As students walk the halls at CHS, they may wonder why students are wearing shirts or patches that sport the letters “IDH.”
“IDH” stands for “illdownhill” a skate company started by junior Evan Cook to express his love for skating. IDH’s website offers skating news updates for the East Coast skating scene, including videos, pictures and summaries. IDH also sponsors skating across the US.
“Illdownhill is a skate company that I started this past summer after riding down the biggest hill in my neighborhood and being stoked out of my mind,” Cook said. “I was skating down the hill and thought that was ill and then came up with the idea: illdownhill.”
Cook is not the only CHS student involved in the company; junior Steven Miller is the web specialist and logo designer. IDH also receives help from Jacob Loso and Nick Pedro, not CHS students, who write for the IDH blog.
“Evan has really good ideas but is not always sure how to implement them,” Miller said. “He presents ideas and I help him refine them.”
Besides offering news and advertising for upcoming skating events, the IDH website also sells merchandise including t-shirts, stickers and denim patches. IDH merchandise demonstrates the blog’s popularity at CHS and even boasts followers throughout the country.
“There are people who support IDH from Pennsylvania to California,” Cook said.
Money earned from products allows Cook to reinvest in his company because he makes his own patches and t-shirts while he orders the stickers online. He screen prints the merchandise using a hand-printing technique that involves the use of a stencil.
Cook only started skating a year-and-a-half ago but has already become immersed in skate culture.
According to Cook, skating is a “personal progression of skill” where you can “see yourself evolving, making strides to your goal.”
Cook plans to continue his work at IDH.
“I want to be able to provide coverage for the East Coast skate scene, continue to provide affordable apparel, and promote a sense of excitement in the skating community,” Cook said.
