Aggressive inline skating is a form of inline skating, performed on specially designed inline skates with focus on sliding stances known as grinds with a focus on new tricks, stunts and personal style. Participants refer to the activity as "'rollerblading'", "blading", "skating" or "rolling". Vert or park is part of extreme sports and street skating or freeskate in urban areas.
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In 1980 a group of ice hockey players in Minnesota were looking for a way to practice during the summer.[1] Scott and Brennan Olson formed the company Rollerblade, Inc., to sell skates with four polyurethane wheels arranged in a straight line on the bottom of a padded boot.[1] In 1988, Rollerblade introduced the first aggressive inline skate, the Rollerblade Lightning TRS. Aggressive inline skating finally developed as an organized sport in the early 1990s.[2] The Aggressive Skaters Association (ASA) was formed by a number of aggressive inline skaters in 1994 as a forum to develop rules governing competitions and equipment.[2] The sport was included in the first X-Games in 1995 and included vertical ramp and street event competitions.[3] It reached its height in popularity in the late 90s, with mainstream movies like Disney's Brink! and other films. Aggressive inline skating was removed from the ESPN X-Games in 2005 although it is still included in the Asian X Games, LG Action Sports Competitions, Montpellier Fise, and many other large competitions.[4] Much of aggressive inline skating's progression has been documented through inline Skate videos, such as T-Bone Film's The Hoax and Videogroove series (both defunct). As of 2011, skate videos have in large part become distributed on the Internet through YouTube and Vimeo rather than by VHS or DVDs sold through skate shops.
Tricks in aggressive skating can be performed on street obstacles or on ramps. Street skaters perform more grinds and slides, where as ramp skaters have more air-time and therefore can perform other, often acrobatic tricks. Aggressive skaters can perform grinds by using the frames and plastic plates on the bottom of the skate. Grinds are usually done on rails and ledges although they can be performed on any obstacle which slides such as a curb or even chains. Similar to grinding, a cess slide involves sliding on the sides of the skate so the wheels aren't touching the ground, and can be performed on any surface that will allow for sliding.
In street skating, also known as freestyle skating, the skater performs tricks by utilizing features existing in a common, everyday environment.[5] This involves skaters grinding hand rails and concrete ledges, jumping stairs, ramping off of embankments and generally turning anything on the regular street into an obstacle, ramp, or grind rail.[5] Creativity is often seen as important aspect of street skating, since skaters are able to invent or link tricks specific to a unique environment, rather than performing more standard maneuvers on predefined obstacles as in park and vert skating.
Park skating refers to skating that occurs in various private and community skateparks. This style differs from street skating due to the specific nature of skate parks, which are designed for skaters to do tricks, e.g. on the top of the ramp (coping). Park skating often emphasizes the technical side of aggressive inline, focusing on the variety of tricks a skater can do and encouraging skaters to connect tricks. A series of tricks connected together in a fluid motion over different obstacles is known as a 'line'. Skate parks often feature quarter pipes and half-pipes, curved ramps and other features that are not usually found in a regular urban setting. A better quality skate park will have good lines—making it easier for skaters to perform tricks. Good skateparks have a flow to them.
Vert, short for vertical, skating is a style of skating performed within a half-pipe.[6] It focuses on complicated aerial maneuvers, such as spins and flips. The intent of the skater is to build speed until they are of sufficient height above the edge of the ramp to perform various aerial acrobatics.[5] They may also grind the lip of the half-pipe sliding their skates from one point of the lip to another. In competitions skaters have limited time, often less than a minute, to impress the judges by landing numerous and difficult tricks.[5]
Aggressive inline skates are specially designed to be tougher and stronger than normal inline skates, due to the high levels of stress placed on the skate by the stunts and tricks a skater performs. A typical skate consists of the;
| Part | Definition |
|---|---|
| Cuff | an ankle support cuff with a buckle or Velcro |
| Shell | a boot made of high-impact plastic that surrounds and protects the feet |
| Liner | a soft inner boot |
| Soul plate | a flat, hard plastic plate on the sole of the boot |
| Negative Soul plate | a flat, hard plastic plate on the inner sole of the boot |
| Frame | a hard plastic chassis for the wheels |
| Backslide plate | a grinding area flush with the soul plate, near the middle of the boot, used for grinding on the boot |
| Wheels | two to four polyurethane wheels with bearings |
| Anti-rocker wheels | usually two high density polyurethane wheels with high hardness, replacing the inner two wheels |
Typically each part is replaceable, and certain manufacturers provided parts that have been divided into individual sections, so a skater can replace specific worn areas.
The chassis of the skate, called the frame, bolts to the bottom of the skate. Skaters grind on the frames, which are designed for this purpose.
There are several different variations on frame design. Originally a skate had four wheels on each skate, with a gap between the middle wheel where a plastic insert called an H-block was used for grinding. During the mid 1990s a plastic plate, known as the 'grind plate' was attached to the inside of the frame between the middle two wheels to extend the life of the H-block. As frame manufacturers began making removable h-blocks, the grind plate has fallen out of favor. As the sport evolved, skate companies started manufacturing wheels that were intentionally undersized, in order to facilitate grinding. The undersized wheels are called anti-rockers or midgets. Since some skaters skate with only two wheels on each skate, some frames are designed to match this (a variant called a freestyle frame).
