Rollerblading’s Identity Crisis
The rollerblading economy was once fruitful, if anything, at an all-time peak during the mid to late 90s with prolific sponsors and events; at the turn of the century, however, that would soon change, and by the mid aughts, it would see a darker age.
Photograph by Ryan Breslin for Daily Toast.
ROLLERBLADING’S IDENTITY CRISIS
WRITTEN BY RYAN BRESLIN
Photograph by Ryan Breslin for Daily Toast
Written by Ryan Breslin
There is no question that rollerblading suffers from an identity crisis when it comes to what it should probably call itself; and this has been a lifelong battle since the early 90’s when its street format was originally birthed. It’s interesting to learn where the term originated from; while people hold Rollerblade accountable for the namesake in question, we need to look back farther, almost 200 years prior, to see where it all began.
Pictured here is what many believe to be the first patent of an inline skate.
Supposedly, in 1743, the first traces of an inline skate design were discovered, but the author of this design remains unknown. 17 years later, John Joseph Berlin, a Belgium musical instrument maker and mechanical designer, came up with a concept for inline skates. By 1789, a French designer, Lodewijik Maximilian Van Lede, developed another form of inline skates, and by 1819, the barebones concept of what we all know as an inline skate were patented; but its popularity was miniscule in comparison to that of the quad skate design opposite of it.
Suck on that to anyone that shits on modern day quads, looks like history has a tendency to repeat itself, huh?
It wasn’t until the late 1970s, however, that the first form of what we know as inline skate today was actually visualized. Pioneered by a German company in 1978, SKF, the design was intended for use in hockey rinks and street use.
But the story most people know is that of Scott and Brennan Olson; two hockey players based in Minnesota that were trying to come up with a way to practice in the off season. They founded Rollerblade in 1980, and within 4 years, sold it over to Bob Naegele Jr., who I suppose you could say is the Ray Kroc of rollerblading; upon his acquisition, he advertised the design to the public, and in turn, sold millions.
The Olson brothers, pictured here, were responsible for bringing the concept of the rollerblade to life in 1980. As hockey players, they wanted to find a means to practice during the off season; in turn, they developed and procured what is now known as the first modern day rollerblade.
Photograph courtesy of Rollerblade.
The boom of the 90s saw the popularity of rollerblading sky rocket; with the advent of the X Game, ESPN’s attempt to capitalize on the growing frenzy for “extreme” sports, was a complete hit and a defining element of 90’s culture and nostalgia. Starting with 9 different sports, there was a wide array of wild-ass sports such as street luge, air surfing, bungee jumping, and eco-challenge; not to insult the participants as I am sure they were skilled, but these seemed to be the “draw the crowd” sports. And then you had your major three; skateboarding, BMX and inline skating. And over time, rollerblading would earn a new name, “Aggressive Inline Skating”, commonly called “Aggro Skating” or “Inlining”; the former of the three would be solidified in one of rollerblading’s only video games, which featured one of the poster boys of 90’s rollerblading, Jaren Grob. But despite the THPS craze that was abound in the late 90s and early 2000s, rollerblading’s popularity and profit would soon dwindle. Big name sponsors such as Levi’s and Gap were leaving in droves, and major skate companies like Salomon and K2 would soon follow suit.
Aaron Feinberg, pictured here from a still frame from Mindgame’s "WORDS” was the poster child for blading in the 90’s; obtaining high paying sponsors such as Levi’s, Feinberg was supposedly making over 6 figures during the height of rollerblading’s popularity.
Feeling abandoned by society, rollerblading began its identity crisis. “Well, no one wants us now, so what the fuck are we? Just the tail end of every extreme sports joke?”. Arlo’s feature in Big Brother did help either; if anything, it was salt on the wound. But those dedicated to the sport, the ones in love with it, remained faithful. And people like Jon Julio and Brian Shima continued to carry the torch in what many find to be rollerblading’s dark ages; it’s dramatic, but it’s simultaneously true and rather an accurate description of the times that laid ahead.
In the mid 2000’s, B Unique, a NYC based clothing brand producing some of the finest video content during the aughts, as well as being a forefront in the rollerblading industry, coined the term “Freestyle Rolling”; It was meant to serve as a “fuck you” response to what rollerblading was and intended to redefine rollerblading’s identity. Despite the video’s impact, the terminology never gained traction and is often mocked among blading dorks.
Photograph courtesy of the Brown Brothers and B Unique.
During this time it seems, however, was when the identity crisis in question came to a forefront; companies like B Unique coined “Freestyle Rolling”; a statement that felt rebellious at the time, but in hindsight, has aged poorly. Rollerbladers strived to identify themselves, often with shirts like Fiction’s “I Rollerblade” and Mindgame’s “Blader” tee; they were lamented when asked after stating that they rollerblade of the sports similarity to skateboarding, a constant bully that somehow was able to mature faster than us.
Mindgame’s “Blader” shirt, which was released towards the tail end of the company’s life span; while adorded, often rollerblader’s were asked by the common John, “Does that say bladder?”. The facepalm of this question was further extended by the unknowingly undesired correlation to skateboarding.
Photograph by Ryan Breslin for Daily Toast
The animosity that rollerbladers currently feel to the general public is understandable, but simultaneously, it is a bit much. I think it is hard for many to digest the fact that the general population sees what we do as just a fad; a bunch of adults playing with kid’s toys. But for many of us, that’s far from the truth, or maybe just not the entire picture. Yes, there’s truth to the fact that what we do is childish; but if that is said of rollerblading, it must be said of any of the “extreme” sports as well. For some reason, though, we seem to get more of the slack than our counterparts.
In recent years, especially during the pandemic, rollerblading saw a resurgence, and with highlights in major publications such as the NY Times and New York Magazine, many were hopeful of a full return of rollerblading’s acceptance to the general public; a spike in popularity seemed to be a key aspect that would win over the outside eye. Over the course of the past few years, however, we have found that that resurgence was just a temporary spike; despite this, the industry has seen a significant growth in both female and young aged participants, a sector that has often been overlooked and rarely acknowledge by the community.
Photograph by Ryan Breslin for Daily Toast
But in the last few years, that has started to change. The common and average rollerblader is now in their mid 30’s or 40’s, most have families and a full time job; rollerblading is that childish thing, that while mocked by society as being an immature and foolish thing to do, keeps the blood flowing.
So does it really matter what we call it? Aggressive inline? Freestyle rolling? Rollerblading? The answer, really, is no; it does not matter. What matters is the feeling and enjoyment that you get when doing it, and nobody, regardless of their position in this world, should be able to rob you of that.
Portrait of Ryan Breslin, taken in 2021 in Long Island City, NY.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ryan Breslin (born Ryan Thomas Loewy, 1988, Sea Cliff, NY) is a New York native that has been involved with rollerblading since the early 2000’s; he is primarily versed in journalism and photography and has worked previously for a variety of rollerblading publications such as Be-Mag, Wheel Scene, Skate Life TV and others. He is currently based in Astoria, NY and works in the plumbing industry as a dispatcher; he is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and enjoys spending his down time with his baby girl pup, Frankie, cooking, playing music and smoking at minimum a half pack of Luckie’s a day.
@notryanbreslin
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