Maybe you’ve seen kids flying on their skateboards over the steps of the Post Office. Or just seen them walking with skateboards under their arms. The surge in the sport’s popularity can probably be attributed to a few pop culture factors- but if you talk to local skaters, they’ll tell you that Joshua Dillon has a lot to do with it here. Jersey City Uncovered stopped in with him for a chat at his new skateboarding shop- the only in town- on Newark Ave.

         20 Questions for the crew at Nine Lives Skate Shop

         What’s your name? Joshua Dillon, and I opened the store with my wife Gia Sarmiento.

         How long has the store been opened? 7 months

         What does the name Nine Lives mean? You’ve got to be cat-like to skate. You’ve got to be crazy.

         Any serious injuries yourself? I haven’t been skating that long. So thank God I haven’t experienced anything serious. Little ankle rolls now and then, but I haven’t broken any bones. Snowboarding has a lot more injuries. I snowboard too and my shoulder is still sore from this winter.

         How has business been? It’s picking up. We opened at the beginning of the winter, which is pretty tough. Most of the kids I’ve put on a skateboard are in the park (the outdoor rink at Roberto Clemente Sports Park) now and their parents are coming out and supporting them.

         Do you go out to the park and help the kids learn? Well, I’m a father with a 6 year-old son, so I used to be out in the park everyday with him. It went from skating with him in the park to having the shop and those same moms and dads we used to see in the park are coming and supporting the store now.

         How young can kids start?  I would say 4. My son started at 4. If they can walk they can push a skateboard.

         What was the reason for opening here? There was a need. I was sick of going elsewhere to buy my products, Manhattan mostly.

         Where are the best skating spots in Jersey City? We have a few underground spots, but the most popular are the Post Office, which has a couple of stair sets. Then there’s the park.

         So a stair set is?  The number of stairs you try to jump.

         Think it’s too dangerous for people to skate on the street with all the traffic? That’s part of the fun.

         Any hopes for a skate park? The city has promised to give us a skate park under the Turnpike. It’s in the works now. So hopefully within a year or two we’ll get the park.  Hoboken has a park, but that’s because their Mayor’s son skates.  (Editor’s note- does Healy have any kids?)

         Have you seen an in increase in skateboarding? Definitely- I think it has a lot to do with MTV.

         Do people come in here just for styles, and they aren’t skateboarders. Yeah, you get that a lot. Skateboarding has blown up now, it’s not just the boards it’s the clothes now. A lot of the urban kids probably used to wear back in the day an XL or XXL and now they’re a medium or a large. It’s a lot more fitted clothes. It’s definitely the fashion now.

         What would you recommend for people interested in actually trying it? Skating is all about trying different things until you see what works for you. Keep riding; keep trying to figure out what board works for you.

         What are the price ranges for the skateboards? A complete board with the trucks and wheels is about $150-$170.