We’re highlighting a form of self-expression that went on a roll in the 50s and 60s found its Groove under the disco ball in the 70s and is enjoying a remarkable Resurgence today Bryant McCrae laces up to join the RO train a local group teaching preserving and growing a unique style of skating
That’s been uniting communities for more than 75 years two 1 2 3 ah it’s the music from The Godfather of Soul that’s inspiring a generation music the write songs give me a floor and I’ll be welcome to Road train Milwaukee where the good times well they just don’t seem to
Stop the tricks the spins and most importantly the laughter all a part of a culture being reborn in the 414 and I’ve been skating 15 plus years I can’t really put a number right on it but like 15 plus though allow me to introduce you to 32-year-old Tavon Taylor a man who’s
Been skating since he was a boy it’s something about your uniqueness and your dance and how you move and how you bounce that’s just it for you you know what I’m saying it’s no one can really clone it Taylor undoubtedly a master on will says skating gave him
More than his Groove It gave him a new outlook on life I found uh more so a purpose and you know in purpose meaning like uh I get to express myself you know that Express almost lost a tailor after a car crash in 2011 we splid out and a
Van hit my door and caved the door in I had two pelvic fractures shattered clavicle basically again had to relearn to walk again Taylor on the track to recovery with the help of the skate crew the ones he calls family I had supportive people in the skate Community
As well to you know welcome me back and you know push me to be back to who I am once you get hooked on it and and into this culture and you’re embraced by that family um you don’t go away that’s where you want to be all the time meet
Terence Clark president of BR train a man on a mission to keep skate culture alive we’re trying to let people know hey we we’re here we’ve been here for years and yes while at the height of the covid-19 pandemic you may have seen a Resurgence of skating on social media
Clark says skating has always had a special place in Black Culture the black community has raised their kids in the rink and it’s gone on for Generations it’s rinks like Butler Skate Land where that culture seems to come to life this is something for the black community that we Embrace because nobody
Else can do it the way we do it you know it’s totally different the way we skate is is something out of the ordinary the rink holding more than just fast moves and story tricks but a feeling of euphoria a feeling skaters saying they’re fearful maybe rolling away
Historic skating rinks in Milwaukee have shut their doors over the years leaving Skate Land as one of the few places these skaters can meet is pushing our culture away again you know we have to find somewhere else to go to skate so Clark wanting skate culture to
Shine found a spot in the Heart of the City launching summer spins creating a first of his kind skating rink at redor Park we’re trying to bring that out so people can you know recognize it and see it as an art form not just going to the
Rink and going around in a circle I was like oh okay we can just skate oh there can be music oh we don’t have to hit each other I was like okay This Is My Jam the sport bringing all walks of life into the rink like Ellen fine a former
Derby skater who says these eight Wills opens the door to a new world you will watch a community form like before your eyes where everybody is doing the same thing but everybody is being themselves I don’t know anything else like and it’s that Community people like Taylor and
Clark are looking to keep rolling positivity and love like really like I am sorry to sound like kind of cliche or anything like that but like I feel love when I walk into it don’t overlook it cuz it is big bigger than what you imagine I need to be
source
