MUSIC >>> WE AT SKATE ZONE 71. IT’S A SUNDAY NIGHT. YO, THIS-THIS RIGHT HERE IS THE EPITOME OF COLUMBUS SKATING RIGHT HERE. MUSIC I MEAN, IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN BEFORE, IT’S AN EXPERIENCE. MUSIC >> YOU KNOW, PEOPLE FROM ALL DIFFERENT CULTURES COME OUT AND SKATE. DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS.
THE LATER YOU GET INTO THE SESSION, THE MORE YOU’LL SEE. >> I JUST HAPPENED TO COME WITH A FRIEND ONE NIGHT. I WAS INVITED, SO I CAME AND I WAS LIKE WOW, THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I NORMALLY SEE AND I WAS JUST SO EXCITED. AND I’VE BEEN HERE EVER SINCE. MUSIC
>> YOU KNOW, IF YOU’RE NOT IN THIS ATMOSPHERE, IT’S REALLY KIND OF BORING TO SOME PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT IT’S NOT JUST A MOVIE, IT’S NOT JUST SOMETHING THEY DID IN THE ’70s, IT’S VERY WELL STILL ALIVE. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE STILL COME SKATE. WE STILL TRAVEL TO SKATE AND WE
HAVE FUN. >> GROWING UP, LIKE WHEN I WAS A KID, IT WAS FUN AND IT WAS A WAY TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. BUT, REALLY DREW ME TO IT IS THE THING I CAN RELIEVE SO MUCH STRESS. SO MANY WORRIES OF THE WORLD IS GONE ONCE YOU HIT THAT FLOOR.
I DON’T TAKE MY PHONE ON ME, DON’T TAKE MY WALLET ON ME, NOTHING. BUT THREE TO FOUR HOURS I AM FREE WITH NO WORRIES TO THE WORLD. IT’S JUST ME, MY ACE, AND A WOOD FLOOR. >> I’VE BEEN SKATING FOR 58 YEARS. I SKATE AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK.
SOMETIMES THREE TIMES A WEEK. >> I SKATE PRETTY MUCH EVERY SUNDAY, EVERY THURSDAY, EVERY TUESDAY. PRETTY MUCH MY LIFE HAS BEEN SKATING EVER SINCE I WAS 9 YEARS OLD. >> I STARTED WHEN I WAS 4 YEARS OLD. MY FATHER WAS AS SKATER. I’VE BEEN DOING IT EVER SINCE.
MY FIRST JOB I EVER HAD, FIRST PAYCHECK I EVER HAD, I BOUGHT A PAIR OF ROLLER SKATES. MUSIC >> MY DAD TAUGHT ME HOW TO SKATE. BUT, I COME FROM A LONG LINE OF SKATERS. MY GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHER WERE FLOOR GUARDS FOR THE LOCAL SKATING RINK BACK IN THE ’30s AND ’40s.
SO, MY DAD PASSED ON THE SKILL OF SKATING TO ME, MY BROTHER, AND MY SISTER. MY WHOLE FAMILY, THEY ALL SKATE; MY AUNT, MY COUSIN. SO, IT’S A GENERATIONAL THING. IT’S IN MY BLOOD. MUSIC MUSIC >> I’M OLD SCHOOL. I LIKE VENTED TYPE GEAR. SO, MY BOOT IS FROM 1973.
I HAVE A PLACE THAT I CUSTOMLY ORDERED ONLINE. MY WHEELS ARE VINTAGE WHEELS. I HAVE ABOUT SEVEN SETS OF WHEELS. MOST OF THEM ARE FROM THE ’70s AND ’80s. MUSIC MUSIC >> SO, THE WEIRD THING ABOUT SKATES IS THIS IS MY FIRST PAIR, THIS IS MY SECOND PAIR.
AND I MERGED THEM TOGETHER AND BASICALLY FRANKENSTEINED THEM. MUSIC THESE ARE DAISIES WITH BOMAX WHEELS. THEY’RE REAL SLIPPERY. THEY’RE LIKE CALI STYLE. CALI STYLE, THEY SKATE IN A LOT OF SAFETIES. IT’S LIKE YOU’RE ON WATER. YOU’RE LIKE REALLY LIKE SLIDING ACROSS THE FLOOR ALL NIGHT. MUSIC >> I STARTED SKATING WHEN I WAS
PROBABLY ABOUT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BUT NEVER TOOK IT AS SERIOUS AS I DID NOW. I GOT THREE CHILDREN NOW, SO I’M A FULL-TIME DAD. SO, I USED TO SKATE ABOUT FOR ABOUT FOUR TIMES A WEEK. NOW IT’S PROBABLY ABOUT ONCE A MONTH. SO, YOU CAUGHT ME ON MY ONE GOOD
TIME FOR THE MONTH. SO, A L0T OF PEOPLE, THEY STILL DON’T KNOW THAT THIS HAPPENS. THAT WE DO THIS AT NIGHT. MUSIC >> IT’S JUST A STRESS-RELIEVER. YOU JUST GET ON THE FLOOR AND YOUR SOUL GOES TO A WHOLE ANOTHER PLACE. THE MUSIC. YOU KNOW, WE ALL JUST COME
TOGETHER AND HAVE A GREAT TIME. MUSIC MUSIC SKATEOLOGY IS OUR GROUP. IT’S ABOUT TEN MEMBERS. AND WE HOST AN ANNUAL PARTY CALLED ICEY HOT. ICEY HOT IS ALWAYS LIKE SUPER BOWL WEEKEND. SKATERS FROM ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THERE’S LIKE 800-1,000 PEOPLE SKATING. MUSIC >> IT’S LIKE ONE BIG FAMILY. IT’S LOVE. IT’S LOVE.
THAT’S THE SKATE COMMUNITY. MUSIC WE WANT MORE SKATERS. WE NEED NEW SKATERS. SO, THE MORE SKATERS THAT COME OUT, THE MORE ENERGY, THE BIGGER THE FAMILY. >> THERE’S A LOT OF HISTORY HERE. A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN SKATING FOR YEARS, YOUNG AND OLD. IT’S-IT’S STILL ALIVE. SKATING’S STILL ALIVE. MUSIC
source
