Why Rollerblading Was Dropped From The X Games

[@stevenovak9644]

I was the sport organizer for all skating the first year - inline street and vert, skateboarding, (and also downhill inline which I continued as organizer until they dropped that first), before turning over aggro inline directly to Mark Shays, and boarding to the Bosticks, who Inhad brought in the first year as subcontractors. I worked directly with the X Games founder Ron Semio and the head of production. Richard what's his name. It was largely a function of lower ratings compared to all their other sports, and therefore fewer sponsors interested, and, as this video points out, the community was just contrary and a pain to work with, that sealed it. That, and Rollerblade screwing the whole image of inline as something for parents, not something cool like boarding or BMX. They seriously contributed to a whole generation skpping inline, IMO. Their marketing was almost all to adults, and they treated their sponsored aggro skaters like crap, put all their money into race series (yay for me I.was on the team, then their race runner), but I saw up close what they did and their attitude towards all you guys. I am very glad to see that this video exists, great job, important for posterity and as a historical record. (My dad was a big documentary filmmaker, so I have a perspective to say so, lol)

[@wheelsceneblading]

@@stevenovak9644 Hi, Steve. I’m interested to know more. If you are happy to talk about this, contact me on the Wheel Scene instagram account, @wheelscene.

[@erickhenderson549]

I would love to see in-line skating back. I am 40 now, but I grew up in that era. I remember always getting the t.v guide and highlighting the time and dates of my favorite shows [N.I.S.S (National Inline Skate Series), A.S.A (Aggressive Skaters Associate) and 720. I would record the shows on VHS and watch it over and over to learn new tricks. It was a huge shame X-games removed in-line.

[@wheelsceneblading]

Hahaha! Same! I had so many Bercy, Niss and X Games recorded on VHS.

[@edgewyze7352]

Same here!

[@jme4019]

The 90s era will always be memorable and nostalgic! Unfortunately we've moved on alot since then, both positively and negatively. But if we had a chance to go back to the 90s I'm sure most would! Things were less complicated, no technology mobile phones, laptops or ipads. It was grab your skates and go outside ☀ 😎 people are lazy now days!

[@yt.damian]

hah. Im 53 now and Im skating again!

[@jellijams5564]

33 here! In the 90s I worshipped my big brother because he could Soul Grind. Just pulled my first one off last month 🤘​@@yt.damian

[@rokkalombardi2196]

As a new skater, I really appreciate learning the history of this sport. I've always been fascinated by skating but I never learned how. Seeing how the scene has struggled against the odds so long makes me want to get better so I can do my part and help spread the word.

[@MihaiBivol]

The biggest reason why blading is no longer with Xgames or other big events is not flagged in this video… blading brands were not able to match the budgets coming from the skating and bmx brands anymore… it sadly makes a lot of sense if you think about it from a business investment perspective.. another angle you can see this from would be the fact that blading companies didn’t sell footwear (like skating and bmx) and that’s exactly where the big cash was coming from for these events.

[@johnnydove]

was sifika the only company that tried to make shoes? not counting the xsjado footwraps

[@MihaiBivol]

@@johnnydove jug, b-unique…. But this was well after

[@raddog1478]

Thats a lie. 90s skateboarding was making less

[@MihaiBivol]

@@raddog1478 we’re talking about 2004, not the 90s….

[@chblancoj]

Interesting perspective!

[@jasonpearlman6236]

I was an street skater in NYC from 1993-1997. Some reflections from that period: 1. Inline street skating came on fast and furious, and blew up big quickly. It didn’t have the many years of maturation that skateboarding had by that period. For many inline skaters, the experience was a head-spinning whirlwind, and there wasn’t much time to stop, relax, and take the growing sport at your own pace. You had to be badass, land crazy jumps and big rail grinds, and get onto a video, or you weren’t doing it right. The skateboarders, by comparison could just chill and be happy with a small bag of tricks at their own pace. 2. InLine skating got extremely competitive quickly. In those days, it was all about being sponsored and getting free stuff. Almost every skater I would meet at Union Square Park or Central Park would quickly ask “are you sponsored” or “can you get me free stuff”. I did graphic design for a skate wear company, and by that alone, I had kids throwing themselves at me for free stuff or to be sponsored. It was kind of crazy, especially for those of us that just wanted to skate. 3. Inline skating failed to attach itself to the larger inline, ice, and roller skating community, whom would have given inline street a lot of support. I got into inline street through speedskating, and wished that the inline street scene would have spent less time trying to attach itself to skateboarding and BMX, and more time to general skating community.

