “For me, it took one visit to the mall to realize that I needed to focus on my goals and my dreams, and that was to open my own skate shop.”