Rollerblade.jpg

I quit rollerblading some time in elementary school when I couldn’t quite find the right balance between safety and not looking extremely ridiculous. The ill-fitting bike helmet and bulky plastic and elastic padding on every possible joint that my parents ordered me to wear was no fun to put on and it looked like I was suiting up to scale the Aggro Crag on Global Guts, but pulling gravel out of my wounds and trying to find an excuse to tell them why I wasn’t wearing padding was even worse. I still don’t understand how people in rollerblades are supposed to stop…

Anyway, a couple of cool videos were just uploaded online of rollerbladers in the area (who have figured out how to not wear parent-approved full body armor and not yet die) from last week and they are definitely worth checking out. This video, “Cleveland Blade Contest 2013,” is is from Chenga Skatepark in Cleveland, and (according to the description) features riders Stefan Brandow, Phillip Moore, Jimmy Spetz, Avery Ungaro, Matt Lyon, Scott Hatton, Brandon Nguyen, Brent Hopkins, John Cooley, RJ Campbell, Long Tonthat, and Mike McAllise.

This recently-uploaded video is much more interesting to me because it shows people blading in uncontrolled environments not specifically designed for skateboards and rollerblades. It features people at scenes throughout Cleveland and Akron for something called “Battle My Crew“, featuring riders Mike Gagliardi, James St. Ours, Travis Rhodes, Jimmy Spetz, Jorge Kozanas, Matt Miley, Ryan Sibbio, and Justin Fuelling.

This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2013.

Doug Brown is a staff writer at Scene with a passion for public records laws and investigative reporting. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., he has an M.A. in journalism from the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a B.A. in political science from Hiram College. Prior to joining Scene, Doug was a contributing writer for Deadspin.com, reporting behind-the-scenes stories about college sports through public records and developing sources. Doug's work as an enterprise reporter for the Daily Kent Stater was recognized by the Cleveland Press Club (2013 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards), Society of Professional Journalists (regional and national Mark of Excellence Awards), and the Associated Collegiate Press. He spent the summer of 2012 working for the Metro desk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and spent previous summers working for Outside Bozeman Magazine and Crain's Detroit Business. His website is dougbrown8.com.

4 replies on “Video: Rollerblading In Cleveland Is Intense”

  1. What was the grand prize? A $25 blockbuster gift card? I mean, not that the things these guys can do with roller blades isn’t impressive or anything, just doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that draws too many people.

  2. What if Michael Jordan was never able to make money because basketball wasn’t the trendy sport at the time? Should he have just quit then?

  3. Couldn’t agree more with Alan. As being one of the people in the contest I can speak for everyone else when I say that none of us competed because we were so interested in the winnings. We did it to have fun. Don’t get me wrong, winning is always rad. But none of us cared that we didn’t win. We did it to be around our friends we don’t get to see much do to far distances between one another. And to make new friends as well. To let everyone know how dope the blade scene is in Cleveland is. And actually to raise money for a contest that will be next year where there will actually be bigger winnings. Haha. But mostly to hang with all the homies and to have a good time. We were most successful in that by the way!

  4. Totally agree with Scott and Alan. Being the oldest man skating at this comp and tracing my park roots to Chenga 1 in 96 it is totally amazing how far rollerblading has come. People just keep doing it regardless of popularity or monetary gain. I also have been riding (BMX freestyle) since 1985 and this contest was unique because Bikers, Scooters, and Skateboarders were competing too. We are all bearing brothers!!!

Comments are closed.