Episode 10: [19 Years of Skating] Shawnee Shawn - Chicago, USA Edition

Episode 10: [19 Years of Skating] Shawnee Shawn - Chicago, USA Edition

Roller skate instructor at Skate Base London and blogger of The Gen X Skater. Kelly interviews skaters and skate influencers within the London urban skate scene. Meet Shawnee Shawn: I first caught a glimpse of Shawnee Shawn doing her thing during the first JB Legends of the Wood event in Chicago at Lynwood Roller Rink. I watched her glide effortlessly past the JB skaters on the large rink, seamlessly transitioning from backwards to forwards and side surfing with incredible style and grace. Like me, Shawnee Shawn is tall and strong looking, but it was her combination of speed and elegance that immediately stood out to me. In fact, I was so impressed that I pointed her out to my friend [who was standing beside me at the time] Laverne [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/blog/7-questions-with-laverne]. It wasn’t until around a week later that I was properly introduced to Shawnee by George [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/blog/7-questions-with-george-chicago-ed] at The Rink [https://rinkchicago.com/]. At this point, I wasn’t even looking for anyone else to interview — but the moment I looked up and saw her, I immediately began deleting files from my phone just to make space for our conversation! "The essence of skating is freedom. I mean I fellowship with everybody in here. But ultimately when I get on the floor it can become just me, the floor and the music." ~Shawnee Shawn ____________________________ Access the full story: The Gen X Skater Blog [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/blog] Learn to roller skate online with: Skate Base Lessons App [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/online-roller-skating-lessons]

Episode 9: [Retired Police Officer] Emma - Chicago, USA Edition

Roller skate instructor at Skate Base London and blogger of The Gen X Skater. Kelly interviews skaters and skate influencers within the London urban skate scene. Meet Emma: I had been in Chicago for eight days by now and was enjoying a Tuesday morning Over 25s session at The Rink [https://rinkchicago.com/] — where the average age of the skaters seemed to be around 60+. It's a place where you can come along on your own, yet never feel alone - they're an incredibly bouyant and friendly bunch of people. Early into the session, I got chatting with a smiley, vibrant woman called Emma. Emma was clearly having a thoroughly good time, effortlessly doing her thing as a social butterfly whilst she skated. She told me she was over 70 and absolutely loved skating. Her personality was so playful, open and engaging, that I felt compelled to find out more about her skating journey. And, Emma being Emma, she instantly agreed and came to find me for a chat soon after.   "I can do it all by myself. I don't have to have somebody go out with me to the skate. I get in my car. I get in my skates and I go skating. That's it. The freedom. The freedom to be in you." ~Emma ____________________________ Access the full story: The Gen X Skater Blog [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/blog] Learn to roller skate online with: Skate Base Lessons App [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/online-roller-skating-lessons]

Episode 8: [Just Turned 80] George - Chicago, USA Edition

Roller skate instructor at Skate Base London and blogger of The Gen X Skater. Kelly interviews skaters and skate influencers within the London urban skate scene. Meet George: After landing in Chicago at 2pm on Monday, I wasted no time getting to the rink for my first skate of the trip later that evening. The following morning, I headed to the 10am–2pm over-21s open skate session — and that’s where I met George. You could spot George’s presence instantly. Every few steps around the rink, he’d stop to chat with another skater, always smiling, always engaged. It was clear that skating meant far more to him than just time on wheels — it was community, connection, and friendship. When we crossed paths early in the session, we stopped for a conversation. George proudly told me he had just turned 80 and had been skating for decades. From that moment on, I knew he was someone whose story and experience I wanted to hear more about. "As an adult skater, there is no athletic activity that's comparible to roller skating. When you roller skate on a good session, it's like going to the health club. Going to your psychiatrist. Going to your doctor's meeting. And going to church - for $10. "We share conversation and experiences and feelings with each other." ~George ____________________________ Access the full story: The Gen X Skater Blog [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/blog] Learn to roller skate online with: Skate Base Lessons App [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/online-roller-skating-lessons]

Episode 7: [Record Breaker] Steve

Roller skate instructor at Skate Base London and blogger of The Gen X Skater. Kelly interviews skaters and skate influencers within the London urban skate scene. Meet Steve: I first met Steve last year, as he was enjoying a jam during a social skate meet. I can honestly tell you that he's one of the warmest and most open hearted skaters you could ever hope to meet. He's someone that really loves to jam skate. If you've ever met Steve, you'll know that he's always ready to throw down his middle work in his hockey skate conversions, teach you what he knows and learn a new move - so long as it's rhythmic. Funnily enough, he wasn't always into the jam skating. He started out as a long distance skater 40 odd years ago, and yep, he went on to set a world record. "I'll tell you the experience was amazing, especially Scotland, tge mountains, you could just see mountains basically. I was doing like 98 miles a day, you know. Nine days, ten hours, 25 minutes." ~Steve ____________________________ Access the full story: The Gen X Skater Blog [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/blog] Learn to roller skate online with: Skate Base Lessons App [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/online-roller-skating-lessons]

Episode 6: [Skate Photographer] Roland Ramanan

Roller skate instructor at Skate Base London and blogger of The Gen X Skater. Kelly interviews skaters and skate influencers within the London urban skate scene. Meet Roland: I’ve known Roland since 2022, when he first took photos of my son and me on roller skates. The skate scene was much quieter back then, and Roland was just beginning his skate photography project. Since then, he’s photographed me on several occasions — first at the skate park and at my home with my son, later in a photography studio, more recently during rehearsals for an upcoming three-day performance at The Posh Club, as well as sporadically during a variety of meets and events. Roland has also photographed my mum in her skates — at the age of 70. Come to think of it, Roland has photographed most of the leading figures and members of the skate community. When I first met Roland, he was certain that skating wasn’t for him. But when I saw him again around a year later, he was in a shiny new pair of skates, drilling his foundation moves with a dedicated focus. Since then, he’s become just as obsessed with skating as the rest of us — it’s been beautiful to watch his passion for skating blossom. "Roller skating has a unique ability to kind of charm and disarm people. They just really observe and get pulled into the moment through curiosity. Skating's not like anything out there."  ~Roland Ramanan     ____________________________ Access the full story: The Gen X Skater Blog [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/blog] Learn to roller skate online with: Skate Base Lessons App [https://www.skatebaselondon.com/online-roller-skating-lessons]