[@shredfreak83]

3. really was the main cause imo. You could even make a case for wizard skating keeping the sales of agressive boots up since a vast majority is based on the ufs mount. i got a pair of each these days but my agressive one are seeing the least time ridden, kinda gotten to the point where i wonder why i still have them actually.

[@mistereearly1141]

Jason - did you skate the flats in Central Park?

[@jasonpearlman6236]

@@mistereearly1141 we did the flats quite a bit; somebody would have a small ramp and we would be going off for hours, drawing a growing crowd of onlookers (plenty of tourists in Central Park, too!). Our main spot was Union Square Park, plus small spots in lower Manhattan - housing projects always had the best rails and ledges. We’d also hit the skate park just outside of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx (Mulally’s if I remember correctly).

[@poppinc8145]

I agree with the third point. Someone else essentially mentioned that it would look lame and rollerblading needed to look cooler and respectable among the in-crowd. That's true at first but then later you need to also become more professional and that means linking up with the professional associations who actually get stuff done and have some funding. If they did that it wouldn't have even mattered that X-Games dropped inline skating because the community would have made its own world championship under the roller sports federation. How many people know that Yo-yo has its own world championships and it's actually pretty well-organized and fair, which is why most of the top competitors aren't even American. Rollerblading was huge globally in the 1990s and 2000s and even the X-Games kept it going in the regional competitions for some years. It theoretically could have become an Olympic sport even faster than skateboarding did.

[@mistereearly1141]

@@jasonpearlman6236 did you know a skater Nick named “IRISH”? From the flats in central but hit up Mulallays, union square, police plaza ,

[@willshred4money]

I don't think we need to go back. I think there is a great argument for a contest circuit, but it should be done in house in the blading community IMO. It would be rad for us to have street and park style and vert in a blading only environment, but that would take a TON of money. Until then I think there are several amazing contests and we should focus on documenting those even better with live coverage and detailed professional style edits after events. Just my thoughts.

[@TingTingalingy]

What's park style? 20 years ago there was street & vert.

[@Travis732]

We don't need the x-games. I think the culture is better off with out that. Thanks for sharing this amazing content 👏

[@TMar129]

I can't agree with you. Xgames is the pinnacle of these sports. The pinnacle of exposure and the pinnacle of talent being in one place.

[@athiestjesus8133]

Nah. Competition isn't everything, but these guys risking their limbs deserve a bigger stage and more money.

[@ColeMasonSchultz]

I just bought a pair the other week only to learn that it's not like riding a bike. The amount of shit I've gotten from people when I'm in the parking lot next to my studio is crazy.

[@spookwackadoo]

We definitely need blading back into a multisport, televised event. I think we'd all prefer it be skater ran, so the representation of each sport could truly be accurate. Obviously, the exposure would be great as well, but it also will connect people with themselves again. Blading helps me focus on myself and clear my head of the current issues. It makes us all happy, it definitely could make a lot more people happy as well. Let's encourage each other to pursue the things that are good for our health and accept all who want to do the same. Plus the hype of a competition is always fun

[@Mr_pumpkin_]

The year before tony did the 900, cesar mora landed a 1080

[@mikethevik2532]

True

[@TingTingalingy]

I remember that. Him & Matt Salerno were quite the pioneers

[@narrowistheway77]

Yes, but it was in a big air competition. No one landed anything beyond a 720 in the vert competition before Tony Hawk and it was quite awhile before anyone else did a 900 in vert and only recently that a Brazilian teenager landed a 1080 in vert which basically no one thinks is possible for a full grown adult to do. Kinda like how a teenager landed a 2160 in snowboarding and he can’t do the trick anymore now that he’s grown into an adult body. Basically Tony Hawk did something that seemed impossible for an adult to achieve and it’s still the limit of the sport of skateboarding in vert for an adult at this moment in time

