Jessie Zhang, an 18-year-old in Northern California, is dying for roller skates. She’s spent hours scouring the internet looking at different skate designs. She has researched toe guards on Depop. And she’s even been picking up extra chores around the house, like doing the dishes, in hopes that her parents will buy her a pair.
“Roller skating is trendy,” she said. “I think people are looking for something to do, and it’s very accessible.”
Since stay-at-home measures took effect this spring, roller skating has been making a comeback. A spike in viral roller skating videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, the proliferation of skate tutorials, a new crop of bright and catchy roller skate brands, and the itch to get outside in the midst of the pandemic have driven interest in roller skating to new heights.
Marawa Ibrahim, 37, who sells her own line of roller skates and skate-related clothing, said that, like many retailers, she can’t keep skates in stock. “As soon as lockdown started, sales started going up of everything,” she said. “We’re completely sold out of skates, like everyone, and clothing too.”
Ms. Ibrahim has been roller skating since she was 2 years old and has seen it cycle in and out of fashion, but right now, she says, roller skating is having a moment. “It’s been the perfect storm recently with social media like TikTok, lockdown and people looking for kitsch visual things,” she said.
A video of the actress Ana Coto, 29, gliding through the streets of Los Angeles to the tune of “Jenny From the Block” has been viewed more than 14 million times on TikTok. It went so viral that Ms. Coto became a meme.
“I’m so overjoyed by the videos I get from people telling me they got skates because of me or that they took their skates out of their case for the first time in X amount of years,” Ms. Coto said. The hashtag #roller-skating currently has more than 1.4 billion views on TikTok.
After being bombarded with roller skating photos and videos on social media, Eric Ha, 23, a recent college graduate in Denver, finally paid $80 for a pair of black skates with blue wheels earlier this month. “I’m sorry guys but roller skates are gonna be the moment of this summer,” he tweeted.
Part of what appeals to Mr. Ha and others is the nostalgia around roller skating. It harks back to earlier decades, like the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, when roller skating was last in vogue. “I think this revival is our way of coping with Covid-19 and everything that’s going on,” Mr. Ha said. “The nostalgia can help us feel better about everything and we can dance it away a little bit.”
Mr. Ha has encouraged his friends to purchase skates and dreams about skating around the city together in bright retro clothing paired with skates. “It’s just a very nice summer look,” he said.
Many roller skaters, especially those who have been in the skating world for a while, are quick to point out that the sport had a place in culture before the coronavirus and TikTok. Toni Bravo, 20, a student in California, created a TikTok about how black culture has shaped the skate community over time. “I don’t want people to forget how the black community has contributed to the history of skating,” she said.
In an article in The New York Times in 2018, Jim Farber wrote: “The connection between African-Americans and adult skate nights is deeply linked to the country’s wrenching history of segregation.” He noted that during segregation, rinks kept black and white skaters apart, which led to the formation of a distinct black skate culture.
Today, while many rinks have served as safe havens for the L.G.B.T.Q.+. community and other marginalized groups, and the skate community prides itself on being inclusive, Coco Franklin, 36, a longtime roller skating instructor, said she has noticed much of the attention going to white women.
“What’s happening is white people or white-passing people have made it more popular on TikTok, and TikTok was highlighting these skaters,” Ms. Franklin said. “Roller skating coming into the mainstream pretty much got whitewashed, and people are sad about that.”
She has noticed more white skaters willing to speak out, however, and lift others up, which she said was heartening. “I’ve seen a lot of non-P.O.C. people really speak up and share black skaters’ accounts, so I do think the skating community is changing for the better,” she said.
The resurgence has also been a boon for her business. “I’ve noticed a big surge in private lessons and people coming to my workshops,” Ms. Franklin said. “I’m having an overflow so I’m having to do surrounding cities twice.”
Terrance Brown, 31, began skating only five months ago but has already formed a community. After his job as a personal trainer cooled off with the pandemic, he founded SB Rollers, a skate club in Santa Barbara, Calif. Mr. Brown said his biggest regret was not discovering roller skating sooner.
“I used to be opposed to it,” he said. “I’m a football guy. I thought, don’t roller skate. I was afraid that if I fell, people would laugh at me.” Now, Mr. Brown skates every day. “The only reason I stop skating is when the sun goes down,” he said.
“The whole pandemic is horrible, but the bright side is everyone is coming out, skating, having fun and meeting people,” he said. “They’re not just sitting up on their house looking at four walls.”
Ms. Coto said she too tries to get outside and skate as much as she can. “I’m so glad more people are getting interested in roller skating, I think all the more skaters the better,” she said. “Even if this bubble pops, we’re not stopping, skating is not going anywhere.”
