In 2015, one year after his life-threatening skateboarding accident, at the peak of his recovery, Georgie opened FLC Skateshop in Campustown to serve the community and welcome kids of all ages to enjoy the sport. Thrilled to witness his remarkable recovery, people volunteered their time cleaning up, making repairs, and beautifying the space for business. Kids he mentored volunteered and the parents whose kids Georgie had mentored volunteered. His friends volunteered. People he didn’t even know stopped by to lend a hand. By this time, he had already made his first month’s rent as people had been coming to the store day after day to buy product even before Georgie could get it out of the boxes. On July 18, 2015, Georgie held his grand opening, officially announcing the store to the public, and invited everyone to share the accomplishment.

The story of his incredible journey was featured on Humans of Ames:

"I was handed a skateboard towards the middle of eighth grade. It changed me forever, I was hooked. I'm originally from Pullman, Washington but my mom got a job teaching sociology at Iowa State, so I moved here since high school. Most of my friends I've met in my life were from skateboarding. I have been skating, filming, and editing for about 15 years. I filmed out in California professionally for two years and met so many famous skateboarders. I had a skating accident out there and I was in a coma for about three weeks because of it. I'm still recovering.

I opened FLC Skateshop for it to be a community center, especially for artists and skateboarders. I want to break down the stereotypes that people have when they see some skateboarders. People think skateboarders abuse drugs and alcohol when in reality it’s the opposite. The professional athletes from other sports are more likely to do that because they have the money to sustain those habits. Skateboarding is an art, every skater expresses himself/herself differently. From the design and size of their board, to the way they skate on it. It's a positive escape, you forget about your problems, and you focus on learning new things.  

I don’t care if the skate shop makes a profit. I just want to serve the community and make people happy. I want the shop to be a place where everyone feels welcome, no matter who they are.” -- Georgie Tsushima