Titus Dittmann in the Northern Lights Concept Store

His nicknames are ‘Skateboard Pope’ or ‘Instigator’. For many skateboarders, he is simply Titus. A person who has undergone an amazing development, but has always remained true to his values. 

The skateboarding pioneer is now 77 years old and not a bit quieter. His voice is still skateboard-sounding, albeit a little louder than usual. However, this is due to his hearing, which has deteriorated in recent years, in contrast to his commitment to children and the socially disadvantaged.

But first things first: Sometime in the 70s, Titus travelled to the USA and got to know skateboarding there. It was the time after the Dogtown Boys and the second skateboard wave that swept across the ocean and took young people by storm. In the USA, skateboarding was on the decline. Insurance problems at skateparks and the withdrawal of production companies caused the decline after previous expansion, which has been a part of the skateboarding scene for decades, just like the meteoric rise of individual protagonists. One of these people was Titus Dittmann. But Titus didn’t just see the sport – he also sensed the skateboard business. When he started to gain a foothold in the skateboard business at the age of 30, he had already studied to be a teacher and used his contact with pupils to start a skateboard club at school.

This was the start of a career that was unrivalled in any other fun sport up to that point. I would put him on a par with Robby Naish – just without his own sporting achievements. Even back then, he saw himself more as an instigator. He had several cards in his pocket: the skateboard as we know it today was given its final shape at this time. The bent wood on both sides gave the skateboard its iconic shape and made tricks possible that had never been possible before. In addition, the US brands saw a huge opportunity in the European market and wanted to capitalise on it.

Titus Dittmann gratefully accepted this and by 1978 was already selling skateboards that he bought in the USA. In 1980, he opened his skatepark, and it came as it had to: at the age of 36, in 1984, he quit his job as a teacher and dedicated himself to marketing skateboarding in Germany. The force with which he did so was proverbial. Within half a decade, he had built up his small event into the official skateboarding world championships. This took place in the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund. Thousands of spectators made the pilgrimage there, and it seemed as if rollerboarding was growing unstoppably.

However, the crisis in the skateboard market also reached Germany, traditionally a few years later. Titus steamrolled his company and shifted his focus to retail and mail order, with success. With his business acumen and, above all, his winning mentality, he managed to emerge from the crisis and build up a retail chain with over 30 shops and a mail order business that is unrivalled in the industry.

Due to his age, he retired from the operative business in 2009 and from then on dedicated himself to his foundation *Skate-Aid*. In the early 2010s, he became president of the German longboarders and skateboarders. However, following his principles, he quickly gave up – because skateboarding and the Olympics didn’t go together for him. So he simply jumped back in time 30 years and started doing what he had been doing all his life: teaching children the fascination of roller sports. His commitment earned him various honours: the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, various business awards and a teaching position at the Institute of Sports Science.

Much of what has been written about Titus is not true. It’s the little things – like the claim to have built the first show team in Europe. That existed years before Titus started selling skateboards. The scene on Sylt was also already on rollerboards in the mid-70s. Jürgen Höhnscheid was one of the pioneers. You can see some old videos on the skateboard club’s website. And yet the Münster native’s lifetime achievements are remarkable.

He has also been to Sylt a few times. He was involved in the Multipark and also gave readings from his biography. A few days ago, we met him at the *Northern Light Store*. The shop is known for its innovative product presentations – whether cars, bicycles or gadgets: Northern Lights in Norderstraße is always worth a visit.

So it’s no wonder that the two owners, Michael Hoppe and Michael Gleissner, contacted Titus Dittmann when he was planning another charity event. His journey took him to our beautiful North Sea island – because as Citroën’s brand representative, he was to present the new ‘Qui are Sylt’ concept.

On this occasion, Titus presented a skateboard with gold-plated wheels and axles. This is now to be auctioned on Sylt; the proceeds will go to the *Skate-Aid* foundation. The magnificent piece can be admired in the *Northern Light Store* at Norderstraße 29. And Titus? His quote ‘Find a job you enjoy and you’ll never work again’ sums it up perfectly. Even today, at almost 80 years old, he still rolls on the boards that mean the world to him.

Written by sylter-spiegel.de / published on 10 April 2025