Inline skates were quite popular a few decades ago and are finally seeing a comeback. Just like many other strange trends, like the sudden love for banana bread that started during the pandemic, this newfound love for skating began, too.
Why Did Skating Become a Thing During the Pandemic?
The reality is there are many reasons why skating started to rise in popularity during the pandemic. The following are some reasons this started to happen:
Easy to Social Distance
During the pandemic, folks who wanted to stay active could only do one thing, which was go outside, visit nearby parks, or a trail near their homes.
Walking and running became one of the most common ways to exercise, but people are always going to look for variety, which led some folks to start biking more often and a few others to skating.
A past time that folks had forgotten gained some attention. It gave people an exciting thing to do and learn. Skating isn’t like riding a bike; it’s not something you can pick up again. A lot of folks had to relearn how to skate properly, but again, people have a lot of time to kill, so they took on the challenge.
Skating also made it easier for families and couples to do something outdoors. Biking is okay, but it’s also inconvenient. Biking with several people from your household can get a little tricky, but all that goes away with skates. Besides having wheels, they’re no different from wearing regular shoes, and that made it easier to have a nice outing with the whole family.
A Community-Powered Rise
Another reason why it’s growing in popularity is that a community is fueling the movement.
Since the number of people getting into inline skating is just rising, people feel like they’re part of something special that belongs to them and them alone.
Bikes are too common to feel like you’re part of a biking community. Everyone has a bike. Not many people have skates. Yes, the popularity of skates is soaring, but it doesn’t feel mainstream yet, and it probably won’t for some time, so that should continue fueling this rise.
You’ll find folks in different forums talking about skates and skating parks. Being able to go to skating parks where you can find other skaters reinforces your love for the past time. You may even find a few friends to who can help improve your skills. Of course, skating parks also make skating more exciting.
Social Media is Making a Difference
Social media has influenced this world in a few ways. For example, many big social media influencers have fallen in love with inline skates and skates in general.
Some people love to use vintage skates that they find at thrift stores or online, but a number of people use more modern inline skates.
Social media influencers are followed by a lot of people, and of course, what they love to do is advertised to thousands or millions. This helped propel this trend forward, but it goes beyond that.
Skating looks great on video, so folks have uploaded videos of themselves skating or doing tricks here and there. There are videos on every major social media platform with folks skating. With so much content, of course, others who haven’t considered skating will probably do so as soon as they see some videos.
Combine social media’s power with the community of folks who are falling in love with skating and you’ve got a powerful driver. All you have to do is type in skating on any of these platforms, and you’ll see how popular skating has become online.
Quality is a Big Deal
Inline skates, the more modern versions of them, have improved a lot in the past few years.
Racing skates, for example, are fused with advanced skating technology that allows these skates to reach high speeds, thanks to the bearings that help reduce friction.
On top of that, many of today’s skates are reinforced with carbon steel or aluminum.
Both materials are safe, so they provide the protection you’d expect, but they’re also considerably light. This makes it easier for you to skate because you can control your skates more effectively.
All of this and more is possible because people have continued to invest in skates, and now, the growing number of people falling in love with skates can benefit from some of these advancements in inline skates.
It’s making some folks invest in more than one pair of skates because there are many unique, high-quality skates to choose from.
Sports are Shining a Light
The popularization of inline skating is also due to the rise in sports dedicated to them.
Some people are visiting skating rinks, which is similar to going to a skating park except it’s indoors and just for skaters, not bikers or any others. You might also notice the rise of skate-based sports like skate hockey, just to name one. Pavement hockey is fun and exciting, but it’s also something you could only do once you’re experienced enough.
On top of that, you need some gear to protect yourself because it can get quite physical. This is not the only sport people are blending with skates. Basketball on skates is becoming a thing, too.
There’s no telling what more this community can do to help propel skating, but it should be something to keep an eye on.
Now, you know a little more about the rise of inline skating. It’s definitely something fascinating and something to keep an eye on. Some say this isn’t just a trend. Skating may stick around longer this time around.
