Vertical Rollerskating

Vert-Skating-Forum

Message 859 (7. Aug. 2003 15:19) (Tree)

Lee Y
Hi Rollerskaters
I'm one of those that only skates a few times a year. Like many people I have responsibilities to my family, which I didnt have when I was skating 20 years ago every other night. I also have other interests that fill my time nowadays.
However, there were few people to share views with in those days. The odd meeting at skateparks or the unexpected article/picture in a magazine. I remember watching the vert rollerskating sequence from the Monster video of 1987 repeatedly and I had a picture of Fred Blood in an Arizona pipe on my wall.
Now that there is a forum such as this, it is interesting to be able to read about what is going on in the sport now, and to contribute from my experiences.
regards
Lee Y
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Replies

Daniel Knopf: Hi Rollerskaters (4. Aug. 2003 19:03)
 Hi Rollerskaters,

a couple of weeks ago I participated as Rollerskater at the Hot LaWa Contest in Freiburg, Germany, organized by Bernhard. He convinced me that, after
years of looking into the forum, I should tell the people that there is still another Rollerskater who is still skating Vert-Contests. So, here comes my story and some pictures of my skates:
I started skating eight wheelers - I don't know it exactly - maybe 1989/1990. The funny thing is that I started with Inline-Skates! The reason for this was that in my youth I harmed both ankles due to street skateboarding. After a break of 2 or 3 years I got some
Sunshine inline-skates which I tested for a surf/snowboard shop. I began vert skating maybe 1992 and one week before a
Rollerskate-Contest in Mannheim, Germany, my inline-skates broke apart (in this time the material was not as good as today). I met many of the Rollerskaters in Mannheim (Rene Hulgren, Klaus Dieter Waltner, Olaf Hennig, Beule, people from all over the place - all laughing about my inline-skates......in the future almost all of them converted...). They convinced me to built my own
stable Rollerskates. From this point on I was on Rollerskates - I never changed back ;-)! My favorite places to skate, as I lived in Germany: Mannheim skatepark (closed a long time ago), Green Ramp,
(Karlsruhe), Adelberg (Halfpipe still there?), Dome closed
(Mönchengladbach), i-Punkt (old location closed, Hamburg),
Railslide closed? (Frankfurt), Eindhoven (Holland), etc. The last 3 years I lived in Zürich, Switzerland. 2 weeks before I moved to Zürich the city tore down the skatepark!! Therefore, I skated in the skatepark
Baar at Zug (closed last year). Another location was the
Landihalle, Basel, which also closed this year but they want to open it in another location. I think the vert-ramp is still not built up. In Zürich they want to built a freestyle park - without vert-ramp. No comment. Maybe I am getting old , but if I skate, I only skate vert-ramp. I attached some pictures of my rollerskates. I
often read the discussions about the development of rollerskates but I share the opinion of Bernhard that there are a few people inventing, building, constructing rollerskates thereby forgetting skating! I do not believe that you improve very much with better skates if you are only skating little. My skates are now about 11 years old. I never changed or took them apart, even I did never check the screws in all this years, except when I change the wheels! Spent your time on your rollerskates, not under them! If some has an idea how I will get every skate 1 kg lighter, than, maybe, I will take some tools into my hands.....Technical information: Trucks: Indy 101,
Baseplate: part of a ski, cell blocks, ice hockey shoes, that's it.
I am still affiliated to skateboarding. Due to conviction by Chris Eggers I started Slalom-Skateboarding and I have a great time with this type of skateboarding. Also, here in Switzerland we do some impressive Skate-Boardercrosses within the cities. Skating obstacles, curves,
etc. racing against 2 other people, great fun!
In 3 Months I am moving to Vancouver,
Canada, for a couple of years. I already visited the website of rollergirl! It seems that there are no
vert-ramps in Vancouver? Is that true? I hope someone will send me some addresses of skateparks in Vancouver with vert-ramps. (greetings to rollergirl - I will call you if I arrive in Vancouver!). Also, I attached some other pictures. You can see obviously which ones I slamed and which not ;-)! Other pictures can be seen under (green ramp jam 2002 at sk8mag.de) In the moment I
am skating less: One time every couple of weeks! I
hope I will find a vert-ramp nearby Zürich. Maybe it is getting better in Vancouver. Regards to all of you, especially to some old Rolerskaters like Klaus Dieter, Olaf, Beule, Rene, Tim etc.

