Meet Carlos Domínguez, Guatemalan skater and owner of OG Skateshop in Antigua, Guatemala.
I first met Carlos one night skating down at a basketball court in Antigua that the locals call “Candelaria”.
At the court, there was a pile of rails and boxes in the corner that were chained up with a lock. Carlos came up to me and asked if I wanted to skate them while holding a set of keys in his hand.
We stood there talking for a while before I realized I was speaking with someone who had lived through the development of skateboarding in Antigua.
He told me some stories about the Emerica team passing through and even about some days when skaters like Rick McCrank had skated right where we were standing.
Suddenly, the well-waxed and worn down ledges on the side of the court started to make more sense.
I headed to Carlo’s shop down the street called “OG Tattoo and Skateshop” a few days later to see what he’s been up to lately.
Here’s what he had to say!
Hey Carlos! Tell us a little about the skate scene in Guatemala. What’s it like here?
Skateboarding in Guatemala is pretty new compared to other places around the world.
It was introduced maybe 25 or 30 years ago in Guatemala City. Guys from the city went to the US, saw guys skating, and brought it back to Guatemala.
This was way back in some of the earliest days of Fish Skateshop. Back then, it wasn’t so established as it is now, it was more about knowing the right guys who could hook you up with a board in Guatemala City.
In Antigua where my shop is, skating really only began about 15-20 years ago.
Antigua is a challenging but interesting place to skate. All the streets in Antigua are made of stone and many of the sidewalks too.
Naturally, this makes skating from place to place hard, but there are still several spots around.
Our main spot and a meeting point of skating in Antigua is the “Candelaria”. This is a basketball court that we’ve been skating for as long as skating has been here.
Nowadays, we keep several obstacles at the park locked up on the side. Three guys have keys to unlock them and we bring them out as often as we can to have sessions. The Candelaria spot is also just down the street from my shop!
What’s your story in becoming a skate shop owner?
I started skating when I was 13 (I’m 30 now) and I originally come from Antigua. After a couple years of skating here, I started heading to Guatemala City to skate and I got connected with Fish Skateshop there.
When I was like 15, I got sponsored by Fish which helped me get to know the skaters there, the shop owners, and just learn a little about the skate industry.
Fast forward many years, I had been working in administration for a university here but I knew I wanted to start my own tattoo shop. After saving up for a while, I finally got my current shop location here and started business about 3 years ago (Right before Covid hit).
So your shop was a tattoo shop first. How did it become a skate shop?
Since the beginning, I dreamed of filling the tattoo shop with boards. Like, just having tons of boards on the wall. So, I was talking to the owners of Fish in Guatemala City, talking about how I wanted to have like 20 boards to hang.
Then, we had a great idea.
Basically, my tattoo shop would basically just become like a secondary storefront for Fish! So, I got a hanger for boards, shelving for trucks, wheels, bearings, and so on.
Oh, so your skate products are sourced through Fish Skateshop?
Yes, the skate products in my shop are actually products from Fish Skateshop in Guatemala City. I don’t have direct accounts with the distributions, etc. in the US. Instead, I pick and choose inventory from Fish to stage in my shop. Then, when I sell skate products here, I have a commission agreement with Fish.
In the end, it’s a win-win situation as Fish sells more products while I receive a commission and supply the local skaters in Antigua without them having to go to Guatemala City.
You mentioned you started right before Covid-19. How did that affect your shop?
Oh man, I opened the shop just like a month before Covid hit (laughs). It was rough and I was definitely contemplating my business decision. But nowadays, we’re making it!
During Covid, I was tattooing and still selling skate products, but it was just really low-key. I was mainly just doing some tattoos for my friends or getting people some boards here and there. Thankfully, things seem to be working out now.
How did you choose this location for the shop?
So the location of the shop was pretty financially driven. Right in downtown Antigua, the rent can be super high for even a really small space, like $3000/month. So it’s like, okay, bro… I just don’t have that.
Luckily, the rent for my shop here in the northern part of town is much lower, but the location is also closer to our Candelaria spot, so it just worked out good!
What do you do marketing-wise for the shop?
Currently, the shop is largely just known by word-of-mouth here in Antigua! Just like, friends telling friends that you can get skate stuff here, etc. It’s very much just like a true “local” skateshop.
Besides this, the shop just has an Instagram account. So, I post our new products, some skate clips, and everyone can contact me there.
Note for skate shop owners: Learn how to create dope content that brings you customers with our guide How To Create a Skate Shop Content Strategy
For those who aren’t familiar with skateboarding in Guatemala, do you want to shout out any brands, skaters, etc. who are killing it?
For sure! Check out our Guatemalan board company Word is Bond. I also stock Solowood from Costa Rica and Republica Skateboards from Panama here in the shop.
I also have to shout out 502 Skateboards. 502 doesn’t exist anymore, but this was one of the first board companies in Guatemala and they were key in developing skating here.
Some top Guatemalan skaters to shout out:
David Hernandez
Kevin Totio
Ivancito Arevalo
Kandy Morales
Noe Rivera (RIP)
And finally, shout out to Fish Skateshop of course!
Thanks Carlos!
OG Tattoo Studio & Skateshop is located at:
Calle del Manchen #10, Antigua, Guatemala