Legends of Skating – Part 1

As different forms of roller skating become popular in various parts of the country, it’s important to acknowledge and honor it’s cultural origins and the unsung pioneers that have given roller skating it’s modern flavor and style.

Bill Butler – Video Bio
If you’ve ever seen these images pop up on the internet, please know that this is NO ordinary “ol skool” skater. When people were rolling to organ music in the 40’s, Bill Butler is the man that brought the funk and jazz to skating in Detroit and then most famously in New York. His artistry, skill and style inspired many of the popular incarnations of roller skating that exist today.

legends-of-skating-billbutler

David Miles Jr. – www.churchof8wheels.com
While rinks are closing down across America, San Francisco’s Godfather of Skate, David Miles Jr. finds new ways to bring skating to the people. Whether indoors or outdoors, David has worked tirelessly with local community leaders for over 30 years to make sure skaters have a place to skate and a funky good time doing it!

legends-of-skating-dmiles

Richard Humphrey – www.rollerdance.com
Known as the “Father of Roller Dance.” Richard is a renowned instructor, performer and inventor, featured on TV and in print. Richard choreographed many of the classic line dance steps that are still popular today. He has also partnered with Riedell to create the innovative “No Strings Attached” skate boot. He continues to teach weekly classes in San Francisco.

Joi Stafford – Skate-a-Thon
2015 marks the 20th anniversary of Skate-a-thon in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s the largest annual skate party in the country and perhaps the world. Joi and her team work tirelessly each year to throw this amazing 3 day event.

legends-of-skating_joi

DJ “Big Bob” Clayton – New York City’s Legendary Roller Disco DJ
Empire Roller Skating Center, Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

legends-of-skating_bigbob

There will be more to come! Please leave a comment if you know of someone with significant historical influence and contribution to the development and growth of roller skating!

Survey!

My Skate Life (in GIFs) Part 3

1. When people ask me about buying their own skates

2. Beginning skate students

3. Students after my hour lesson #swag 😉

4. How I think I look skating in a group

5. How I probably look skating in a group

6. That one dude who is always standing in the glide lane trying to show-off

7. When someone finally runs into him

8. Me skating when I first arrive at Golden Gate Park

8. Me skating at Golden Gate Park 5 hours later…

Black History is Skate History

Throughout the twentieth century, African Americans challenged segregation at amusement parks, swimming pools, and skating rinks not only in pursuit of pleasure but as part of a wider struggle for racial equality. I wanted to share a few snapshots in time related to roller skating and black history to foster an understanding of the deep, rich history of this activity and some of its pioneers.

Here’s a wonderful video piece that touches on skate history from the folks at http://www.itsmyskatenight.com

Enjoy.

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Skate Legend – Bill “Jamma” Butler

If you’ve ever seen these images pop up on the internet, please know that this is NO ordinary “ol skool” skater.

legends-of-skating-billbutler

When people were rolling to organ music in the 40’s, Bill Butler is the man that brought the funk and jazz to skating in Detroit and then most famously in New York. His artistry, skill and style inspired many of the popular incarnations of roller skating that exist today.

As these forms of roller skating become popular in various parts of the country, it’s important to honor it’s cultural origins and the unsung pioneers that have given roller skating it’s flavor and style.

If you skate, get to know Bill Butler:

Watch Bill skate:

Videos from Atlanta’s Skate-a-thon 2014

Forgive me skaters, I realized I never posted those Skate-a-thon videos that I promised a few months back.

Enjoy!

1. This is Robert, he’s part of my Bay Area skate family, but his style is all Detroit. Love watching his smooth skating.

2. Here we have the magic inner circle where skaters come to show their best stuff! Here’s Josh “Batman” Smith heating things up in the middle.

3. This one portion of the night called “Roll Call,” where each style of skating gets a bit of shine. This style is called “Open House,” watch these guys slide!

4. These lovely ladies are friends of mine from the Bay Area, doing their thing in the middle.

5. Here are the Trains and Trios from roll call. Skaters link up in 3’s or more and glide around as 1 unit. Amazing control.

My 1st Skate-a-Thon – Atlanta Skate Trip Photos

Labor Day weekend marked the 19th Annual Joi’s Skate-a-thon in Atlanta. This was my first major out-of-town skate trip. My friend Kai and I decided to share the experience together since we both started skating at the same time about 5 years ago. Here’s “1-Flow” and I relaxing at the VIP party at Cascade before the main event on night #2.

I was so busy skating, I didn’t get to take too many photos/videos, but here’s just a peek at my trip!

Friday Night – All American Rink, Stone Mountain, GA

I couldn’t even venture a guess as to how many skaters filled the floor that night, but it was absolutely mind-blowing to watch hundreds of skaters, all with different styles weave in and out of each other effortlessly. For me, it wasn’t so effortless at first, but I started to get the hang of this great big dance. The DJ’s did a phenomenal job of keeping everyone in the groove.

Saturday Night – Cascade Skating Rink, Atlanta, GA

Ahhhh, 25 and older skaters at this party. I love the young bloods, but this was party all about the grown-folks. This was my favorite night by far. The energy and the love in this rink was palpable and there was a little bit more room to get it in. With some encouragement, I even ventured into the middle circle and busted out some moves. I hope someone somewhere got some of it on video, because it was one of those out-of-body experiences, where the right song comes on and your feet just take over. DJ Big Bob had us sweating, and it felt so good!

Sunday Night – Golden Glide, Decatur, GA

Night #3 of the festivities and Northern California came out in full force on “Rep your City” night. *Orange Alert!!* Again, the house was packed and the energy was high. There were a few stops and starts from a couple falls, and some knucklehead who brought a drink out on the floor. I was afraid I had lost my groove. They slowed things down a bit and then it was time for Roll Call. This is where the regions with the most distinct skate styles get a chance to do their thing on a much less crowded floor. Do yourself a favor and check out some of these styles on Youtube, expand your mind and your skating; JB, Open House, Snapping, Sliders, Fast Backwards. After that, I got my second wind and managed to put in some middle work before the end of the night.

Here’s my Northern California Skate Family representing in Orange! We roll deep!

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I was fortunate to end my trip with the hospitality of “Queen of the South” Joi herself. We enjoyed a nice relaxing visit before heading back to the Bay. Here’s our crew with Joi’s “Wall of Fame.”

White Chocolate is SUPER proud to be on that wall. I can’t thank Joi enough for her years of dedication to this event and to skating in general. I had the time of the my life and I feel so fortunate to have had this experience!

Stay tuned for some videos from the event. I gotta show you guys some of these different styles. I hope my footage came out alright. 😉

#RollWithSoul