Zeg Heads is Bringing ‘fingerboarding’ to Chattanooga

This miniature skateboarding phenomenon is making a scene in the Scenic City

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Drew Phillips is the founder of Chattanooga’s first fingerboarding shop.

“The main appeal to some of the older people is that they can still skate without skating. I truly think this is the best way to keep skateboarding without having to sacrifice your body,” Phillips said.

Years ago, Phillips suffered a severe knee injury – one that took away his professional skateboarding career. “Skateboarding really was everything for me. And it still is, so this just allows me to really tap into that passion still,” he said.

Phillips now hosts pop up events where people can come skate, hang, and get involved in the fingerboarding community.

“It kind of gives you a dopamine rush. Like when you stick the ollie, you know or something, you really feel it and you’re like ‘oh that one felt great’ or when you actually clean a kick flip. Or say just stick any trick, it really feels like you’re actually, I don’t know, it feels like you’ve done something.”

People traveled from surrounding cities to participate in the event.

“It’s really neat just to see how far people will come for a little toy.”

He says he wanted to bring the hobby to Chattanooga after his own experience with fingerboarding.

“There’s an international fingerboarding league and they traveled around,” Phillips said. “They made an Atlanta stop. So, I went, and I checked that out and that really inspired me to, you know, bring that to Chattanooga because I saw the potential of what it could be.”

Phillips’s long-term goal is to have a physical store downtown.

“Whenever I was a younger kid, indoor skate parks used to be huge. You could go and just hang out in the skate shop, and now that’s not really a thing. Zeg Heads goal is to bring that safe space back.”