[@ano1962]

Skateboarders in the 90s: we just want to be accepted into the mainstream as a sport and not just a toy little kids ride Rollerbladers: we want the same thing Skateboarders: your gay you can’t skate with us

[@generallobster]

I don’t think skateboarders understand that people who don’t put wheels under their feet view both groups in the same light. Just the other day, a dad, who doesn’t skate, who is younger than me said to me: “you’re gonna go enjoy your little skateboard? OK have fun.“ They are both just toys to non-skaters, and neither command any respect. Same with BJJ--only people who do BJJ know what the hell is going on with regard to the movements, and only people who do BJJ respect the belt rankings. To everyone else, you just have a taekwondo black belt that took you what 6 months to get?

[@iOMNetwork]

I was part of the rise of aggressive skating in the 90s. I was living for it and I was 12h each day Vert and Street-skating. It was a life style. I didnt know about the story why it was dropped from x-games and from mainstream. Its heartbreaking. We had no chance to react or to even understand whats going on and that we would have had to fight, run protests etc.. we were too young and all we were interested in was to finally land the trick we were tryn and tryn and then the next one. How high can you push your air? How to grow the balls for a backflip etc... We never thought that there were politics in the background.

[@pmezz83]

Awesome video, bro! I started skating in the Aggresive in-line/X-games era and it was fenomenal, not only for that contest, ASA, X-Trials, Gravity Games, MSS, B3... all that TV exposure we had a the time was massive, and that made lot of people get to know the sport, brands and stuff. I hope we get back not only in the X-games, also in the spotlight again now that we grew more and the foundation is stronger than those days.

[@DrDengy]

Hey I just wanted to say that I absolutely Love these essay Videos. Especialy because i just startet skating last year and dont have any idea about the overall culture and history of Blading. so for example Names like Jon Bolino, Brian Shima etc. dont really evoke a response in me because I wasnt there back then and dont have a connection. These Videos help to loose up that Gap and i start to relate more to the History and the overall Community.

[@wheelsceneblading]

That was the whole idea. I'm glad you find them helpful.

[@TingTingalingy]

Arlo Eisenberg is the big Tamale but the Yasatoko Brother's were on a completely different wavelength. They were truly amazing to watch

[@myeline]

Really enjoyed this one. One of the few times this story has been told where it’s recognised that rollerblading was probably a bit immature to be on the pedestal so early among all the other stuff. No ones fault really, it is what it is. Personally i think if the x games happen with skating in the future there are a crop of elite skaters who could rip it and i think that would be cool to see but it’s also not important at all for skating. Great production and research on this one Dave. Great soundtrack as well 😉

[@deathblade909]

I started inline skating toward the end of the skating phenomenon. Around 2000, i was broke and could only afford Roces, but i do rememebr being in awe of the two japaense brothers.

[@edgewyze7352]

We used to ditch high school in the 90s to go blade downtown. Fun times. I really miss it now.

[@ronaldthered6650]

I like a lot of kids growing up at that time switched to skateboarding. For me, the main reason was that I didn’t need ramps or rails to do tricks on a skateboard. But one of the coolest things about inline skates was how much easier it was for me to skate on the vert ramp. We went from dropping in to getting above the coping in a snap. Id like to see inline come back.

[@corneliousism]

Nice work Dave. Ultimately It seems like just a lack of solid foundations. We’ve now laid those over the last 15 years, so my guess is we are here to stay and the only way is up. We will witness some amazing things in the years to come.

[@LLF1234]

Nowadays what we need is some sort of Jet Set Radio

[@guilhermeoliveirabalestro6493]

I really would like to see a comeback...but more than that...the aggressive sports holding hands together. I wish we could all go to the same skate park and really, cheer, support and celebrate each other's achievements independently of the sport. Skateboard, inline, roller skates, BMX, scooter, parkour...whatever. Stop the hating and together make the aggressive sport grow BIG.

[@nunyabidness1852]

Arlo isn't responsible for inline's downfall. That's absurd. He did a lot to advance the sport.

[@wheelsceneblading]

Agreed

[@ratty5]

The "destroy all girls" tag didn't help. Also, the videos he made with skateboarders.

