Last week, Birmingham’s only local skate shop—Faith Skate—opened the doors of its brand new home in Avondale. We met with owner Peter Karvonen for an inside look and to learn more.

Faith Skate opened its new Avondale location on Oct. 29

Faith Skate was founded in 1995 by Peter Karvonen, an enthusiastic skateboarder who turned his passion into his life’s work. Over its 30-year history, Faith Skate has operated in Southside, Five Points South, Central City and, most recently, the Tillman-Levenson building at 1201 2nd Avenue North.

“Our previous location was large, but we really only used about 1200 square feet of it—our new space is almost double the size. We also had a lot of friends in this shopping mall that wanted us to help fill the retail void after Seasick moved to Lakeview. We were really excited to finally make this move happen in October.”
Peter Karvonen, Founder and Owner, Faith Skate

Thanks to the help of friends and volunteers, Peter was able to move the entire Faith Skate shop to its new location in Avondale in only two days—surely a world record for fastest move!

“We’ve only been open a week, but we’re already seeing a ton of new faces that we hadn’t seen before. At our last spot, we were a destination business—there weren’t many other public-facing shops in the area. Here, we’re already selling a lot of product to locals who find our shop while walking around Avondale.”
Peter Karvonen, Founder and Owner, Faith Skate

Inside, customers will find everything they need to start skateboarding, from boards and hardware like trucks, wheels and bearings to popular apparel and skate shoes from big names like Vans, Nike SB, Converse, Adidas and more.

“It’s our 30th year in business, so we’re carrying a lot of our own Faith Skate-branded skateboards, shirts, hoodies, hats, etc. We also carry all of the major skateboard brands—as well as a few niche ones that are hard to find.”
Peter Karvonen, Founder and Owner, Faith Skate

In addition, Faith carries retro skateboards, longboards, safety padding, a plethora of skate-related knick-knacks and exclusive shoe drops from Nike SB once a month.

“We just had a shoe drop for Nike Air Max 95 and we sold out within the first hour. That was a nice event to have during our first weekend in the new shop!”
Peter Karvonen, Founder and Owner, Faith Skate

Faith Skate is now open in Avondale

Faith Skate’s new location features new extended hours, open from Noon to 6PM, Tuesday through Sunday.

“We’re very stoked to be in a location where we can have longer hours. In addition, we’re planning on hosting a couple of skate events at the City Walk Skatepark for the holidays and partnering with the vintage market, plus we have a huge Black Friday sale coming up soon.”
Peter Karvonen, Founder and Owner, Faith Skate