No Coast Skateboards turned one year old on August 25, which is hard to believe considering the impact the Tower Grove skate shop has had on the local skateboarding landscape. In its short year of existence, No Coast put together an improbable skate demo in the parking lot of a Sauget strip club (complete with ramp-side strippers), co-sponsored the fourth annual Hermann's Hole Bowl Bash in middle-of-nowhere Missouri (alongside Thrasher Magazine, Pabst Blue Ribbon and a slew of others), and played host to several rowdy punk shows, clearing out all the racks in the store to make room for the mayhem. No Coast clearly subscribes to the "think locally" line of thought, displaying a "Locals Only" wall of decks pressed in town (many in the basement of the shop itself) and selling clothing designed by local artists. Perhaps most impressive, though, is the shop's in-store mini-ramp, which serves as a spot to immediately test out newly purchased wares. No Coast provides lessons as well, and is decidedly kid-friendly. "My son, four months ago, couldn't even pump the ramp," opined one customer, gesturing to a youngster dropping in. "He was tearing up a hundred-dollar skateboard in my driveway. Now look at him — we couldn't be happier with this place."