I’m not surprised people are discovering the therapeutic effects of skating on mental health. Since the pandemic there’s been a huge rise in interest in roller skating which seems to be gaining even more momentum now we’re free to mingle.
From jam skating (dance meets skating) to street skating, there are all manner of niche roller skater communities cropping up that bring people together and allow them to offload their mental and physical stress. (more…)
It’s time to bring back the rollerskating content!
Glorious Sport magazine has this great feature on the power of rollerskating, featuring Canadian artist Kayla Buium. The Toronto-based illustrator uses rollerskating in her street art as a form of self-expression and therapy for her anxiety.
“There’s always middle-aged ladies stopping me to say their piece about how they used to roller skate and I see little kids tugging on their parent’s arms and pointing at me. That makes me feel so good. I’m in the middle of the street, wearing my roller skates, doing little tricks, jumping on and off of the kerb and people are looking at me. I’m blasting my headphones. I definitely feel like I’m in a film. It just feels super empowering.” (more…)
On my wish list: a new book about roller skating.
I remember reading about Flipper’s, the short-lived LA roller disco (owned by Liberty Ross’s dad) a few years ago. There was talk of a film and then… nothing. Instead, we have this great softback from Idea Books, “Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace” (launching October 15th), documenting the rink, the scene and the free-living era – accompanied by some fantastic pictures of course. (more…)
Rollerskating is back on the agenda according to Vogue. (Did it ever go away?)
Following a summer of outdoor skating, there’s apparently a shortage of quads available, with brands like Moxi achieving last year’s annual sales of its 70s-style skates in one month.
What brought this on? (more…)
