Supreme and the New York Skaters Who Built It

Empire Skate, a documentary about New York skateboarding culture in the 1990s and the rise of Supreme, will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12. One of the skaters in the film, Alex Corporan, recalls the early days of the store, before the brand became a global phenomenon.

People would come by my house in Washington Heights early, my mom would feed us, and then we were off: Go to Bennett Park, sesh a bit. Take the train to the Brooklyn Banks and meet everyone. Skate to the Seaport. Eat at Burger King, terrorize the security guard — one cup of soda with 20 skaters sharing it. Next it was Astor Place. Then midtown. We had to wait until a certain hour with the security guards there…