“How do I look that good on rollerskates?” you ask yourself.

Well we’ve spent the last 10 years teaching people to rollerskate and here are our top tips for looking good on your rollerskates

1)  Get comfortable. 90% of looking good on rollerskates is not freaking out because you have wheels under your feet. It’s feeling as comfortable on your rollerskates as you do in your shoes. Pro Tip: Wear your rollerskates EVERYWHERE so they start feeling like an extension of your body. Start in your home – making lunch, doing the dishes, brushing your teeth.  We even know of some people that sleep in their rollerskates!

2) Put on some music. Cue up your favourite track and just let the music move you. Don’t think about executing moves on rollerskates. Just get your groove on and let the music determine how your skates move. You’ll be amazed what you can unlock by not thinking so hard. Pro Tip: Pick tracks with a low BPM, they are easier to dance to when you are just getting started. 90’s R&B is actually great for dancing on rollerskates

3) Close your eyes. While not advisable if you are outside skating or actually getting from A to B, this works great if you are working on your dance moves in a safe area. You know the phrase “Dance like no one is watching”? Well sometimes that’s hard to do if people are ACTUALLY watching. So crank up your headphones and tune them out. Pro Tip: Dancing in your house/garage/parkade is also a great way to make sure you don’t get self conscious on your skates.

4) Be kind to yourself    Remember that a lot of those videos you see of people looking good on rollerskates are of people that have spent YEARS on rollerskates. Skating is literally second nature to them. Becoming comfortable and proficient on eight wheels takes time, so be kind to yourself and enjoy the journey. Pro Tip: “Comparison Kills Joy” – everyone’s rollerskating journey is unique. What takes one person a week to master, might take another person a year. And that’s OK. Just keep on rolling, find the things that bring your joy and you’ll be looking good in no time.

5) Find your joy. What truly makes people look good on rollerskates is the JOY that emanates from them because they are doing something they love. For all of us that skate there are different things we love – that might be cruising beside a tropical beach, or jamming it out to some great tunes, landing a great hit on the derby track or dropping into a ramp at the skate park. Pro Tip: Keep experimenting with different types of rollerskating until you find what you LOVE, then do that some more… and some more.

So remember get comfortable, turn up the tunes, tune out the world, be kind to yourself and keep rolling with love 

Now that you know how to look good on your rollerskates we want to SEE YOU rolling. Tag us in your social media posts @rollaskateclub and join our Facebook Group to connect with more skaters like yourself.

We’ll see you later, skaters!

The post How to Look Good on Rollerskates appeared first on Rolla Skate Club.

It was 2014, and Houston had travelled up to Vancouver, Canada, to play the Terminal City Rollergirls. It was at a time when jammers were small, fast and wily – their goal is to avoid any contact with opposing blockers while threading their way through the pack.

But Freight Train was a new type of jammer – incredibly agile on her skates (due to so many years of rhythm skating) but not afraid to move opposing skaters out of the way with her strong and influential body. Terminal City didn’t know what hit them… literally!

From the moment Freight Train entered the world of roller derby, she’s been stirring things up and pushing boundaries. Becoming an all-star player for the sport’s founders Texas Rollergirls in 2015 and being part of the team that led them to their best WFTDA ranking – #3 in the world – in 2016. 

Her former Texas teammate and current Rolla Coach, Smarty Pants, says of Freight Train “She’s one of the strongest athletes I’ve ever played against (while at practice) in all of my years of derby. People know her as a jammer, but she’s a phenomenal blocker as well.” 

A formidable skater on the derby track, she’s also a kind and generous teacher who experiments with genres and fun to help her students learn.  She’s the creator of @SkateWithTinisha and Sk8 Dance Kickboxing, and if you follow her on Instagram or Facebook, you already know how contagious her quirky sense of humour is!

Here at Rolla, we love showcasing unique personalities, and we believe that there’s no one “right” way to teach something. The goal is to be having so much fun you FORGET you are learning!  We teamed up with Freight Train, aka Tinisha Bonaby, to bring her signature Sk8 Dance Kickboxing class to the Rolla Zoom Room, and we asked her some questions to get to know her better. 

