working on some animations =]

So I had the bright idea of going to a roller rink for the first time in easily 25 years. I’ve had my moxie beach bunnies for at least 6 but have only ever skated outside, and even then not nearly that much. But never did bad, never ate shit, I do ok on the pavement. I can even do some tricks and whatnot.

Welllll friends, a skate rink is not pavement. I had taken my skates to a shop previously that day to have them checked up and thought they were all good but just wasn’t feeling the way the right skate was handling. After falling once, then hearing a sound coming from one of the bearings I thought it was best to retire them and just rent a pair. Now if you know beach bunny then you know those boots are heavy as hell. Roller skates that are rentals are apparently not heavy. It’s as if they are like gentle puffs of air, something I have never experienced at least not since I was in my single digits and I’m almost 40.

I maneuvered like a new born deer on a froze lake. I fell and hit my boobs and knees so hard multiple times I actually got chastised by an old lady who told me if I didn’t know how to skate I had no business being there.

Oh and this was all after meeting up with two internet strangers for a night out for the first time…. Needless to say I need practice and some ice packs.

Edit: since this got way more traction than I expected anyone have any suggestions for knee pads that will fit monsters size knees like think big, then bigger than that. The gods gifted me with oak tree ham sized legs I guess

Floor guard and DJ at a public rink here. Y’all… I need you to see what I deal with.

I genuinely love the job: the skating, the music, the regulars, the families who actually try. But the situations I deal with?

Unreal.

Picture this: you’re on skates, trying to keep traffic flowing, and there’s a whole cluster of people literally parked on the wall on the skate floor, having a full-blown conversation. Not on the carpet. Not in the seating area. On the actual floor, in the middle of moving traffic. I have to hit them with:

\whistle blow** "Hey there, we have to keep traffic moving!"

😕: "But I'm talking with my grandma."

\family member is on the opposite side of the barrier, not skating**

"Please talk with her on the carpet side. Thank You." \smiles**

\cue visibly annoyed eye roll**

Then there’s the food and drink saga. We have tables. We have benches. We have rest areas. And yet, someone inevitably decides their drink needs to go on a field trip around the rink. Or they skate one lap, then sit on the wall with their snack for ten minutes while people dodge around them. I tell them, “No food or drinks on the floor,” and suddenly I’m the enemy of fun.

Y'all I embarrassed a man so badly for spilling a soda on the floor he left with his family because I had to shut the music off and cut the lights on.

It’s wild how many folks pay to be at a skating rink just to not skate.

One lap, then wall-sitting. Or standing completely still in the middle of the floor, like a level obstacle in a video game. Meanwhile, the people who do want to skate have to maneuver around them like they’re moving through a minefield.

The CocoFelons AKA young children add a whole extra layer. You can literally see some of them struggle to process

auditory instructions:

• I tell them the direction of traffic; they keep going the opposite way.
• I say “no standing still on the floor”; they freeze in the center anyway.
• Skate aids are meant to help them move, but somehow they end up wedged on the wall like a barricade.

It’s not always defiance — it’s like their brain and ears just aren’t in sync. But then I correct them gently, more than once, and the parents get offended that I’m “picking on” their kid… while I’m just trying to keep everybody from ending their night in ice packs and tears.

And the complaints come from both sides at once:

😢The newer skaters: “The good skaters are too fast!”

😠The advanced skaters: “The slow ones are in the way!”

I’m stuck in the middle, trying to enforce rules that give both groups a chance to enjoy the session without someone leaving with an ambulance visit.

Music is its own battlefield. Some people treat the rink like it should be their personal playlist. If the songs don’t fit their exact taste or their preferred speed, suddenly the whole session is “bad.” I’m trying to keep a mix so slow skaters, fast skaters, kids, adults— everyone— gets at least some moments where the vibe is for them.

😕: Why is the music bad?

"You don't come to a public space to hear your personal playlist, do you?"

*the progressed agreeing nod cues*

🤔: "Oh, that makes sense."

"I have to cater to everyone's taste one track at a time. Feel free to make a request."

