If by now you haven’t seen Oumi Janta, a German roller skater, in action, you must really be hiding under a rock. The Instagram sensation with close to 900k followers put roller skating back on the map and it’s finally time you give it a try!
Discover our latest podcast
4 reasons to start roller skating
It’s the perfect opportunity to bring out all your flashy, neon clothes. Recently, 80s fashion has made a major comeback with bike shorts. If you've been waiting to find the opportunity to rock the leopard printed bike shorts sitting in your closet, this is it! With roller skating, the funkier the better!
It’s a really good workout. Pros make it look effortless, but roller skating is not as easy as it seems. You’re constantly squatting, using every single one of your leg muscles to keep going. Just thinking about it is already making us sore. Whether you're just using it as a mode of transportation or as a hobby, you'll start noticing your legs and butt tone in no time!
You can get really creative with it. Roller skating is the perfect way to get your groove on. Turn on some funky music, make up a fun choreography and get jiggy with it.
You’ll impress all your friends. Image yourself on a sunny Sunday, hanging out at the park with some friends, you pull out your roller skates and break into a skillful dance. We can hear your friends’ jaws dropping all the way from over here.
History of roller skating
There’s much more to roller skating than the viral TikTok trend. Roller skating existed way before our time. In fact, it is tightly linked to the history of the Black community in the United States. We can trace the history of roller skating back to the eras of Jim Crow segregation and the Civil Rights movements.
More recently, roller skating became increasingly popular in the 1950s in Los Angeles within the Black community. It’s no coincidence that we seem to associate roller skates with blue skies, palm trees and short shorts.
The sport is also closely linked to R&B, soul and hip-hop music. When Black artists weren’t allowed to perform in clubs because of racial segregation, they would instead take to the stage in skating rinks. That’s how Queen Latifah, N.W.A. and Nelly all made their debut.
