Lifetime punk and Bozemanite opens a new skate shop on College St.

Punks, rebels and misfits may all rejoice as a possible new home base has opened up shop near #MontanaSkateUniversity. 

Bozeman's second locally-owned skate shop is next door to Colombo’s Pizza and Pasta at 1007 W College St. According to owner Nate Howe, Cub Power Skate Shop started in Butte a couple of years ago. Howe originally moved to Butte to work for the city and ultimately quit to open the first Cub Power Skate Shop. In Dec. 2022, Cub Power moved to Bozeman as “most of the customers drove in from Missoula, Helena and Bozeman or ordered online,” Howe said. 

Howe is a born-and-raised Bozmanite who considers himself one of the first skaters in town. “I started skateboarding here in Bozeman when I was young, back in the 70s,” Howe said. Back in the day, skateboarders were seen as rebellious delinquents. “We were all punk rockers, nobody liked us and we didn’t care,” he said.

He recalled skating on campus in the 70s on old-school skateboards, and pointed to one on display in the store. It was tiny and wooden, without a modern grip on the deck, and, according to Howe, “kinda sketchy.” 

“In the 80s, we had the bigger boards, and there are still some marks near Wilson Hall. We used to skate there in the 80s. I didn't know anyone else doing it then and there wasn't any evidence of it being skated. Now you can tell it's been skated on for decades,” Howe said. 

Growing up, Howe and his skateboarding group of friends admired teens in Southern California from afar via magazines as they pioneered the sport. Howe recalled trying to mirror their actions.“ If they had a ramp, we would build one in a barn. I even remember telling people I was from California because I thought it was cooler,” Howe said. Now, he has nothing but pride for his hometown and state as he contributes to the local skating community. 

The name Cub Power is derived from a nickname lovingly given to Howe by his girlfriend, who calls him cub. “Cub Power was just a way I felt at the beginning of lockdown,” Howe said. 

During the lockdown at the pandemic's beginning, Howe started his one-person skate team. During lockdown, he took advantage of the empty parking lots and streets to get outside on his board and ride. “Bummin’ down Wilson is awesome with no traffic,” Howe said. 

Before Cub Power arrived in Bozeman, Howe used to buy all of his skateboarding gear online because he was unhappy with the selection in town. 

The people and the culture that make up the skating world have always accepted people from all walks of life. “Skateboarders are good people,” Howe said. “Maybe it's because we know what being physically injured is like, then getting back up and into something that tried to kill you.” 

“When you see another skateboarder, you go, there’s somebody who knows how to fall and get back up. I like that guy or girl already,” Howe said.

 In Howe’s experience, skateboarding gave him a community.“Skateboarding has always been really cool because it includes misfits. You know, people with things they didn’t have names for back then, ADHD and stuff like that,” Howe said. 

At the beginning of his skating career, Howe recalls mostly guys skating with him and his friends. “But the cool thing about the inclusivity of skateboarding is that it includes everybody now: women, men and non-binary people. It’s super awesome. Everybody is welcome to skateboard,” Howe said. 

Some of his favorite professional skaters to watch right now are women, as they are incredibly creative in their skating.

Howe has even teamed up with a local group out of Missoula called Girls on Shred. According to Howe, Girls on Shred focuses on bringing clinics and lessons to communities that may not have access to sports gear otherwise. Recently, Howe donated equipment to Girls on Shred to help support their efforts. 

“Groups like that are cool and specific. Because I think, in the olden days, girls would go to the skatepark and feel dejected and rejected. Or didn't maybe feel welcome. But it's not like that anymore, and I think if a girl can start with a group of women that already rip themselves, they would probably feel a lot more a part of it,” Howe said. 

Mostly, though, skateboarding is his version of therapy. “Gravity sports are so fun. They make you live in the moment,” Howe said. “As soon as I’m on my skateboard, I’m not worried about the disaster of the past that you can't do anything about or the terror of the future,” Howe said. 

Cub Power Skate Shop carries completed factory-built and custom skateboards. But according to Howe, “the better ones are the skateboards I build.”

Beyond skateboards, Howe stocks custom-made Cub Power merch and a hand-selected vintage rack. So, if you want new trucks, wheels, or a deck, check out Bozeman’s latest Skate Shop. 

Check out their Instagram @cubpowerskateshop, where Howe has been promoting the hashtag #MontanaSkateUniversity. Or, you can stop by during business hours, from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturdays.