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 //April 2017//
-I recently started listening to podcasts on my long commute to work. One of the best discoveries so far has been the "[[http://mushroomblading.com/podcasts.php?id=main|how to be unpopular]]" podcast. This podcast really dives deep into the rollerblading culture. Despite having skated for over 10 years, this is something I really knew nothing about. I've started to think a lot more about my own experience of skating, and thought this might be of interest to some people (a very minute number of people, but still...).
+I recently started listening to podcasts on my long commute to work. One of the best discoveries so far has been the [[http://mushroomblading.com/podcasts.php?id=main|How to be Unpopular]] podcast. This podcast dives deep into the rollerblading culture. Despite having skated for most of my life, this is something I really knew nothing about. I started thinking more about my own experience of skating, and thought this might be of interest to some people (a very minuscule number of people, but still...).
-This is supposed to be a small history of the sport of "aggressive inline skating", as experienced by me. For lack of a universal name for this sport, I will be calling it skating.
+This is supposed to be a small history of the sport of "aggressive inline skating", as experienced by me. For lack of a universal name for this sport, I will mostly be calling it skating.
-My first pair of skates were actually roller skates. Pink roller skates. The only ones left in my size but I didn't care! Allegedly it didn't take too long before I was jumping ramps on these. Age? Around 4 or 5. The only thing I can remember is buying them. Another memory is being told by a neighbourhood kid that I was using them incorrectly. Apparently you are supposed to keep both feet planted firmly on the ground and shuffle them forward and back.
+My first pair of skates were actually roller skates. Pink roller skates. The only ones left in my size but I didn't care! Allegedly it didn't take too long before I was playing on little homemade ramps on these. Age? Around 4 or 5. One memory is being told by a neighbourhood kid that I was using them incorrectly. Apparently you are supposed to keep both feet planted firmly on the ground and shuffle them forward and back.
-We then moved to New Zealand and back to the Netherlands.
+{{ :my-history-of-skating:20170414_202422.jpg?nolink |My first roller skates}}
-There may have been a first pair inline skates I can't remember, but my next memory is around the age of 8 doing crossovers in a big circle on the school playground.
+Fast forward through the next years where we emigrated to New Zealand and back twice. Throughout this time I pretty much always had a pair of skates I think. After moving back to NL around age 12 for some reason I got really into skating again. I used to be a real bookworm, and at some point I found a book on inline skating. This my have been my inspiration for going onto the "aggressive" path. There was a whole chapter outlining all these different grinds you could do.
-We moved back to NZ again and I don't really know how much I skated. Definitely remember a few skates along the board walk, as well as bombing hills on a skateboard.
+I vaguely remember at some point seeing another kid bring his skates to school which had the middle wheels taken out. At some point I did the same and on a little homemade grind rail learnt FS and BS. Over time I got a bunch of other kids skating and we'd go all over the place, especially to playgrounds and skate down the slide. I also learnt soul grinds around this time. Still on rec skates - they were some kind of shoe looking soft boot skate, and had a pretty flat sole. I was taking my skates to school, and started skating to the skatepark pretty much every day after school. Eat dinner with my skates on and do some more skating later.
-After moving back to NL around age 12 for some reason I got really into skating again. I used to be a real bookworm, and at some point I found a book on inline skating. This my have been my inspiration for going onto the "aggressive" path. There was a whole chapter outlining all these different grinds you could do.
+{{ :my-history-of-skating:20170414_195506.jpg?nolink |I learnt my first grinds on these}}
-I vaguely remember at some point seeing another kid bring his skates to school which had the middle wheels taken out.
+A bit later I got my first pair of aggressive skates, pre-UFS Roces Majestic 12, many sizes too big (but the right width!). The sport goods store was holding a massive skate clearance so everything was going cheap!
-At some point I did the same and on a little homemade grind rail learnt FS and BS. Over time I got a bunch of other kids skating and we'd go all over the place, especially to playgrounds and skate down the slide. I also learnt soul grinds around this time. Still on rec skates, they were some kind of shoe looking soft boot skate, and therefore had a pretty flat sole. I was taking my skates to school, and started skating to the skatepark pretty much every day after school. Eat dinner with my skates on and do some more skating later.
+At the local skatepark there were pretty much just skateboarders. There was another older kid who turned up a handful of times, would wax every coping and do a buch of backsides. I also had one street session when I ran into a bunch of "really old" skaters who were grinding a little brick wall in front of the mall I used to skate through.
-A bit later I got my first pair of aggressive skates! Roces Majestic 12, many sizes too big (but the right width!) The sport goods store was holding a massive skate clearance so everything was going cheap!
+In 2005 when we moved back to NZ again I thought I was possibly the only inline skater in NZ for a long time. I still went to the skatepark pretty regularly, but really didn't improve my trick vocabulary much. It's not very motivating always being by yourself. Here's a little edit I made in 2010:
-At the skatepark there were pretty much just skateboarders. There was another older kid who turned up a handful of times, would wax every coping and do a buch of backsides. I also had one street session when I ran into a bunch of "really old" skaters who were grinding a little brick wall in front of the mall I used to skate through.
+{{ youtube>U_MQN1V2Cik?medium }}
-There was also a skate demo at the opening of the local skatepark where some crazy tricks went down. A guy gave me some tips for doing unities, which involved taking the middle wheels out. I didn't stick with this and went back to flat pretty quickly.
+Over time my wheels wore down to the core and I bought some new wheels online, also marking my switch to antirocker. At some point I also modified my skates by screwing a little piece of plastic from the bottom of a walking frame onto the heel area of the soul, which before that was just the stock boot.
-When we moved back to NZ I thought I was possibly the only inline skater in NZ for a long time. I still went to the skatepark pretty regularly, but over time my wheels were pretty much down to nothing.
+{{ :my-history-of-skating:dscf5180.jpg?nolink&500 |My first aggressive skates}}
-Had a total of 3 of 4 more sessions with other skaters. Eventually got onto the internet and started getting more interested in all of this. Discovered facebook group. Eventually started watching a few skate videos.
+{{ :my-history-of-skating:dscf5185.jpg?nolink&400 |Blade tech}}
-In podcast 186 (check number) there is a conversation about how people past the initial boom got into skating (and a number of "sick edits" were mentioned).
+A few years later I entered the modern skate era with a new pair of skates bought online, Razors Genesys! I also started looking for skate videos from NZ, and eventually discovered the [[https://www.facebook.com/groups/342542682506644/|NZ Rolling]] Facebook page. Turns out even in NZ skating used to be a thing.
+In [[http://mushroomblading.com/podcasts.php?id=137|How to Be Unpopular #138]] there is a conversation about how people past the initial boom got into skating. A number of "sick edits" were mentioned which would have drawn in the new generation. Well, for me it was just a library book! It makes me wonder how many others like me learnt to skate completely outside "the culture".
+~~DISQUS~~

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