Breaking Away skateshop?(?) in Toledo Ohio. Maybe a bike shop that sold skateboards? Shop manager listed in the ad, which is unusual, but Brian Mank was pretty well known in the Midwest. UPDATE: Even thought the shop shares it’s name with the most famous bicycle movie ever (filmed in the Midwest too)… it is/was indeed a skate shop.
Breaking Away Mail Order
Advert Categories
Company/Brand: Breaking Away
Product Type: Mail Order / Skateshops
Year: Brian Mank1986
Decade: 80's
Mag: Transworld
Issue: Transworld: December 1986
Country: USA
Rider: Brian Mank
Photog:
Company/Brand: Breaking Away
Product Type: Mail Order / Skateshops
Year: Brian Mank1986
Decade: 80's
Mag: Transworld
Issue: Transworld: December 1986
Country: USA
Rider: Brian Mank
Photog:


7 comments
Matt
His half pipe was in my neighborhood, I was a little kid and that half pipe scared the hell out of me.
Lucas Pauken
I’m desperately looking for a graphic from a board I got here in like 1990. It was a kids deck, I was maybe 7? I wanna say it had a drawing on in that someone’s kid did.. maybe it was a gator deck. Still old school shape. Anyone got any image galleries?
Fat Frank
I use to skate with Brian Mank at the Napoleon Half Pipe. Solid dude. What was that dude from Wauseon? Justin Todd? Dude was a launch ramp king. They had that set up at the Church that some dads made? Cool kids. They all lived by a pool.
Anyways. Breaking always was the place to go. Toledo had Dirt Rider also, but nothing compared to Breaking Away. Remember the sessions downtown at Portside?
Ripperz
Breaking Away was a the nest skate shop in Toledo. I started going there in the mid 80s through the early 90s. Bill Wersal was the owner. He was the coolest dude ever. Brian Mank shredded anything he rode. So many great skaters back then. This was a place where skaters could chill at a time when they weren’t so popular. This was far from a bike shop. Change your quote bruh. Laterz.
Josh
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-wersell-8001034
Bill who ran it
Josh
This actually started mainly as a bike shop AND had a smallish skate shop in the beginning. Went more towards skate the un the end clothing and a custom shirt screening shop. I miss them.
Bill Wells
Breaking Away was the best skate shop in Toledo. Brian was the best. Towards the end he sold mostly skate clothes and metal ts. He would order any tshirt we wanted, especially metal concert ts and skate rags. He would sell and support local music as well. He made window decals too. I miss his shop. I think he closed up around 2000, maybe 2001.