Tekgnar

My husband loves Nike SBs. He has ankle issues so he wears high-​tops a lot and the SBs are the most comfortable. And they are cool. And when I was 14 I thought skater boys were cooler than cool, so I am always down for a trip to the skate store.
We always go to No Comply first and then end up here, so I would say they are the best in terms of shoes. As for actual skate stuff, well I was always more into the boys than the skateboarding, so I can’t really speak to that. They do have a really great selection of throwback style sports team stuff. There is an outrageously 90s Bulls hat that is calling my name. I did get a hoodie that was on sale and it is super warm and comfortable.
The woman working last time I was there was really helpful and friendly. She noticed my husband’s Cubs hat and showed us a great Cubs shirt. But the sports stuff is a tad expensive.
My only complaint — no self-​respecting skate shop should be playing Taylor Swift!

I’ve shopped here as a regular since I moved to Austin roughly 6 years ago. I love SB’s and a lot of the fashion culture that surrounds the sport itself. Although I don’t skate anymore — Tekgnar has all of my favorite brands and even has a nose for flushing out some unique style brands as well.
They aren’t restricted to just «skate» per se and actually tend to be a great fit for most styles in the city. Urban style, great licensed sport gear also found a home here. Vans, Nike, Converse and an awesome selection of tees and denim.
Great customer service has kept me coming back for years. A friendly staff and a clean facility are awesome bonuses too.

Been around forever!!! I remember you back at Barton Creek. Your current location is a perfect spot. I like that you don’t push allot of garbage. And for a quality end product, The price is right.

Kooks
Have to agree with several of the other reviews. The kids that work here are a bunch of kooks too busy acting cool versus actually helping. Was awkwardly stalked around the store for a little bit by one of the workers. Most of the selection are just general brands or way overpriced anyway.
Would not recommend at all.

Dope store besides the nosey ransoms hangin around the store. And no I don’t mean employees.

I feel like this shop has really gone downhill. There was a time when I thought it was the best shop in Austin. I’ve bought plenty of boards and equipment from them — but that was years ago.
Stopped in the other day and the shop just wasn’t the same. The selection was terrible and seemed focused on their house brands and just a few other token selections. Honestly, I’ve seen a better and more complete collection of gear and boards at Fast Forward in the mall.
The kids behind the counter seemed more interested in «looking cool» than actually «helping customers». Overall, it wasn’t a good experience and I just wanted to leave and go to a different shop.
Austin is too big of a town to shop at a store that really doesn’t want my business.

Really helpful staff, nice stock and layout inside, prices were super reasonable and the staff also knew their stuff so were able to help me out with info on local parks.

unless you’re someone looking to buy Nike SBs or an overpriced Sector 9, be wary of tekgnar. Although the staff is super friendly and awesome, for real skaters, i’d suggest looking to buy your trucks/​bearings/​boards elsewhere. The selection isn’t so great although I so badly wish I could give tekgnar more stars cuz their staff is so nice

This shop is definitely not my style. They pretty much only sell Diamond, Nike, Cons and Vans.
The shoe selection is very large (that’s what the extra star is for), but they only sell three brands. I was pretty damn disappointed. I suppose if you are into Nike you will love this place though.
The kids working the place seemed pretty disinterested in being there and even more disinterested in helping me find something I wanted to purchase. I know I am an old man now, and I don’t skate anymore, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help me out.
I will likely never be back here. I can think of two other shops in town that treat me with more respect, and have a greater varitey of options to choose from. I will go to one of those instead.
Pros: A lot of shoes on display
Cons: They only carry three brands, disinterested kids working there

After biking to this shop, they refused to let me buy anything because they did not allow bikes in the shop; I was the only customer present in the entire place. I have been coming here for 5 – 6 years and will be taking my business to Carve and online. I strongly recommend you do the same due to Tekgnar’s poor customer service and faulty business policy.

I’ve been in here a few times to buy t-​shirts (Diamond Supply Co.) and a pair of sneakers (Nike SB) for my boyfriend, and I’ve had really positive experiences. The sales associates are friendly and helpful, and they really seem to know their stuff.
Parking can be hit or miss, they share a really small lot (maybe 7 spaces?) with the tattoo shop next door. It’s also kind of nerve wracking to have to back out of a tight spot, in a tiny lot, and hope you don’t hit one of the tween skaterboys that are always hanging around and skateboarding outside.

I appreciate the fact that they carry Powell Peralta, but the customer service is lacking. The guy working here argued with my boyfriend about everything.

Wow those bad reviews seem to come from some impatient people.
I went here to get a longboard and after much shopping around I ended up going here.
Why would anyone go to a place in the mall? This store has everything and is divided into two sides.
They have a large selection.
There is a really annoying staff there that will try to sell you everything under the sun, which is why you have to talk to Steve.
The other staff is the example of why Austin is weird. They try way too hard. For all of the bad reviews, yes, the prices are high but they have an ample supply of wheels, tools, etc.
I find that the mall places are where the posers can be found.
My husband has had skateboards for at least 20 years so don’t go into this place without knowing your facts or you will not do well.
Shop around too though!!! We are in a city with more than one skate shop.
I would like to thank Steve, who really does skate daily and knows what he is talking about most of the time.
Understand that like anything, you need to know what you are looking for and be patient on your quest to find what you want or else a store of this nature will annoy you. You cannot expect everyone to know what you want or for them to kiss your ass either.

