History of Rolling- Part 3

That year a hockey player named Scott Olsen was browsing through a sporting goods store when he spotted the Chicago Rollerskate Comapnies 1966 design. He immediatly fell in love with the skate and at only 19yrs old, hitchiked to chicago and bought the dormant design. The next year he started "Rollerblade" with his brother and others. This would be the beginning of the inline skate craze and shape the industry we know. Olsen's timing could not have been better. The technology and manufacturing methods were a far cry from previous years. Polyurethane wheels, steel ball bearings, adustable ratchet straps, and lightweight plastics all came together to become standard equipment on inline skates. The first Rollerblade skate was a redesign of the Chicago Rollerskates original idea, ice hockey boots were used along with a rubber toe brake. The advertising associated with inline skates displayed them as excersise or training tools. Leisurely fun for beachside cruisers or off-season training for ice skaters, hockey players, and skiiers. A stereotype soon developed. Early skaters were often in full pads and excersise attire (ie spandex) and the unrefined motions of novice skaters certainly didn't arouse any excitement from the younger crowds the way that the time perfected moves of skateboarding and surfing did. Nevertheless, a year after Rollerblade was created, groups of skaters appeared using their blades on street terrain. Heavily influenced by the aforementioned senior sports, bladers began riding down stairs, hitting gaps, and grinding ledges. Early skaters included Doug Boyce, Pat Parnell, AJ Jackson, and Chris Morris. Many of these early skaters would end up on demo teams, going to the beaches of California and Florida to show people that rollerblades had more to offer than just a leisurely ride down the street. They showed off their skills and then put people on skates to get them hooked. Sound familiar? Tried and true since the 1800s, this is still the most effective way to get people into skating. Inline skating is exploding and by 1986 is a $7 million/yr industry. Rollerblade profits have doubled every year since its creation and the skates being produced are now constructed with their own purpose built soft boots, setting aside for good ice hockey and ski boots. However the ever-advancing group of skaters using their blades in untraditional ways went ignored until 1988 when Rollerblade released the Lightning TRS, the first "aggressive skate".

The Lightning featured grindplates and a reinforced nylon frame, provding better control and allowing the user to perform grinds. Inline skating participation and sales continued to rise at an astonomical rate and by 1991 the industry was raking in $200 million/year. The next year, a trailblazer of the aggressive skating community emerged and landed the first recorded frontside grind down a three stair handrail. His name? Chris Edwards. If you dont remember any other name I mention here, remember this one. He's the single most accomplished skater the sport has ever produced. He was featured in "Dare to Air", started the first rollerblading clothing company, "Birth", developed the first pro model skate, appeared in "Prayer for the Rollerboys" 1991, "Airborne" 1993, "The Mighty Ducks 1 and 2, and "Batman and Robin" 1997. An accomplished vert skater, he appeared in numerous contests, action sports tours, and now has his own skate park. It could be argued that he's the Tony Hawk of inline skating. With a passion for skating and a friendly personality, he gained more exposure for the sport than any other skater ever has.

Anyways, with rollerblading exploding and the popularity of other action sports growing as well. ESPN formed team with the goal of creating an event that would bring all of these "extreme" sports together. Now extreme sport is a marketing term used to make inline skating, skateboarding, bmx and so on sound more exciting to the younger generation. Its not a term you will ever hear from someone who participates in these sports, but there was more to it than just marketing. All physical sports carry an inherent risk of injury. But inline skating (and other extreme sports) participants face injury on an almost daily basis. The type of tricks these sports involve and the terrain they're performed on means a much bigger chance of injury. Lets use pro football as a comparison. Football players get knocked around all the time. They are always wearing shoulder pads, thigh and knee pads, mouthgaurds, and helmets They face bruises, sprains, dislocations, head trauma, and occasionally broken bones. No one has ever died playing football in its entire history and few have ever been permenantly disabled. Inline skaters often wear no protective padding or helmets, and the obstacles we collide with are much less forgiving. Railings, concrete, asphalt, wooden ramps, and cars are much harder than people. Concussions, fractures, dislocations, severe bruises, and torn up skin, and even death are very real possibilities. While new skaters continue to push the envelope, the bigger the trick, the bigger the chance of a hospital visit. But this inherent danger makes it all the more rewarding. To risk life and limb and accomplish something difficult is one of the best feelings in the world.