30 and older - and still coping! (regards to Chris Eggers!! ;-))))

So long, skate and have fun!

  Write reply
Tobi: Hi Rollerskaters (5. Aug. 2003 00:20)
 
Hi Daniel

Thanks for sharing your story!

: So, here comes my story and some pictures of my skates:

I'm excited about the pics.

: I often read the discussions about the development of
: rollerskates but I share the opinion of Bernhard that there
: are a few people inventing, building, constructing
: rollerskates thereby forgetting skating!

True, but building skates is as bad as anything else keeping you from skating :)

Building skates doesn't necessarily keep people from skating, and isn't the only thing that can keep people from skating.

: I do not believe that you improve very much with better
: skates if you are only skating little.

Also true. Still I can't see what's wrong with developing, building, or improving skates :)

: Spent your time on your rollerskates, not under them!

I think people like Brian show that this is not an exclusive choice. He does both, better than most.

: Technical information: Trucks: Indy 101,
: Baseplate: part of a ski, cell blocks, ice hockey shoes,
: that's it.
[...]
: Also, I attached some other pictures. You can see obviously
: which ones I slamed and which not ;-)!

I didn't see any pics with the message :(

Tobi


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Bernhard: Hi Rollerskaters (5. Aug. 2003 08:17)
 Hi Daniel,

a warm (pun not intended, but it is quite hot these days!) welcome to you! I think the readers of this forum will very much enjoy your story. Till now, no one has told a story of switching from inlines to roller skates.

It is quite saddening to read your long list of great spots now closed down. But we got to move on. Maybe we need to do some lobbying to get some vert ramps built, maybe we should do more to encourange new talent to skate ramps (on roller skates, of course ;-)).
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Daniel: Hi Rollerskaters (5. Aug. 2003 19:08)
 Hi Tobi,

I did not want to give the impression that I am against the development of Rollerskates, absolutely not. Also, I think Brian is doing a damn good job! But I meet people who skate only a few times in the year, but showed my their 6th version of skates - and, sorry, I don't want to appear arrogant, but in most cases I had not the impression that the people skated much better.
I think we can only keep the vert-scene alive by skating, meeting at contests, showing the youth that their are alternatives to skateboards and inline-skates and whatever...and it is a very stylish alternative! ;-)

Regards Daniel

PS: I think Bernhard will put in the pics (thanks, Bernhard).
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Tobi: Hi Rollerskaters (5. Aug. 2003 19:29)
 
Hi Daniel

: But I meet people who skate only a few times in the year,
: but showed my their 6th version of skates -

I think that's OK. There might even be people who build skates and don't skate at all; if that's what they enjoy doing then that's perfectly cool with me.

: and, sorry, I
: don't want to appear arrogant, but in most cases I had no
: the impression that the people skated much better.

True. But they had fun building the skates, and are proud of them; nothing wrong with that :)

: I think we can only keep the vert-scene alive by skating,
: meeting at contests, showing the youth that their are
: alternatives to skateboards and inline-skates and
: whatever...and it is a very stylish alternative! ;-)

Those who have fun developing skates don't keep anyone from doing all this.

I see your points, but I think that everyone should do what floats his boat.
Developing skates doesn't hurt anyone :)
(... and sometimes even is an important part of "keeping the vert-scene alive")

Tobi


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Bernhard: Hi Rollerskaters (6. Aug. 2003 10:19)
 : : But I meet people who skate only a few times in the year,
: : but showed my their 6th version of skates -
:
: I think that's OK. There might even be people who build skates and don't skate at all; if that's what they enjoy doing then that's perfectly cool with me.

I think you shouldn't be offended by Daniel's statements. I understand what both of you say and both of you are quite right.

But maybe I can clarify Daniel's position a bit. We have both seen times when there was a small but functioning vert roller skating scene. There were quite some skaters who switched to inlines when the hype was big, which is perfectly fine with me (why not make some money off the hype if you are risking your bones?). And we both know some people who dropped out of skating because they went into developing mode and even stopped skating alltogether and consequently also stopped their development (why develop something that neither you nor someone else actually use?).

This way we lost quite some skating buddies. I think you better understand Daniel if I put it this way. I believe that you also enjoy the occasional exchange with other roller skaters or even skating together.

