Go! Go! Hypergrind categories

Game: Go! Go! Hypergrind
Skateboarding game in which the goal is to become a superstar cartoon actor through gimmick appeals and skateboarding prowess. Credits roll at end of playthrough for each character; nothing special happens upon completion of all characters as far as I can remember. Thus, character-based categories are how the game should be speedrun. But there is a character (Vert) unlocked upon completing the game once as any character. Additionally, purchasing boards and gears carry over from one playthrough to the next, even if the character has changed. So my question is this: should each category be defined such that all boards and gear are available for use at the start of each run? It seems silly to make an accomodation like this for a Vert category exclusively, but on the other hand each run would be boring and a lot slower if only standard gear was used at the start. You can't get rid of board data without also getting rid of Vert (and subsequently the hidden character Kevin), so I'm wondering what people think about allowing upgraded stats at the start of the runs. It's less of a question pertaining to Go! Go! Hypergrind itself and moreso a question regarding the concepts described. Please let me know what you think. Thanks