Meet Freight Train

Hey Freight Train, how long have you been skating? I started skating when I was two years old. So 1992. I’ve been skating consistently for 28 years.

What do you love the most about rollerskating? I enjoy skating because it’s fun and allows me to get all my energy out through dancing. I like to travel to different places to skate, and I have a goal of getting to all 50 states someday.

What types of skating do you do? Rhythm/Jam Skating and Roller Derby

Tell us something random and non-rollerskating about you.  I enjoy step aerobics and have been having fun teaching it. (Xtreme hip hop Step). 

What’s your favourite skating move right now?  I like spinning

Want to learn from Freight Train and other awesome rollerskating instructors from around the world?

Click Here to Try our Virtual Rolla Membership FREE for 7 days 

We’ll leave you with this gem of Freight Train in action…  Click HERE to see the video replay 

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Excited but also slightly intimidated, Lulu headed on in to meet her new roomie. Now, if you’ve ever watched her YouTube videos, you’ll have gotten a sense of what a funny, kind and talented rollerskating coach Dirty Deborah Harry is. Well, it isn’t an act! After spending many days in close quarters laughing and learning from each other, LuluDemon and Dirty became lifelong friends. 

When Rolla Skate Club was officially born in 2018, we were looking for a trainer to help us learn how to teach beginner rollerskaters. From her time spent coaching with Dirty, Lulu knew she was one of the best technical rollerskating instructors out there, plus a super fun person to spend time with! We called up our old friend, and she flew in for our first 2 days of intensive Rolla Instructor Program here in Vancouver, Canada. 

From left to right – Booty Quake, Dirty Deborah Harry, LuluDemon at Rolla Skate Club YVR

Fast forward to 2020 and the Covid pandemic. With her family’s rink Fountain Valley Skating Center closed, Dirty Deborah Harry teamed up with her nephew to create instructional rollerskating videos for YouTube. Her combination of straight-talking, humour and experienced coaching technique has proved to be a winning formula, gathering her 150 thousand subscribers on her Dirty School of Skate channel and video views hitting the millions. 

Now we are excited to be teaming up with Dirty to bring her awesomeness to Rolla Skate Club regularly! Learn from her LIVE on our monthly Zoom classes with a Virtual Rolla Membership and watch this space for more exclusive Rolla x Dirty videos coming soon. “Snack area tight people!” 

Dirty Deborah Harry Live Class

So Dirty Deborah Harry, when did you start rollerskating? I started skating in the early 1970s, around age 3. I am a third-generation skater and skating instructor. Both of my parents and grandparents on both sides were skaters and skating teachers. My family has owned and operated the Fountain Valley Skating Center since 1976.

What do you love the most about rollerskating? The pure and utter joy it brings me. I love the freedom of movement. I love the combination of power and grace it creates. 

What about coaching do you enjoy? I believe self-esteem is built on achievement. Not necessarily the traditional markers of achievement, though. I consistently see students overcome obstacles and challenges in skating, and I see the change in their self-esteem, which affects every facet of their lives.

What types of skating do you do? e.g. artistic, derby, park etc. I have done figure, freestyle, speed, park, derby, dance, R&B, show, outdoor … everything but hockey. 

What’s your favorite skating move right now? Inner backspins

What is your skate set up right now?  Boots: Vintage Riedell Ice (hand painted) Plate: Snyder Advantage by Sure-Grip Wheels: Sure-Grip Motion – outdoor wheel Bearings: Qube Ceramic by Sure-Grip Toe Stops: Sure-Grip Web

Tell us something random and non-rollerskating about you. I am the product of a Catholic School education … take from that what you will  

What drives you?  My mission is to bring quality skate education to the masses. I absolutely LOVE beginners, and I support all on their journey that I hope lasts a lifetime. Never stop rolling, my skater friends. 

Want to learn from Dirty Deborah Harry? Try our Virtual Rolla Membership FREE for 7 days and get exclusive access to live Zoom classes with the lovely lady herself!

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This week’s Weekly Challenge sure is a challenge. Coach Lulu’s floor move had us all sweaty and our cores flexed. The ladies in the video below make it look too easy! Check out their funky choreography as well as their variations of Lulu’s floor move for inspiration.