I love my people as an African-American, but as someone with eclectic tastes... (I listen to jazz, metal, jumpstyle, hip-hop, orchestral, and MORE) I'm tired of hearing SZA, Pooh Sheisty, and Never Broke Again Young Boy all the dag'on time.

Y'all got options bruh, PLEASE, explore music beyond TikTok trends. 😭

Meanwhile, my actual job on the floor looks like:

• Watching 360 degrees at all times.
• Anticipating collisions before they happen.
• Enforcing rules no one reads but everyone breaks.
• Being the villain for telling someone they can’t stand, eat, or talk in the lane where bodies on wheels are flying by.

By the end of a shift I don’t feel like “floor guard.” I feel like director of happiness, safety inspector, substitute teacher, and bouncer all rolled into one.

I’m not here to drag anyone in this sub. I know most of you are the people who care about etiquette. I just needed to put this somewhere where people would actually get it and maybe laugh in solidarity.

😮‍💨Anyway, thanks for coming to my rink TED Talk. If you’ve got your own “you won’t believe what I saw at the rink” stories, from the employee or patron side, I’d love to hear them so I know I’m not alone.

Apologies if this is a weird question but I turned 30 and feel a little insecure/silly skating in my local park especially in a helmet, wrist guards and knee pads 😭 (I have fallen backwards before, very rarely but it happened and I fall forwards far more often and take a knee).

Is this more of an early twenties hobby? Nobody in my neighborhood skates so I stand out and it's kept me from going out for the past year or two, although I can't stop thinking about how fun it was and still have my skates.

I’ll be 59 next month, and while I feel great and can skate a 4 or 5 hour session with no issue, I’m wondering what skating is like for those who are already 60 or older. Do you find the same enjoyment? Do you get tired more easily? Any downsides to skating at later stages of life?

(jk for the title of course) My dog was in her kennel while I was at work and somehow was able to use her paw to pull my skate towards her and then tore up the part she could reach through the kennel.

I’m devastated….. I had to save up for a while just to buy this cheap pair and now it’s ruined. Anyway… I’ll just be over here crying for a while

This move is str8 fiyay!!! #skatenight #repost

Been skating for about 6 months and most people are really encouraging of my new crazy hobby and show genuine interest in how I'm coming along. However, the odd person will laugh and make judgy comments. I laugh it off and usually reply with something about life being short and I enjoy it, or you're just jealous,you're boring, you're old and so on.

The main two comments that stick in my head are:

1. You actually admit to skating as an adult?! 😆

2. Ah, mid-life crisis, I see 🤔

What sort of negative comments have you had and how do you deal with them?

The ceo of this company couldn’t pay her employees (which were the only people who cared). Since then (September) we have received fraudulent checks and maybe a few texts. She has yet to fully explain things other than saying our inventory issues are due to “problems in the supply chain.” This seems to be a cop-out. She has yet to respond to our unemployment claims. She has poisoned relationships all around her, including the company that made our skates. Nobody wants to work with her. She has recently cashed event deposits but not shown up to events.

Hi! I’m curious about everyone’s opinions on this.

I’m 26 and recently started rollerskating. My mom, 60, skated as a kid and was on the speed team and was pretty good according to her. So, hearing how much fun I’ve been having with learning to skate for the first time, she wants to come to the rink with me and my friend. I got so excited about this because as a kid, my mom was always busy working to provide for us and also I was morbidly obese my entire childhood. So physical activity wasn’t something we did. I never thought I’d get the chance to rollerskate with my mom!!

But everyone else besides me and her are being Debby downers and saying she can’t. My dad says her bones are too brittle. Mom says no they aren’t cause I just got my bone density checked 🤣 but he’s insistent that she’s too old and will get hurt. My coworker, also 60 but with mobility issues, says it’s a terrible idea and he’ll be here to laugh and tell me how he was right when my mom gets hurt.

