There’s a sound in a new Ventura County museum you probably won’t hear in any other museum in the world. It’s a skateboarder shredding on a ramp. Simi Valley is home to the new Skateboarding Hall of Fame and Museum, featuring one of the largest collections in the nation.
A 10,000 square foot store space in the Simi Valley Town Center has been converted into the museum, which features more than 500 skateboards on display, all kinds of skating paraphernalia, and a skateboard ramp.
It’s the brainchild of Simi Valley resident Todd Huber, who’s been skateboarding almost since the start of the sport more than five decades ago.
Huber says the way he started collecting skateboards, and skateboard paraphernalia was a bit unusual. He quit smoking, and when a doctor challenged home to come up with a better way to use the money he used to spend on cigarettes, he ended up as a skateboard collector. He now has thousands. Huber admits he’s not even sure how many he owns.
He says a few years ago, when he took his dad to an auto museum in Los Angeles, the idea of creating a skateboarding museum occurred to him.
Along with the skateboards, there’s a Hall of Fame featuring photos and biographies of nearly 100 influential people in the sport. And, at the back of the museum, there’s the opportunity for you to learn how to ride a board, with a ramp. The plan is to offer skateboarding classes. There’s also a library, with decades of skateboarding related magazines of books.
What’s almost as remarkable as what you see, though, is what you don’t see. A storage area is filled with mountains of skateboards, and other paraphernalia which could be used for future exhibits
For more than two decades, Huber was part of Skatelab, an indoor skateboard park with a museum in Simi Valley. His collection of thousands of items was the backbone of that exhibition. Now, he’s established a non- profit for the Hall of Fame, and museum.
While he’s in his 50’s, Huber says he still jumps on a board sometimes. He says it’s in his blood.
The museum is open seven days a week, including 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays, and 10-7 on Sundays. It’s located near the middle of the Simi Valley Town Center, east of the movie theater complex. There’s no admission charge, but because it’s a non-profit, donations are accepted.