And I also believe that the perfect skate developer doesn't neccessarily skate at all (but works closely with the skaters). To compare this with guitars: I do not know of a good guitar maker who also plays the guitar well.
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Tobi: Hi Rollerskaters (6. Aug. 2003 10:44)
 
Hi Bernhard

> I think you shouldn't be offended by Daniel's statements.

But I am not offended in any way (and didn't say I would be). I'm merely stating my point of view, just as you and he did.

> And we both know some people who dropped out of skating
> because they went into developing mode and even stopped
> skating alltogether and consequently also stopped their
> development (why develop something that neither you nor
> someone else actually use?).

But then the problem is: not skating, not skating enough, or quitting skating altogether. Building skates is not a problem at all: they could have stopped skating because of any other reason or activity.

> I believe that you also enjoy the occasional exchange with
> other roller skaters or even skating together.

Sure, I didn't state the opposite.

And I'm also fine with anyone building skates as frequently and intensely as he/she chooses to, and I also enjoy seeing and discussing the details and results (and this sure doesn't necessarily keep them from skating, as many skaters demonstrate).

If someone stops skating that's sad, but you can't keep them from loosing interest or switching to other activities by telling them what to do or not to do (inspiring and respecting them helps more).

> And I also believe that the perfect skate developer doesn't
> neccessarily skate at all

I don't share that belief. I believe in respecting people, no matter if they just skate, build and skate, or just build, or do neither.

> To compare this with guitars: I do not know of a good
> guitar maker who also plays the guitar well.

I think soon you will see the result of a professional skater building great rollerskates.

Tobi


  Write reply
Bernhard: Hi Rollerskaters (6. Aug. 2003 11:28)
 : If someone stops skating that's sad, but you can't keep them from loosing interest or switching to other activities by telling them what to do or not to do (inspiring and respecting them helps more).

Absolutely correct.

: > And I also believe that the perfect skate developer doesn't
: > neccessarily skate at all
:
: I don't share that belief. I believe in respecting people, no matter if they just skate, build and skate, or just build, or do neither.

I wrote "not necessarily". And I have to admit that I needed the help of three people competent with metal work to build my skates. And they don't roller skate. I believe very much in respect, too. And I think cooperation helps to move things forward. Just like your work collection information on trucks. I planned to put up a page on trucks myself for at least two years, but you have actually done something!
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Tobi: Hi Rollerskaters (6. Aug. 2003 16:53)
 
Hi Bernhard

> I wrote "not necessarily".

Ooops, yes, sorry.
(I still believe that no matter if there are good guitar makers who also play the guitar well or not there are good rollerskaters building good skates :)

Anyways ...

I think your forum really is the most important entity when it comes to bringing skaters together, globally. Thanks again for this great service!

I hope that all that ozone and heat will disappear soon ... it's too hot to skate.

Tobi
Not a good skater, not a good builder, but having fun doing both :)


  Write reply
irene: Hi Rollerskaters (6. Aug. 2003 17:36)
 It's all good...