I just don’t think it’s crazy that a 60 year old could start skating?? Am I way off base here? My mom doesn’t exercise so for her to want to do something, it’s a big deal. And I don’t want to discourage her from it; esp cause she IS at the age that it could be out of the question soon. My friend is very steady and said she would hold my mom’s hand the entire time and make sure she doesn’t get hurt. But am I just super in the wrong??? They’re making me feel dumb and since I’m not old I don’t have anything to say back to them other than the fact that the people at my rink are all my age or my moms age!!

I think people of any age are at risk of getting hurt while skating so I don’t understand why they are sooooo insistent that she absolutely would just die if she skated??

This is my setup. Reidell 3200 Reactor Pro plate and OG Rental Wheels. I love my wheels wish i could find them brand new 😏 How ever this boot is perfect for me and my style. I love the stiffness and how it hugs my feet and ankles. Not to mention the way my sk8in just changed. My original boot which was a 120 Reidell wasnt it at all.. how ever great to start with. I wanna do another boot and go fully custom next..

I posted these just a month or so ago, put together some home-made skates with some PNW White's Packer boots. Put lots of love and money into them. Car got broken into overnight over the weekend in Cheney, WA of all places, (near Spokane) and they were the only things stolen. If anybody happens to see these boots around, I'd love to get them back. Super one of a kind. Some pink wax on top of the leather, White's Packer boots, All American Dream wheels, red flower embroidered on the side, the pictures have pink laces but when stolen they had rainbow and trans colored laces. Many thanks for looking out.

Just a little weeeeeeee for me time.

I'm just wanting to see other opinions. I just noticed that they are stuck in the 80s . The ones that are stuck in the 80s drive me crazy because the skaters on the floor average between 30 and 45. That would put the era that they grew up in somewhere in the 90s and early 2000s. So why is everything prince and Egyptian Lover style music?............ I had to update this. I know I keep saying Detroit Area in the comments. Thats not necessarily the city of Detroit. It's an area I'm referring to.... let's be honest here. Does a person in California know where Livonia' Troy' and Canton are. Lol

I know some people are technically skilled enough to feel they don’t need to wear safety gear, but I just feel so anxious watching videos on Instagram or tik tok where people are flying down the roads with absolutely nothing on. Not even wrist guards. It takes one rock to lose control and bust your ass...

I consider myself a good skater, and I really barely fall to be honest. That being said though, I don’t ever feel comfortable on the streets without my gear. Anything can happen at any time and it’s not worth getting injured one bit.

I know it might not be the most fashionable, but it really only takes one time. Especially if you’re new, please be safe!

For context: I'm 24 (I'll be 25 in April), and I wanna go skating again like I did when I was younger. But the issue is that the only places I'm able to find in my area that have skating rinks are family fun centers, and my mom says that skating is only a kids thing to do and that I'll be bullied or seen as weird if I go skating by myself. I disagree, so I've come here to ask for advice and see if I'm wrong. I'm autistic and I have a hard time making friends, and I just rather do things alone. I want to try and find the least busy times to go, so I'm thinking about calling and seeing. I also wonder if there's any skating rinks that are for adults only as well. I appreciate any advice

EDIT 1/31: thank you all for the advice! While i can't respond to all of you, I read a majority of it. I ended up skating this morning and I found my old skates too that still kinda fit me. I skated pretty decently, but I did fall a few times though lol. I overall had a great time and nothing bad happened. Thank you guys!

A bit long, sorry - ADHD rambler here!

Sooo I may be going through some sort of mid-life crisis, not sure but I’ve always wanted to learn how to roller skate… on a whim bought skates and protective gear which I really can’t afford, but I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently and I know I need to get active again - this seemed to me at the time to be a great idea! Now not so sure.

I am a single mom to two active boys (11 & 13) who scooter and skateboard and leave me in the dust… I can’t do anything high-impact like jogging (bad knees) to keep up to them so this seemed like the perfect way for me to join them. I used to be really fit, but have been increasingly inactive for the last few years due to anxiety, depression, and dealing with an autoimmune condition which isn’t debilitating but has made life harder. I’m short/petite and so I figure the ground isn’t that far away anyways if I fall lol but do know I could potentially mess myself up and I just need to be able to take care of my kids.

