Local Gift Ideas for the Crust-Punk Skater with a Big Heart and Even Bigger Pants
Community
You get off work and hear your phone ring—it’s them. They wanna know if you’re still down to practice heel flips and crush Uinta 801s outside the old Home Depot. Somehow they have two jobs, all the time in the world and plenty of income. You wouldn’t trade their friendship for anything. Here are three places for finding unique gifts for the tireless scamp in your life to round out their burnout steeze.
3hive Record Lounge
50 E 500 N #105, Provo, UT | Mon.–Sat. 12–8 p.m | shop.3hive.com
Provo’s 3hive Record Lounge is dedicated to the art and future of music. Manager Tyler Slade describes the store as a community for those passionate about music or who want to get into music. While owner Sam Cannon started 3hive as a music blog and gradually grew it into selling records at its brick-and-mortar location, he is proud of the growth they have achieved. “He fondly calls it his ‘mid-life crisis’ store, but, in all honesty, the store is an impressive culmination of a lifetime of passion that Sam has had for music and for records,” says Slade.
Five years in, 3hive boasts a massive selection of records, cassettes and all of the tools needed to enjoy listening to music. For record player owners, 3hive offers essential items including slip mats, record-cleaning kits and record sleeves. You can browse 3hive’s website to see what type of music they have in stock. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, you can request it online from their warehouse. They even carry signed records alongside special merch from musicians.
3hive also carries unique items ranging from action figures to locally designed trinkets. Their Czarface lunch boxes, which come with a cassette and a pack of exclusive trading cards, are a hit. Some perfect stocking stuffers are their key chains, stickers or hip-hop trading cards, all created by Leo Carreo. Check them out on Instagram @3hive for more.
Borosyndicate
60 Exchange Place, SLC, UT | 4644 South 160 West Murray | Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–10 p.m. | Sun. 12–8 p.m. | borosyndicate.com
Carrying Salt Lake’s most diverse selection of water pipes, bubblers and more, Borosyndicate is the ideal place to shop for high-quality glass for the skate punk in your life. Kenny Holladay and Evan Ballance opened their unique shop in the early 2000s and as of Dec. ‘23 will have two locations. Bringing American-made glass to the community, Borosyndicate boasts eccentric items such as pineapple-shaped pipes, flamingo-shaped bowls and even an elephant bubbler. Borosyndicate also creates specialized pieces by request and carries highly sought-after water pipes made by Sovereignty Glass, Mothership Glass, Toro Glass and more.
Fostering relationships with others in the business, Borosyndicate features one-of-a-kind pieces by local glass-blowing masters including Eusheen, Darby Holm and Peter Muller. Boro is happy to help with any product-related questions and also offers repairs and carries cleaning supplies. Holladay’s and Ballance’s favorite product is the Mothership Expo paired with a Highly Educated control tower ($379.99)—this combo creates the perfect temperature, making it easier for oil to evaporate and creating the perfect dab. Considering favorite designs, Holladay “recommend[s] this specially made glass skateboard with this matching glass pendant that we made.” Boro will be ready to showcase some of their more tucked-away items to the Salt Lake community when they open their new location in Murray on Dec. 1.
Uprok
1594 S State St, SLC, UT| Tues.–Sat. 11 a.m.–7 p.m. | uprokslc.com
Founded in 1998, Uprok has since been home to Salt Lake’s hip-hop scene and graffiti artists. Created as a safe place for those who want to artistically express themselves, Uprok has blossomed into Salt Lake’s largest supplier of street art materials. Owner Cameron Mason grew up going to Uprok and eventually purchased the store during COVID-19 to keep it alive. Now approaching their 25th anniversary, Uprok is known for their diverse selection of graffiti necessities, ranging from calligraphy markers to water-based spray paint, most of which are also refillable at the store.
They also carry unique clothing created by local artists. “We had a friend named Animal who was a famous graffiti artist,” says Mason. “He had a pet crocodile, so we created a hat with a crocodile design to pay homage when he passed away.” Their selection includes basketball shorts, hoodies and t-shirts, all sporting unique designs. Uprok also recently partnered with headwear line New Era Cap Co. to create one-of-a-kind hats.
After browsing, customers can hit the back of the store for a haircut from the in-store barbershop or bust some moves in their hip-hop studio. Uprok’s friendly atmosphere is just one of the many reasons to stop in—make sure to bring a friend to check out the hanging art and store merch, and don’t forget to add your tag to their graffiti wall.
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