With the news coming down that the economic recession has forced Active Ride Shop to claim Chapter 11 bankruptcy and close some stores, a great emphasis is being placed on the health of local surf, snow and skate shops.  Enter the great minds over at South of the North.

South of the North released a story today strongly encouraging board consumers to ditch the online purchases and spend your money at local shops.  While the vast majority of action sports industries are doing relatively well (Active hasn't necessarily been losing revenue, but it hasn't been increasing it in correlation to their vast expansion over the past few years), local shops are the ones taking the biggest hits.

So heed the advice from South of the North strongly: Take your money and spend it in shops in your local cities and regions.  If you continue to spend money solely online, eventually you'll notice that your local surf, snow or skate shop will suddenly vanish, and then you'll be forced to spend $10 in shipping just to buy wax online.