BY CHELSI WALKER
The sound of wheels
alternatively gliding over and slamming onto concrete…the sound of
plastic grinding down metal rails…the painful image of a body flying
through the air and missing its mark to fall to the ground.
While this may sound
suspiciously like the now-popular sport of skateboarding, it’s not.
It is, in fact, rollerblading. While many would think
"rollerblading" and think of knee pads, helmets, Spandex, and fanny
packs, that is definitely not the brand of sport that is
continuously gaining popularity all over the world.
Also known as aggressive
inline skating, freestyle rolling, and "fruitbooting" – the name
given by rival skateboarders, who have been coined "wood pushers"
rollerblading is gaining attention from both average kids looking
for a slightly different type of sport and some more well-known
people, such as Jim Jones of the popular rap group Dipset. Jones is
in the process of creating the skate team Dipskate, which may be an
answer to Pharrell William’s skate team Ice Cream.
The increase in the number of
kids who rollerblade in the Downriver area is noticeable – if you
know what to look for. While the majority of the skateboarding
population is a little older, the younger generation of extreme
sports enthusiasts seems to be leaning towards their pioneering role
models, who happen to be on more than four wheels. While well-known
skateboarding companies such as DC and Volcom are as popular in
mainstream fashion as brand names like Abercrombie & Fitch,
rollerblading clothing lines are generally only recognizable to
other rollerbladers. However, the pool of people who can say they
know the significance as such names as Mindgame, Valo, Denial or
Arlo Eisenberg, Brian Aragon, or Mike "Murda" Johnson is growing by
leaps and bounds. This can be seen in the hallways of RHS.
Rollerblading began in the
80’s along with skateboarding, but never quite had as many followers
– until recently. As skateboarding has gone the way of tattoos and
belly button rings and become a mainstream staple, rollerblading has
retained its underground appeal. The majority of kids who
participate in rollerblading are a little funkier than your average
skateboarder, with kids mostly either skating in girl’s jeans with
plugs in their ears or the biggest pants size they could find with
an equally large t-shirt. There are some crossovers between the two
sides of rollerblading, such as BAPE hoodies and 5950 hats.
Rollerblading reflects the current major trends, becoming known not
only as an alternative sport but also as a lifestyle. This clothing
style is also popular with most teenagers, although an actual BAPE
hoodie runs just a little bit higher than the budget of the average
high school.
One rollerblading team, the
New York based B.Unique & Co, is continuously setting the uber-hip
bar for the rollerblading community, referring to themselves as a
"lifestyle" team rather than a rollerblading team. The founders, NYU
film students Chris and Courtney Brown, were the ones to first coin
the term "freestyle rolling", which refers to the immensely
different styles that rollers embrace when performing their tricks.
"Freestyle rolling is the best
way to put it, you know what I mean? The way that I do tricks is
completely different than the way that Sean (referring to Sean
Kelso, a B.Unique team member) does them. Either way, it looks real
good," said B.Unique and Dipskate member Ramelle Knight, laughing
cockily.
This also correlates to the
slightly elitist attitude rollerbladers have when discussing their
rivalry with skateboarders. The traditional argument involves the
fact that rollerblading is more versatile and possibly more
attractive, while skateboarders counter that it is harder to
skateboard.
"Whether it’s true that
skateboarding is harder or not…I don’t know," said well-know pro
rollerblader, B.Unique member, and numerous competition winner Sean
Kelso. "It doesn’t really matter to me. I try to stay out of that.
However, I really do believe that rollerblading just looks better.
You have more of an opportunity to stylize your tricks, make them
your own."
It is not clear why
rollerblading has experienced such a huge surge in participants, but
many hope it does not become quite as mainstream as skateboarding.
"I like the fact that what I
do is unique and not a lot of kids do it. Most kids kind of laugh
when they find out that I rollerblade, but then once they see me
actually doing my thing, they are slightly in awe," said senior
Bryan Patton, who has been rollerblading for about five years.
Many kids also want to
participate in sports without having to deal with the high school
team atmosphere or the rigorous schedules involved with it. It is
definitely a more relaxed and individualized sport than most that
the majority of teenage athletes participate in.
"I like that I can go do it
whenever I want. I’m pretty good just because I choose to practice.
It’s something I do for fun. I don’t have any set time when I have
to go to practice or anything. I love it, and everything in my life
kind of revolves around it," said Scheidel.
