A gleeful disregard for authority becomes not only a way to have fun, but an exploitable concept for business for Anthony Mellick, owner of The Denver Shop on 2323 E. Evans.

He is one happy businessman. He loved skateboarding when he was a kid, and now he sells skateboards and skater paraphernalia.

“Love what you’re doing,” he says, “and it all works out; it’s easy to succeed.”

Mellick stands with his hands in the pockets of his saggy jeans. The wall behind him is lined with boards, shirts, pants, hoodies and caps. His pierced ears, stubble on his face and mischievous grin testify of the skater spirit of individuality. He recalls the day he opened his first skateboard shop with his best friend. “We started the shop with about five shirts and 10 boards on the wall, and business just took off from there,”he says.

When two tall boys dressed in saggy pants and hoodies walk in, Mellick engages in a skater-ese conversation with them. They toss words like “decks” and “bars” back and forth among them. “I’m down with that,” and “right on” and the boys are back out the door.

Before he started his skateboard business, Mellick worked in the mountains, and during his free time he snowboarded. During his sophomore year in college he opened his shop and worked hard until he graduated. His business caters to the people like him who grew up skating in the streets, down stairs, across handrails and ledges.

“The skating culture is all about individuality,” he says, recalling the days of his youth when there were no officially sanctioned areas for skaters. Skaters back then, as now, faced criticism and banishment from people who feel threatened by their devil-may-care skateboarding stunts in public places.

Mellick says that the new generation of skaters aren’t as in touch with what skateboarding is all about because of the “yuppified” skate parks.

Whether skaters are from the new generation or from the older, handrail grinding generation, Mellick is happy they give him their business.