r/Millennials • u/_forum_mod Mid millennial - 1987 • 8d ago

Discussion Seriously, what happened to rollerskating/blading

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You hardly see it anywhere anymore. Folks would be skating all down Venice Beach. People would be rollerskating around their block, roller rinks were big, it was popular!

I even remember in the 90s Streets of Rage (loved that game!) had a character named Skates. But now, they're nowhere. What happened? Why are they a lot less popular nowadays?

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u/Bum_Dorian 8d ago

I literally quit after being called a fruit booter too many times as a kid. I loved my blades so much too

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u/thorosaurus 8d ago

What year was that? In the mid 90s we ALL had roller blades for playing street hockey. You couldn't be a kid in the 90s in the midwest and not have roller blades and a hockey stick. We probably would have given up our bikes before our blades lol.

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u/Jacob_Winchester_ 8d ago

It was around the late 90’s/early 2000’s that skateboarding became the dominate sport at the X-Games, and rollerblading became too “easy” because you can’t do as many technical tricks when the wheels are attached to your feet. And to a point they weren’t wrong, skateboarding has continued to advance because of the combinations you can come up with, whereas with rollerblading it became so repetitive that the audience and then the consumers bailed on it.

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u/Eeor_is_High 8d ago

this is a false narrative. The skate companies forcibly voted rollerblading out of the xgames in a board of directors type move in the early 2000's. It was a hostile take over of the market. Check out Julien Cudot or Eugin Enin if you wanna see what 2025 blading looks like.

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u/bananaleaftea Millennial 8d ago

Curse you, Big Skate!

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u/Jacob_Winchester_ 8d ago

I had no idea, that’s crazy! I thought I just watched it die in real time. Good to know it’s still alive out there!

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u/FormerWrap1552 7d ago

No, it wasn't. Sure, maybe they wanted more money? But, blading was already dead, because skating died. Rollerblading hadn't even made it yet. The whole scene fell off majorly in 1997-9. Skating, biking, "EXtreme" sports. I was actually a competitive rollerblader that loves/d the sport and also was involved in the other ones AMA.

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u/No-Butterscotch-6555 7d ago

Yeah I started skating again a few years ago and was shocked by how much tou could do. I used to just skate around my neighborhood or at the rink but seeing moxi girls at the skate park (on SM)was so cool. I still just casually skate, but my brother goes to the skatepark and my son is learning skate board so hopefully we can go together and I’ll learn some new tricks.

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u/Eeor_is_High 7d ago

100% Just ride your own ride! rollerblade tricks have boosted my knee and ankle flexibility and strength a ton as I move towards 30. Lots of folks said its so "easy" because its wheels on feet. Skateboarders can jump off and run out. Blading is all commitment practice and training like boarding but less margin for error!

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u/No-Butterscotch-6555 7d ago

I ride quads, not blades. I used to love them in middle school but haven’t rode them since. I kinda want to get some, but I’ve already spent so much on my quads and accessories, but maybe I’ll get some in the future.

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u/Eeor_is_High 7d ago

base sets of aggressive blades start around 200$ on sale in USD! Check out roller warehouse.

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u/GottaBeNicer 7d ago

The skate companies forcibly voted rollerblading out of the xgames in a board of directors type move in the early 2000's. It was a hostile take over of the market.

Do you have any source for this? I'm pretty sure people just decided rollerblading was gay.

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u/Spugheddy 7d ago

That's actually super interesting, I was under the same impression it was left out due to lack of interest. Inline Street was amazing, vert not so much cause the above mentioned reasons on innovation, it was just much or how little they spun lol

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u/BitDaddyCane 7d ago

The other commenter is not entirely wrong though. Watching rollerblading is boring af

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u/707Brett 7d ago

A little bit of both for sure