a portrait I took of myself, Ryan Breslin, in 2021, after my marooning from the rollerblading industry. This self portrait is a critique on my skating skills and thus relevancy within the sport, as well as a tip of the hat to Aaron Feinberg. I took this self portrait just outside my apartment at the time in Long Island City, NY in approximately July of 2021.

Daily Toast Bread Font by Andrew Papoutsis.

MISSION STATEMENT

Daily Toast is a publication that focuses on inline and quad skating; it was founded by myself, Ryan Breslin (born Ryan Loewy) in April of 2024. I started the publication as I felt that the industry lacked cohesive journalism on the sport, and in addition to my marooning from blading in the summer of 2021, it was my only option to work again in blade media, despite having a nearly 20 year history with the sport. While we have a handful of personalities and outlets producing media coverage, I do not feel that what is currently available is a thorough as it should be; much of the approaches I have seen, whether it be Tom Moyse and his rollerblading bits, or Biz, or Be-Mag, or ONE, or Jumpstreet, or Wheelscene, or any other bozo that seems to pander to clickbait type media, I felt like we needed a more in-depth look at skating that isn’t giving online blowjobs each week.

I have worked extensively in blade media; I was a contributing photographer to Be-Mag in the early 2010’s, and eventually became photo editor in 2017. I spent 2 years writing, producing and shooting around 100 or so stories, in addition to keeping up on the day to day releases of edits and products. While my staff career with Be-Mag was short lived, I had devised an awards ceremony for Be-Mag, as well as helped produce their first online issue. In addition to this, I’ve had involvement in events such as the Boschi Pope Skate Off, The New York Skate Series, and have worked with companies such as Them Skates (sorry Jon, but it’s true), Razors, Dead, Ghetto Community, Rollerblade, Oysius, Powerslide/USD, and so forth, as well as respected athletes within the craft such as Alex Broskow, Colin and Sean Kelso, Jon Julio, Chris Haffey, Danny Beer, Billy O’Neill and many others. I’ve covered a myriad of events as well such as Blading Cup and Winterclash. I’ve worked in a variety of facets including photography and cinematography, as well as general journalism; in addition to this, I’ve worked professionally in plumbing for the last decade, and while not my choice of income, I have become incredibly disciplined as well as educated in terms of how to run a fluid and successful business.

My approach to journalism is often considered “Gonzo”-esque, and is continuously mired with controversy as rollerblading is not accustomed to my type of work despite my background and history; in the past, I have written articles, such as examining skating’s homophobia, transphobia and toxic masculinity, which was met with harsh criticism and the claim that I must “keep it out of blading”. Sorry, but I won’t. I am often discredited and gas lit in my journalistic efforts; I am continuously accused of being manic and suffering from mental illness (I’m actively in therapy, FYI), as well as not being qualified to vocalize my opinion because I am simply not good at skating (you must be able to hard top soul in order to have a valid assessment of rollerblading, apparently). The basis of this project was heavily inspired by Darkside of The Ring; an attempt to shed light on problematic behavior as well as stories that make you say, “you can’t make this shit up.” I pride myself on writing cohesive pieces that require intense research, hours of production and editing, carried by a healthy art direction, and a crafted story that has a premise that intrigues people to return to read more; I feel it dire that the work I create have a replay value. Overall, I feel that journalism currently is rather sub-par in the rollerblading community; I take ethos and cues from Daily Bread, the first print publication spearheaded by Angie Walton back in the early 90’s; it is without question that what Daily Bread began on was absolutely detrimental and shaped the culture of this sport, and thus, I am hoping to carry the torch in a way to further assess the behavior, both in terms of general human conduct, as well as business, financial and other aspects that compose this industry. It isn’t something I’ve seen, at least in a while, that isn’t just grasping for straws in the hopes of gaining views and notoriety; I am well versed in the shattered ego dynamic of rollerblading that is sandwiched in between middle aged men that feel a need to prove their masculinity without being able to retain accountability.

Rollerblading lacks fruitfulness in terms of its finances, and that chokehold in cashflow and profitability has greatly affected its development, and while many, such as Jon Julio and Frankie Morales, have made strides to expand and promote, cultivate and assist in the continuation of the sport, it isn’t enough. And now with a highly saturated market that does not have nearly the demand to satisfy it, rollerblading really needs to step back and look in the mirror at itself, and for a myriad of reasons. There isn’t just ONE problem; there’s multiple. So where do we start? We start here. As someone that is well rounded in the politics, behaviors, cultural references and overall understanding of blading’s inner workings, I feel I have a fair say in critiquing this sport. My intention with Daily Toast is to provide honest, intelligent journalism that also can utilize humor and satire to deliver a message.

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Being a small operation, this project is really a labor of love, but I intend to produce a print issue, and hopefully, subsequent issues that document both the inline and quad scenes, as well as additional topics such as entertainment, product reviews and assessments, recommendations, and anything else I feel would bring a refreshing approach to the stagnant landscape of rollerblading journalism and media. Being in NYC, I feel that I can produce a handful of fruitful content, to which I hope you enjoy.

If you’d like to contribute to Daily Toast or work on a project, please send an email to: thedailytoastmagazine@gmail.com

Ryan Breslin, Editor In Chief

MASTHEAD

Editor in Chief | Ryan Breslin | holler@ryan-breslin.com | @notryanbreslin

Daily Toast Bread Calendar and Font Design | Andrew Papoutsis