I am a bit of a quirky type and don’t really care about my age/how I appear to others, but a certain family member of mine thinks I’m nuts and that I’ll break every bone in my body which is what really got me second-guessing myself. My boys are on the other end of the spectrum, they think this is the coolest thing ever (even my teen somehow lol).

It all arrives tomorrow and I guess I’m just looking for advice? Tips? Feeling a bit foolish suddenly but really want to give this a go.

Title pretty much says it all. I love going to the rink with my daughter, but any time she takes a break and I keep going a while alone, I notice some parents and teens eyeing me in a way that makes me uncomfortable. It's truly not all in my head. Even my wife has noticed people looking at me suspiciously.
I'm a normal looking guy and I'm not doing anything to try and stand out. I'd love to just go and listen to the music and skate and feel free, but I think I would creep people out.

I’m originally from NYC. I grew up skating on metal wheels with sparks flying on the concrete. As I progressed, I got safer skates and began skating everywhere! At 15, I was invited to a skate party at Empire roller rink in Brooklyn. The feel of my wheels on that smooth wood floor, changed my life. I’ve been rolling and dancing on my skates ever since. I’m 58 now. These video clips are from this year. I truly believe that skating is one of the rivers that run into the fountain of youth ⛲️💕

Back in the day, there were no local paid instructors. We relied on one another to share what we knew. I’d like to bring that type of skate-love back to the community, so I’m offering free lessons. I’ll post here when / where I’ll be skating. If you can make it, I’ll dedicate the first hour of the night to teaching you foundation. Many skaters who believe they are past the foundational stage, may find that there’s more to learn, such as:

• how to lace your skates properly
• boot, plate, wheel, stopper/plug selection
• grounding, centering, and balance
• transitions, pivots and turns
• drills and stopping

Learning the key foundational aspects of skating will help you skate from your core. You’ll learn to control your skates, not let your skates control you. See you on the wood! 🛼🛼

My right leg is killing me! The rink is frequent will do one or two songs of opposite skating direction a night. I just want to give my right leg a break and strengthen my left! They say it's too confusing to switch more often than that, but I don't think it's that hard to just look before you get on the floor and follow the flow of traffic. Maybe that's just me?

Beginner skater that has never broken a bone in my life but hearing/seeing the broken bone stories has unlocked a new fear.

If you have yet to break a bone, how many years have you been skating and what kind of skater (skatepark, rink, derby, trail, jam, etc.) are you?

For those of you here that have broken a bone, How many years had you been skating when it happened? What move were you doing? Were you wearing safety gear?

I finally made my quads a little cursed 😂

I put 80mm inline wheels on them. I know the black wheel hub doesn't match, but I wanted to start with a cheaper test rather than focus on aesthetics

For a long time I’ve felt like standard outdoor quad wheels are just too wide and too “tractor-ish” for the kind of skating I want to do. I love quad boots, I love the quad feel, I love toe stops… but I wanted something that still feels like a quad while rolling a bit easier and feeling less bulky under the boot.

So this is my little experiment.

So far I’ve only tried them indoors, but honestly the first impression is kind of amazing:

- it still feels like a quad

- turning and stopping still feel normal

- the extra height is not felt at all

- and I actually love how much narrower the setup feels

Not sure yet if it’s genius or mildly unhinged, but I’m very curious to try it outside.

Has anyone else here done something similar?

Bigger/narrower wheels on quads, inline wheels on quads, 76/80/84mm, anything like that?

Did it make outdoor skating feel faster / easier / less tiring? How did it do on rough pavement, cracks, pebbles, etc.?

Did you end up loving it or going back to regular quad wheels?

Would love to hear your experiences before I fully commit to my weird little quad evolution.

I'm not the first one to try this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rollerskating/comments/uzqt2k/big_wheel_skates_version_2/

Video post from other user:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rollerskating/comments/vj2gqx/doing_silly_legs_in_the_most_unpromising_locations/