I feel at least partially obliged to write a review for these guys, just based on all the grim reviews with which it will stand.
I personally had a very nice experience in Tekgnar. When I went in looking for longboards, the dude (unfortunately, didn’t catch his name) greeted me as soon as I entered, even though he was with other customers. I work in the service industry too, and that alone deserves praise. As soon as he was done with those customers, he came over to me, and asked how he could help. He then patiently discussed their board selection with me, while pinpointing advantages and disadvantages for each. He also pointed out that many boards are quite similar, though the prices vary wildly. (An obvious suggestion that paying less would be okay in certain instances.)
Having said that, the prices are a bit high, but there is something to be said about being able to feel your prospective future board under your feet first, and not just ordering something off the internet. There is also something to be said about paying a little extra to support a local company. A local company that has been around for over 20 years to boot.
Anyway, I didn’t end up buying a board there, but I would still recommend the place to a friend.
Don’t be afraid to try it out for yourself!

why go to tekgnar when you can go to zumies and get superior service? The owner (‘s brother?) is a jerk. I’ve never left a place so pissed off in my life. Their selection sucks, their service sucks, Im not sure that there are any positives to this place.

Agree with some of the other reviews, this place has everything you need if you want to «look» like a skater. All the straight brimmed hats you can stand. plus stickers and many varieties of fancy shoes too! A virtual poseur’s paradise.
It resembles a mall skateshop and carries the obligatory Sector9 Longboard line of your typical mall clothing store (that also carries completes and very little hardware).
One prop, they’ve got Gravity and Loaded Longboards but their Loaded comlpetes are ridiculously priced, you can do better elsewhere.
A meh selection of longboard hardparts so you’ll need to go someplace else if you want longboard stuff. They also don’t have any bushing for longboards specifically, so go online I guess?
I really don’t understand the pricing on their completes, specifically Loaded Longboards. For the most part, local skateshops use one of a few mega skate/​outdoor equipment distributors. These distributors offer product to local shops similarly priced for resale to us, the public, so why are these guys so high? Weird.
Tekgnar should consider getting their pricing inline with the online retailers and carry more longboard specific hardware. If you sell longboard completes, then you should stock all the hard parts we need to stay rolling, otherwise, it really just looks like you’re taking the money (for a complete) and running.
I’d never pay an extra $ 100(w/tax) for a Loaded complete, I don’t care how «weird» I’m keeping Austin by buying local. We shouldn’t have to pay a premium just to buy local.
When you factor in tax, Tekgnar so much higher than any other place online (or local for that matter), it just doesn’t make sense. If people are driving into your shop, they should be able to buy a complete deck for the price they’d get from an online shop plus shipping, minus tax. They were nearly 33% higher on the Loaded complete after local tax.
Sadly, I’ve been forced to buy all my Longboards online. In all cases, the online stores have had a brick and mortar component, so I know this is not a question of overhead. Both Motion (Seattle) and Muir (San Diego) are actual skateshop’s and they manage to offer their boards at ‘normal’ prices in person AND online.

Props for net being a big chain and for being the first skateshop for me to go to when I started at UT.
But the last time I went to get a new deck, the guy who sold it to me was very mopey and left 2 or 3 bubbles in my griptape that I didn’t notice until I skated the deck later that day.

Tekgnar is Laurie Pevey’s skate shop, which prior to moving to its current location at MLK was situated at Rio Grande and 5^th and called Blondie’s.
Now I’m not much a skater myself, but when I decided a few years ago that a longboard would be a welcome addition to my personal transportation arsenal I walked into Tekgnar after a movie at the Dobie and told the couple of guys working the store at the time what I was looking to get out of a skateboard. After a brief and very friendly and helpful consultation and about 15 minutes’ worth of assembly time I walked out and subsequently skated away as the proud owner of a 4ft, all-​maplewood Sector 9 Supercruiser with Randall 180 trucks, Lucky Titanium ball bearings and a set of Sector 9 76 mm wheels. I was a happy camper.
I’ve since gone back to buy two more longboards and those two respective visits have been equally pleasant and successful.
As far as I can tell, they’ve managed to keep their focus on skate gear. Apart from decks, trucks, wheels etc, you’ll find a pretty wide assortment of skate-​appropriate shoes and clothing as well as the obligatory magazines and DVDs.
So upon my personal, anecdotal evidence I’d predict that you won’t have endure any attitude by the kind folks working there, even if you are a complete skating virgin and that you’ll most likely find what you are looking for, if it’s got anything to do with skating (that’s skating as in skateboards, not inline or skates, mind you.)