For the last few months, I’ve been trying to convince myself that wanting another skateboard was probably just a phase.
Apparently it wasn’t.
I grew up skating constantly. It was transportation, exercise, something to do when there was nothing to do, and a pretty big piece of how I spent the first part of my life. Then, somewhere along the way, I stopped. I hadn’t owned a deck in years.
What got under my skin again was seeing older skaters I grew up watching, especially Jason Lee and Bam Margera, still getting back on boards decades later. Then I went to SKATE! The Plaza in August, watched NW 16th turn into a skate block party, and that pretty much finished the job.
A few weeks later, I drove over to Money Ruins Everything on NW 23rd before they closed and bought my first skateboard in years.
A real skate shop on NW 23rd
Money Ruins Everything sits at 516 NW 23rd Street in Uptown Oklahoma City, right in the middle of one of the most visible stretches of town. I like that.
When I was younger, local skate shops could feel like places you had to already know about. They were tucked into small shopping centers or sitting somewhere you wouldn’t just stumble across. Money Ruins Everything is right there on 23rd, near the regular Uptown traffic, restaurants, music venues, and Route 66 energy.
That matters more than it sounds like it should.
The shop itself is still fairly young as an OKC storefront, but the people behind it are not new to skating. Todd Millspaugh co-founded Money Ruins Everything as a sales agency in 2012 after decades around the skateboard industry, including retail, wholesale, brand representation, marketing, sales, and tours. The Oklahoma City shop opened in 2021, and its whole identity has leaned toward supporting the local skate scene.
That tracks with what I’ve seen from them around town. Money Ruins Everything has been involved with contests, community sessions, and events like SKATE! The Plaza. Seeing skateboarding show up in the street, not just at a park or behind a building somewhere, is the kind of thing that makes you remember it is still alive here.
The board that got me
I went into Money Ruins Everything telling myself I was going to be reasonable.
That lasted about five minutes.
I ended up choosing one of the shop’s own decks, the MRE Famous Monsters board. The artwork has that old horror-punk thing going on, with imagery that immediately made me think of the Misfits’ Fiend. I didn’t need to overthink it. That was the one.
The deck was listed online at $59 when I checked, and the shop had several MRE-designed decks in that same general lane. Once I had the deck picked out, I went with Bones wheels, then accepted that I was probably going to spend a little more than I originally planned.
At a certain point, I figured, what the hell?
I hadn’t bought a skateboard in years. If I was finally going to do it, I wanted one I actually liked looking at.
The guy working the shop put the whole setup together while I was there, which is exactly why buying from a real skate shop still matters. You are not grabbing a random complete off a department store rack and hoping it feels right. You can talk through the deck, wheels, trucks, and setup with someone who knows what they are doing.
By the time I walked out, I had a complete skateboard again.
Why the local shop part matters
Oklahoma City still has legitimate local skate shops, including Money Ruins Everything and Proper Skateshop. That’s worth saying out loud.
Skate shops are not just places that sell wood and wheels. They point people toward spots. They help new skaters avoid buying the wrong setup. They sponsor local skaters. They put on contests. They give a skate scene somewhere physical to exist.
Money Ruins Everything has made that community piece part of its identity, and having it sit prominently on NW 23rd makes skateboarding feel visible in Oklahoma City instead of shoved off to the side.
I don’t know if I’m going to skate like I did when I was 15. Realistically, I am now very aware that concrete hits harder when you’re an adult. That’s fine.
I didn’t buy the board because I’m trying to become a teenager again.
I bought it because I remembered that I liked skateboarding.
And I’d rather spend a little too much money on a skateboard I love than spend another six months talking myself out of something I clearly wanted to do the whole time.
Support your local skate shop. I’m glad Oklahoma City still has some worth supporting.
Details
- Business: Money Ruins Everything Skateshop
- Address: 516 NW 23rd St, Oklahoma City, OK 73103
- Phone: (405) 848-3440
- Hours: Monday-Friday 12 PM-6 PM, Saturday 11 AM-6 PM, Sunday 1 PM-5 PM
- Website: https://moneyruinseverything.com/