In the late 1990s, the Universal Frame System (UFS) was introduced by frame manufacturers to allow the user to easily customize their skates.[7] This led to increased customization of skates within the sport by allowing the user interchangeability between different company's frames.[7] Today, all major frame and skate manufacturers support UFS.
Modern skate wheels have undergone many years of development and iteration. The development of the main material, polyurethane, has been dependent on advancements in the polymer industry. The balance between hardness and grip is the key to an optimum skate wheel. Aggressive skate wheels are usually between 50 and 60mm, while anti-rocker wheels are between 35 and 47mm. usually two high density polyurethane wheels with high hardness, replacing the inner two wheels.
Two high density polyurethane wheels with high hardness, replacing the inner two wheels. Some skaters prefer replacing only one of the inner wheels with anti-rockers. Anti-rocker wheels enable skaters to grind obstacles with a relatively high diameter. These wheels, unlike normal wheels, give skaters a relatively large margin of balance error while grinding on a concrete curb or ledge. While normal wheels get stuck on concrete surfaces, the much harder anti-rocker wheels will simply slide because of the friction being less, allowing skaters to lean out of their center of balance without tripping.
Franky Morales, Omar Wysong, Roman Abrate, Brian Aragon, Walt Austin, Julian Bah, Don Bambrick, John Bolino, Micheal Braud, Alex Broskow, Abdiel Colberg, Jay Dick, Chris Edwards, Arlo Eisenberg, Chris Farmer, Aaron Feinberg, Demetrios George, Robert Guerrero, Chris Haffey, Brent Hicks, Stefan Horngacher, Jeph Howard, Mike "Murda" Johnson, Rachard Johnson, Jon Julio, Jacob Juul, Ramelle Knight, Dustin Latimer, Montre Livingston, Connor O'Brien, Billy O'Neill, Dre Powell, JC Rowe, Erik "Ski" Perkett, Chaz Sands, Brian Shima, Eric Shrihjn, Matthias Silhan, David Sizemore, Dominik Wagner, CJ Wellsmore, Damien Wilson, Sam Williams, Mark Wodja, Nick Wood
Once considered a sport primarily for males, Fabiola da Silva, born June 18,1979 in São Paulo, Brazil, set the stage for female skaters to exhibit their talent in worldwide competitions. In 2000, the Aggressive Skaters Association created the “Fabiola Rule” which allowed females to compete in vert competitions that had previously been limited to male skaters. Since then, notable female aggressive inline skaters around the world include: (alphabetized)
Katie Brown, Jenna Downing, Aarin Gates, Fallon Heffernan, Katie Kethum, Jenny Lougue, Kelly Matthews, CoCo Sanchez, Jodie Tyler, Chynna Weirstall
As with most action sports, the film is an important part of marketing and exposure. Some of the most important early films are Hoax and Hoax 2. KFC's, "Straight Jacket", and Chris Majette’s ,"Choose Your Genre", are also well known for their profiles of skaters and their lifestyles.
The video documentary entitled, "Barely Dead", was produced by Doug Urquhart of Misled Media, and tells the history of aggressive inline skating, shows professional skaters at work and contains interviews with people like Arlo Eisenberg, TJ Webber, B-Love, and Brian Shima. "Barely Dead" was awarded winner at the 2005 London Freesports Film Festival. Doug Urquhart is also known for "Hashassins", "Masters of Delusion", and "Black Market". These films feature professional skaters including: Brian Aragon, Julian Bah, Will Gordon, Brent Hicks, Dre Powell, Montre Livingston, and Walt Austin. "Black Market" chronicles a tour throughout Europe and the U.S.
The documentary film Jack Be Nimble was released in 2008 and chronicles the Roll Series and one group's travels through the country by RV to compete in various aggressive inline competitions.
In 2010, "Game Theory", was released, which was directed and edited by Helton "Brazilionaire" Siquiera, and executive produced by owner of Sunshine Distribution, Andy Wegener. “Game Theory” features segments from professional skaters: Roman Abrate, Brian Aragon, Julian Bah, Don Bambrick, Stefan Horngacher, Jeph Howard, Iain McLeod, Mike "Murda" Johnson, Max Jubin, Erik “Ski” Perkett, Matthias Silhan, and Edwin Wieringh.
2011 saw the release of "Valo4Life" Following two years of filming and travel across cities in the world, The Valo skate brand released its fourth full-length video, Valo4Life. 4Life—the fourth video from the Valo skate brand—features sections from pro skaters Alex Broskow, Erik Bailey, Brandon Smith, Victor Arias, Soichiro Kanashima, Cosimo Tassone, and Jon Julio. Filmed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Australia, Montreal, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and more. It was widely celebrated amogst the blading community a landmark video[8]
Several print and on-line magazines have been created over the years to provide newsworthy information for and about skaters, events, new products, and the industry. Among the most widely read have been: Daily Bread, One, Be-Mag, and Rollernews.com. In 2011, a N.Y.C. based magazine, Art of Rolling, began publication.
Full scale warehouses such as Roller Warehouse, Aggressive Mall and Revolution Skate distribute magazines, DVD’s, the latest designs in skates, wheels, grindplates and related equipment, skater apparel and accessories through mail order as well as provide online stores and information through their websites.
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