Thanks to everyone who has been involved and contributed to the evolution of rollerskating... however small the exchange may have been, every little bit helps! One of the best things about having to build your own skates is the variety of setups that each individual person prefers to ride. Still, the most fun for me is skating my skates, not fixing them.
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VAIL: Hi Rollerskaters (6. Aug. 2003 22:37)
 : Hi Rollerskaters,
:
: a couple of weeks ago I participated as Rollerskater at the Hot LaWa Contest in Freiburg, Germany, organized by Bernhard. He convinced me that, after
: years of looking into the forum, I should tell the people that there is still another Rollerskater who is still skating Vert-Contests. So, here comes my story and some pictures of my skates:
: I started skating eight wheelers - I don't know it exactly - maybe 1989/1990. The funny thing is that I started with Inline-Skates! The reason for this was that in my youth I harmed both ankles due to street skateboarding. After a break of 2 or 3 years I got some
: Sunshine inline-skates which I tested for a surf/snowboard shop. I began vert skating maybe 1992 and one week before a
: Rollerskate-Contest in Mannheim, Germany, my inline-skates broke apart (in this time the material was not as good as today). I met many of the Rollerskaters in Mannheim (Rene Hulgren, Klaus Dieter Waltner, Olaf Hennig, Beule, people from all over the place - all laughing about my inline-skates......in the future almost all of them converted...). They convinced me to built my own
: stable Rollerskates. From this point on I was on Rollerskates - I never changed back ;-)! My favorite places to skate, as I lived in Germany: Mannheim skatepark (closed a long time ago), Green Ramp,
: (Karlsruhe), Adelberg (Halfpipe still there?), Dome closed
: (Mönchengladbach), i-Punkt (old location closed, Hamburg),
: Railslide closed? (Frankfurt), Eindhoven (Holland), etc. The last 3 years I lived in Zürich, Switzerland. 2 weeks before I moved to Zürich the city tore down the skatepark!! Therefore, I skated in the skatepark
: Baar at Zug (closed last year). Another location was the
: Landihalle, Basel, which also closed this year but they want to open it in another location. I think the vert-ramp is still not built up. In Zürich they want to built a freestyle park - without vert-ramp. No comment. Maybe I am getting old , but if I skate, I only skate vert-ramp. I attached some pictures of my rollerskates. I
: often read the discussions about the development of rollerskates but I share the opinion of Bernhard that there are a few people inventing, building, constructing rollerskates thereby forgetting skating! I do not believe that you improve very much with better skates if you are only skating little. My skates are now about 11 years old. I never changed or took them apart, even I did never check the screws in all this years, except when I change the wheels! Spent your time on your rollerskates, not under them! If some has an idea how I will get every skate 1 kg lighter, than, maybe, I will take some tools into my hands.....Technical information: Trucks: Indy 101,
: Baseplate: part of a ski, cell blocks, ice hockey shoes, that's it.
: I am still affiliated to skateboarding. Due to conviction by Chris Eggers I started Slalom-Skateboarding and I have a great time with this type of skateboarding. Also, here in Switzerland we do some impressive Skate-Boardercrosses within the cities. Skating obstacles, curves,
: etc. racing against 2 other people, great fun!
: In 3 Months I am moving to Vancouver,
: Canada, for a couple of years. I already visited the website of rollergirl! It seems that there are no
: vert-ramps in Vancouver? Is that true? I hope someone will send me some addresses of skateparks in Vancouver with vert-ramps. (greetings to rollergirl - I will call you if I arrive in Vancouver!). Also, I attached some other pictures. You can see obviously which ones I slamed and which not ;-)! Other pictures can be seen under (green ramp jam 2002 at sk8mag.de) In the moment I
: am skating less: One time every couple of weeks! I
: hope I will find a vert-ramp nearby Zürich. Maybe it is getting better in Vancouver. Regards to all of you, especially to some old Rolerskaters like Klaus Dieter, Olaf, Beule, Rene, Tim etc.
:
: 30 and older - and still coping! (regards to Chris Eggers!! ;-))))
:
: So long, skate and have fun!
: Danial If you make it to the greatnorthwest and cant find a vertramp let me know I can direct you to a couple of nice ones just south of Vancover. Mike
  Write reply
irene: Vancouver Vert (7. Aug. 2003 00:22)
 D: : In 3 Months I am moving to Vancouver,
: : Canada, for a couple of years. I already visited the website of rollergirl! It seems that there are no
: : vert-ramps in Vancouver? Is that true? I hope someone will send me some addresses of skateparks in Vancouver with vert-ramps. (greetings to rollergirl - I will call you if I arrive in Vancouver!). In the moment I
: : am skating less: One time every couple of weeks! I
: : hope I will find a vert-ramp nearby Zürich. Maybe it is getting better in Vancouver. Regards to all of you, especially to some old Rolerskaters like Klaus Dieter, Olaf, Beule, Rene, Tim etc.
: :
: : 30 and older - and still coping! (regards to Chris Eggers!! ;-))))
: :
M: : So long, skate and have fun!
: : Danial If you make it to the greatnorthwest and cant find a vertramp let me know I can direct you to a couple of nice ones just south of Vancover. Mike
------------
Mike, Post some pics of these ramps..pleez
  Write reply
Mike: Vancouver Vert (7. Aug. 2003 03:04)
 : D: : In 3 Months I am moving to Vancouver,
: : : Canada, for a couple of years. I already visited the website of rollergirl! It seems that there are no
: : : vert-ramps in Vancouver? Is that true? I hope someone will send me some addresses of skateparks in Vancouver with vert-ramps. (greetings to rollergirl - I will call you if I arrive in Vancouver!). In the moment I
: : : am skating less: One time every couple of weeks! I
: : : hope I will find a vert-ramp nearby Zürich. Maybe it is getting better in Vancouver. Regards to all of you, especially to some old Rolerskaters like Klaus Dieter, Olaf, Beule, Rene, Tim etc.
: : :
: : : 30 and older - and still coping! (regards to Chris Eggers!! ;-))))
: : :
: M: : So long, skate and have fun!
: : : Danial If you make it to the greatnorthwest and cant find a vertramp let me know I can direct you to a couple of nice ones just south of Vancover. Mike
: ------------
: Mike, Post some pics of these ramps..pleez Here are two parks about an hour anda half south of Vancover www.skatebarnwest.com and www.raincityskatepark.com Also the park guid at www.sleestak.net is a good one . Mike .
  Write reply
mike: Vancouver Vert (7. Aug. 2003 03:33)
 : : D: : In 3 Months I am moving to Vancouver,
: : : : Canada, for a couple of years. I already visited the website of rollergirl! It seems that there are no
: : : : vert-ramps in Vancouver? Is that true? I hope someone will send me some addresses of skateparks in Vancouver with vert-ramps. (greetings to rollergirl - I will call you if I arrive in Vancouver!). In the moment I
: : : : am skating less: One time every couple of weeks! I
: : : : hope I will find a vert-ramp nearby Zürich. Maybe it is getting better in Vancouver. Regards to all of you, especially to some old Rolerskaters like Klaus Dieter, Olaf, Beule, Rene, Tim etc.
: : : :
: : : : 30 and older - and still coping! (regards to Chris Eggers!! ;-))))
: : : :
: : M: : So long, skate and have fun!
: : : : Danial If you make it to the greatnorthwest and cant find a vertramp let me know I can direct you to a couple of nice ones just south of Vancover. Mike
: : ------------
: : Mike, Post some pics of these ramps..pleez Here are two parks about an hour anda half south of Vancover www.skatebarn.com and www.raincityskatepark.com Also the park guid at www.sleestak.net is a good one . Mike .
  Write reply
Daniel Knopf: Vancouver Vert (7. Aug. 2003 10:08)
 Hi Irene and Mike,

