keep rollin’
A mood-boosting breakout fitness and wellbeing trend for 2020
With the likes of cool-girls Oumi Janta and Neonkeon rolling their way through our IG and TikTok feeds this summer, rollerskating and particularly 'jam skating' the combination of traditional skating with dance moves and fancy footwork is having a total moment, globally. The four-wheeled crew down your local skate park will claim it never went away, obvs however the stats don’t lie with google searches for ‘Roller Skates’ doubling between March and April.
A surge in popularity has seen skaters with social profiles who were already making tutorials and engaging, fun, colourful content becoming overnight influencers. Followings, in some cases, have tripled in size. For jam skaters particularly, the musicality and popularity of dance-based content on TikTok and the introduction of Reels feature with music on Instagram have allowed the skating content and skating community to come into their own.
A global movement
Berlin-based Senaglise mega babe Oumi Janta has recently partnered with Smart Car staring in their advertising campaign and across social channels for their new Smart EQ ForTwo. A jam skating pro combining rhythm and elegance at the highest level the campaign sees the two parties find synergy in their agility and power. This is the highest-profile collaboration with a brand outside of the skating industry to date, and it may be the first, but I doubt the last.
From the US perspective, the NY Times covered the burgeoning skate movement back in August. A great read from journalist Taylor Lorenz, who credits the nostalgia of happier times and the itch to get outside amid the pandemic of driving the interest in roller skating to new heights. She also is right to highlight the steadfast underground urban scene and origins in Black culture which comparisons can be made with the London skate scene.
London babes such as Rueranpai and StormSkater are repping the UK scene hard with Ishariah, StormSkater, featuring in Just Eat's promotional campaign with Greggs back in October.
The right pair
Quads have triumphed over inline skates (or blades) amongst females mostly, perhaps due to Quads' nostalgic connotations and want to emulate the cool girl, LA style prevalent on social media. There was also a now-iconic scene in Season 4 of Netflix's The Crown, in which a young Princess Diana skates through the lonely halls of Kensington Palace and listening to Duran Duran (what a vibe!) - cementing rollerskates rightful place in the 2020 cultural zeitgeist. A rise in accessible and fashionable skates from Rookie, Moxie and Impala leading the charge and making it easy for both beginners and for those rediscovering their childhood talents to do so in style.
Maybe I’m biased because they are one of my clients but, driven by a team of girls, Impala skates and skateboards are very beginner-friendly and come in super-cute fashion-forward colourways. From leopard print to iridescent these guys are on the top of many a Christmas list for sure - no thanks to the PR team (ahem!) getting them in every publication possible including, Christmas gift guides from Grazia, The Evening Standard, to London On The Inside.
Total convert
Here's me, rediscovering my teenage years in my local park on my brand new Impala skates, which roll like a dream and are crazy comfy. Having never taken to exercise in the form of jogging, yoga, the gym or any other adult sounding exercise I'm hoping I might have finally found my 'thing'.
