Dan Bilan is an ambitious young man. At 19, the Oakland University sophomore has already opened his own successful storefront skate and snowboard shop in Auburn Hills called Skate Hungry.

Skate Hungry not only sells skateboarding and snowboarding equipment, but also serves as a hang out spot for patrons.

The shop provides an environment for skaters to discuss anything skateboarding- or snowboarding-related or to just play video games and watch skate videos.

“We play video games here all the time,” Chris Dickerson, 20, an employee of Skate Hungry, said. “You’ll see (Dan) in here all the time playing video games, but as soon as someone comes in he helps them.”

The store originally started as an online store until Bilan saved up money, took out loans and opened the physical shop with about one-fourth of the inventory than he has now. His family and friends helped him build shelves and tables.

As a “core shop,” Skate Hungry is an independent skate shop, meaning that it is not owned by a huge corporation. They sell products created by companies that are not necessarily big names, but up-and-coming skate brands.

Because skaters run the shop, they have the customer in mind, not just profits.

“Dan always says to me that there aren’t many skate shops owned by riders and it’s really important that we are,” Dickerson said. “We’re really here for the skaters.”

Bilan said he sees a lot of skateboarders scared away from the sport because of the costs involved and he hopes to bring skaters back to skateboarding through his shop.

“I had actually stopped (skateboarding),” Dickerson said, “and when Dan opened the shop, it got me back into it I guess. He’s a very persuasive man.”

As a young business owner and skater, Bilan has an edge on his competition.

“I’m closer with the community because I’m one of them,” Bilan said. “I’m not an older person trying to sell a skateboard. I’m right there with them — I know exactly what they want.”

Dickerson agreed, saying, “I think it’s an advantage that he’s young. He knows a lot of the younger crowd, but yet again he also goes to OU so it’s not just the younger (teenage) crowd.”

When Bilan opened Skate Hungry in 2010, the decision did not come as a surprise to John Freeman, a special lecturer in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at OU.

“It didn’t surprise me when I found out Dan started his own business,” Freeman said. “He could always converse with people on a broad range of topics with ease.”

As far as the future is concerned, Bilan said he plans to change the way skating is looked at around the country.

He also plans on taking the industry back from corporations and making skateboarding more about the skaters and having fun.

“There’s plenty of places that don’t even have skate shops — they have to order online,” Bilan said. “I don’t want it to be such a corporate thing so I’m trying to go around and change it from ‘skateboarding is glamour’ to ‘skateboarding is what it was originally founded on,’ which was just having a lot of fun, hanging out with your friends, you know, having a good time.”

Skate Hungry is located at 2548 Lapeer Road, Suite 1, Auburn Hills and is open 12:30 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.