Thanks a lot for your information. I was already a little nervous moving again to a city/region where there is no vert-ramp. The skateparks look really fine - WOW!
It seems that it was a good decision moving over the Atlantic ;-)) to the Pacific!
I will try to stay in touch with you both and will send you my address etc. if I moved to Vancouver.
Thanks again for your replies.

See you
Daniel

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Daniel : Hi Rollerskaters (7. Aug. 2003 14:09)
 Hi,

I am glad for every development of skates and I am absolutely fine if somebody only builds skates, only skates, or does both. The most important thing is having fun.
Maybe I am a little disappointed because the last 6 years I skated mainly alone (with other skateboarders, inliners, but no rollerskaters) - at contests and besides.
Last year I participated at the Green Ramp Jam, and I was very happy that Bernhard also took part in the contest - even though we both aren't the best skaters! It was fun! And people saw rollerskaters in the vert ramp besides inline-skaters! For these reasons I emphasized not to forget to skate by building rollerskates. There are other rollerskaters out there which would be happy to see more of their "species" - and the skating skill does not matter!
Build, skate, whatever, have fun.

Daniel
  Write reply
Lee Y: Hi Rollerskaters (7. Aug. 2003 15:19)
 I'm one of those that only skates a few times a year. Like many people I have responsibilities to my family, which I didnt have when I was skating 20 years ago every other night. I also have other interests that fill my time nowadays.
However, there were few people to share views with in those days. The odd meeting at skateparks or the unexpected article/picture in a magazine. I remember watching the vert rollerskating sequence from the Monster video of 1987 repeatedly and I had a picture of Fred Blood in an Arizona pipe on my wall.
Now that there is a forum such as this, it is interesting to be able to read about what is going on in the sport now, and to contribute from my experiences.
regards
Lee Y
  Write reply
Bernhard: Daniel's pictures (7. Aug. 2003 19:49)
 I have added a page about Daniel Knopf which also has his pics.
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