Outdoor Skating with Coach Barbie

In case you missed it, last week, our dear Coach Barbie introduced her awesome new project, Coach Barbie’s Outdoor Skate Series! She has made it her mission to help us all through this unprecedented time by improving on our outdoor skating abilities. Barbie is giving us her best tips, tricks, products and ways to stay safe and healthy during this time. Barbie publishes her skate series to her personal YouTube channel, however, Rolla Home Club members will have EXCLUSIVE access to her videos before they go live to the public! Check out the video below for Episode 2 of Barbie’s Outdoor Skate Series, and find it on her channel after its public release on Saturday. When in doubt – skate it out!

Coach Booty Quake has a Female Friendly Hip-Hop Playlist!

Looking for some tunes for your weekend? Click HERE to for access to Coach Booty Quake’s Female Friendly Hip-Hop playlist. For when you want to listen to some sweet rhymes and beats with women, children, or really any human being!

The post Outdoor Skating, Dance Inspo + Female Friendly Hip Hop appeared first on Rolla Skate Club.

MEDIA RELEASE: Announcing the 1st Vancouver Rollerskate Festival
@ The Shipyards

The fun and fitness rolls into North Vancouver on April 4

North Vancouver, BC – For the first time since the Stardust rink closed in 1983, roller skating is back in North Vancouver! Rolla Skate Club is proud to present the inaugural Vancouver Rollerskate Festival at The Shipyards on Saturday, April 4 from 10am to 10pm. All kinds of roller skating will be celebrated with lessons, an all-ages open skate session, roller derby bout, and an adults-only Neon Nights skate party to close out the event.

“Roller skating is making a huge comeback, with more options than ever to have fun, get fit, and meet new skate friends,” says event organizer Carla Smith. “We want to celebrate by connecting the skate community from around BC and Washington to learn, grow, and roll together.”

A morning of roller skate workshops will kick off the festivities, with options for beginners to experts, ages 6 to 86. Beginner skaters can take a free lesson to get started and experienced skaters can upgrade their skills at workshops with world-class instructors. Everyone can practice their moves at the all-ages open skate session in the afternoon or later on at the adults-only Neon Dreams Roller Rink party. (Pre-registration is recommended for most of these events, as space is limited.)

Rolla Skate Club’s Roller Derby Boot Camp program is also presenting a public roller derby bout. Sports fans will not want to miss the fast and furious  Black vs. Blue showdown, which is free to watch and will be tons of fun for the whole family.

There will also be roller dance performances by the Van City Skate Squad and Roller Skate Victoria, a CIB Crew park skating meetup, and an appearance by Vancouver Junior Roller Derby.

This event ushers in the spring roller skating season at The Shipyards – Rolla Skate Club will be there every Sunday this spring starting March 29th, for community skating from 2-5pm, with free admission and $10 skate rentals ($8 for kids).

About Rolla Skate Club

Rolla Skate Club is creating a global movement of empowerment, and they’re using roller skates to do it. With a focus on women, youth and non-binary skaters, they believe that you can be as powerful in your life…as you are on your skates. From beginner skills to roller dance, roller derby or the Seawall, they’ll get you rolling with their skating classes offered six days a week in Vancouver.

LISTING INFORMATION – Vancouver Rollerskate Festival @ The Shipyards

Date: Saturday, April 4, 2020, 10am – 10pm

Schedule:
10am – 2:45pm – Skate Workshops
3 – 3:30pm – FREE beginner skate lesson
3 – 6pm – All-ages roller rink
6 – 7pm – FREE roller derby bout
7 – 10pm – ‘Neon Nights’ adults-only roller rink party

Admission:
Workshops – $25 each, $40 for two, $50 for four
Family skate session – $10 rentals for adults, $8 for kids
Neon Dreams adult party – $15 with own skates, $25 with rentals

Address: The Shipyards Rink, 125 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, BC V7L 0G5

Info and tickets: https://rollaskateclub.com/product/festival-2020/

For further information, contact
Carla Smith, 778-990-5645
carla@rollaskateclub.com

Download .PDF release here

Download high-res photos and logo below

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