May 17, 2017

Meet Dean Hill of Houston Hockey & Skate World

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dean Hill.

Dean, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started out over 12 years ago as the Pro Shop Manager of an ice rink in College Station, Texas. Later moved to Sugar Land, Texas to work in the ice rink there as Pro Shop Manager, further on being promoted to Asst. GM. After 5 years there, my entrepreneurial spirit led me to opening Houston Hockey & Skate World. My continuous love for the sport and drive in being able to help anyone improve in the game by a simple pair of skates, gloves, etc. Influenced my decision to start my own business. I look forward to the challenge of putting Houston Hockey & Skate World ‘on the map’ as far as customer service, product, and pricing. My goal is for Houston Hockey & Skate World to ‘be the place’ to go not only in Houston but in the surrounding areas as well. We look forward to working with every single skater, coach, referee, team, and organization around.

I have also been around Hockey most of my life as both a player and a referee. I refereed pro hockey for 12 years working in the WPHL, CHL, and ECHL. I also reffed the USA National Championships in 2000.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a fairly smooth road. The main struggle was building the clientele and growing the business to where we are today.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Houston Hockey & Skate World – what should we know?
We are a retail business that specializes in hockey and figure skating gear. We are known for carrying great quality product from vendors that specialize in the industry, we offer great competitive pricing that matches, if not exceeds online pricing. We are the only place in town to get great quality and timely skate sharpening, whereas at all the rinks in town you can’t always wait to get your skates sharpened.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We are the exclusive apparel supplier for the Houston Hurricanes travel organization; official supplier to the Texas A&M Club Hockey Team, and supplier of Texas State Hockey. We proudly sponsor several adult hockey tournaments in town, David Seto’s “Dillo’ hockey tournaments, and Marc Tushnet’s Oil Kings Hockey Tournaments.

All of our clients are part of our success, without them the growth of our business would have been slower, as they have helped spread the word of their great experiences at Houston Hockey & Skate World.

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