By Cameron Lee
September 19, 2025
Josh Frazier has been skating in Uptown Charlotte long before the skyline was crowded with high-rise corporate buildings and apartments. Back then, the area was eerily quiet with just a handful of landmark structures like NCNB Plaza, One First Union Center, the Charlotte Convention Center, and the Courthouse.
“I started skateboarding when I was 13 or 14 in the ’80s,” recalls Frazier, owner of Black Sheep Skate Shop. “All my friends were in Charlotte, and we’d come downtown on the weekends — it was crickets. Believe it or not, by five o’clock on Friday, once the banks closed, the whole place was basically a skate park for us.”
Frazier, a Rock Hill native with degrees from Clemson and Wake Forest, eventually turned his love of skateboarding into a business. He opened Black Sheep in 2003 on Camden Road in South End — back when the neighborhood was still a bit gritty and not the hub for retail and twenty-something partiers as it is today. Since 2018, the shop has been located in Plaza Midwood, where it has once again cemented its place as a cornerstone of Charlotte’s skate scene.
Their influence is now being celebrated at the Mint Museum Randolph with Central Impact: Skateboarding’s Art and Influence, a new exhibition created in partnership with Deckaid, a volunteer-run nonprofit that uses skateboard art to raise awareness and funds for parks and youth-centered programs.
The show is equal parts retrospective of Charlotte’s skateboarding history and tribute to Black Sheep’s role in shaping it — from their memorable deck art shows at Gallery Twenty-Two to their iconic Nike SB collaborations: “Paid in Full” (2014), “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” (2017), and the “Black Hornet,” released during NBA All-Star Weekend in 2019.
Running through January 4, the exhibit also serves a deeper mission: supporting the Charlotte Skate Foundation, the nonprofit dedicated to preserving public skate spaces like Kilborne DIY. The grassroots spot has become the community’s nexus since the demolition of Eastland DIY in 2022.
Sarah Anderson, who co-founded Deckaid with her husband Tim in 2013, has traveled the country producing similar exhibits, helping fund projects from Nyack Skatepark to Ormond Spencer Skatepark in upstate New York, and backing youth initiatives nationwide.
“Back in the day, skate parks were scary,” Anderson said. “Now, we just want people outside together — off their phones, out of their bedrooms, engaging. It draws people into an area, brings in commerce, and connects different generations. It’s always a good thing.”
Central Impact balances local skateboarding history with global context. Alongside custom boards created for Black Sheep by local artists are works by some of skateboarding’s most influential designers: Marc McKee, the graphic visionary of the ’80s and ’90s; Sean Cliver, celebrated for his work with Powell Peralta and World Industries, as well as his work with MTV’s Jackass; and Andy Jenkins, the longtime creative force behind Girl Skateboards.
The exhibit also leans into nostalgia, with walls lined with VHS skate tapes looping on tiny TV sets, Black Sheep’s first three official skate videos, and rare photos of Charlotte skaters from the ’90s and 2000s. Longtime locals will recognize familiar backdrops, such as the Rolling Thunder skatepark in East Charlotte, which existed briefly in the early ’90s.
“What I wanted to celebrate was skateboarders and crews and squads, filmers and photographers,” Frazier said. “For me, this is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on several different generations of people who have been influential in the skateboard scene in North Carolina.”
The opening weekend celebration extends beyond the museum, featuring an exclusive sneaker collaboration with Converse CONS — a Chuck Taylor CTAS Pro High “Black Sheep” edition; a skate demo at Kilborne DIY with Converse CONS riders Alexis Sablone, Aaron Herrington, Brad Cromer, and Brian DeLaTorre; and the premiere of 5301 CLT’s new full-length skate video It’s Always Something at Moo & Brew in Plaza Midwood. Proceeds will all benefit the Charlotte Skate Foundation.
For Frazier, the show is more than just a milestone — it’s a reflection. Two decades ago, he considered getting a “real job” before going full-time with Black Sheep Skate Shop. Today, his shop, his friends, and his city are all on display at North Carolina’s first art museum.
“We’ve got a healthy scene, but we try to support it as much as possible, and events like this help raise awareness and funds [for Kilborne DIY],” Frazier said. “We’re just happy to have something that we can help build and cultivate.”
For Anderson, every stop on Deckaid’s touring exhibitions reveals a familiar truth: skateboarding builds community.
“Everywhere we go, it’s a family. Everyone’s got their own history, and it’s part of their identity.”
Central Impact: Skateboarding’s Art and Influence is now open at Mint Museum Randolph and runs through January 4. Converse CONS will host a skate demo at Kilborne DIY on Saturday, September 20, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., featuring sponsored riders Alexis Sablone, Aaron Herrington, Brad Cromer, and Brian DeLaTorre. Later that evening, 5301 CLT will premiere the full-length Black Sheep skate video It’s Always Something at Moo & Brew in Plaza Midwood at 8:00 p.m.
Follow Black Sheep Skate Shop, Deckaid, and Mint Museum for more updates on the Central Impact: Skateboarding’s Art and Influence exhibition.
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