[@Alphanecevitt]

İf Arlo was responsible for this WTF were other rollerbladers were doing ?? no one stoped him, warned him ... ?? :). shit happens. it is like how everyone is looking at scooters. we love our sport but most people are always going to make fun of it.

[@ratty5]

@@Alphanecevitt nobody made him put sexist remarks on his brand though. He’s gotta own up to what he did to ruin the sport.

[@Alphanecevitt]

@@ratty5 that killed blading ?? He did talk about it !! Dude he was a kid!! Look around now!! HOW MANY GENDERS THERE ARE !?? Stop hating man he şs still doing shit for skating! What tha f. Did u do ?

[@RobKellett]

Another great video my dude 🙌 I sure would love to see rollerblading return to the xGames… I think it would be all positives if it came back!

[@arika797]

never understood how people get so upset over some boots with wheels...

[@larryjonn1973]

Because few people form there own opinion

[@Rhodares]

I didn't know this, thanks for the video. At the same time going back to the event will make the sport grow again, the culture held it without participating. So I think it's important to know that the X games will be just a plus

[@rickyrichreacts9667]

It’s ironic seeing as how the only reason the x games was invented was because of inline skating

[@domwalker6526]

I'm a skateboarder from the early 2000s. I never enjoyed rollerblading myself, but I respected the hell out of those who do it. Was bummed when they took it out, I did like watching it. Such talent

[@stuckontranslation]

There is a big reason why Inline rollerblading should be back to the XGAMES, and that is there are now days too much talented rollerbladers out there, they can create a massive impact for this sport, and another positive point is that the new generations are more mentaly open now days all around the world and that can facilitate a cultural impact in the society.

[@darryllhoward6528]

ONLY reason this a discussion is because in the 80's you had to remove your skates to fight for space & skate boarders could hop into fight mode faster. Honestly toe to toe bladers are better athletes, and top end speed difference is not even close...

[@iananddani]

Yep. I’m an ex elite road cyclist and got into blading but was a skateboarder for a long time. I wear everypad imaginable and I ride transition mostly and its such a great workout

[@drumaciek]

Awesome video! I remember i didn't know about all that crap around the aggressive blading. We shreded together, bladers and skateboarders, with no issues! It's sad that one discipline could be pushed away because some influential people didn't like. fuckin' hate it.. I was around 13 or something when i saw aggressive blading. i watched some xgames comps on vhs tape recorded from eurosport by my friend. i didn't even have satelite tv back then haha. So that (and Airborne of course;) got me into the sport. So i think putting back aggressive blading on xgames could be good for young blood;)

[@hoax34]

This was was good and the most balanced telling of this tale, but I can’t help but feel that rollerbladers need to let this go now. It’s been almost 20 years. Rollerblading is far from the only sport the X-Games has dropped over the years. Loads of sports have been included, enjoyed a brief 15 minutes of fame and then dropped a few years later. It’s the nature of business, especially as far as TV is concerned. I just can’t imagine any of them rehashing the same story as much as rollerblading has over the years. As good as this was, and went further than before to tell the story (hearing Jason Hines was really interesting), I’d be more than happy to not see any more ‘Why rollerblading got kicked out of the Xgames’ pieces for a long time.

[@iitstre_4550]

Yes but also no. Rollerblading needs the exposure. And unfortunately when a giant company and exposure route like the XGames drops you for what really was no good reason, you have to do a lot of talking about it to try and get the word out. Rollerblading is absolutely coming back, slow of course but it is definitely on the rise again. It would be a HUGE help to get it back in the XGames or some kind of multi-sport, televised competition.

[@hoax34]

@@iitstre_4550 does it though? Do we need more talking about how we used to be in the X-Games? It’s been done to death. The dead horse has been flogged and we were lucky to get this video as the last hurrah as it was genuinely really good. There are other ways to get the word out about rollerblading, events like Winterclash, Blading Cup and the Metrocard Classic are all really great examples. Let’s just concentrate on doing what we do best, instead of whining about the past

[@jenkims1953]

You do realize that the X games started because of rollerblading? like i mean that it was the first sport in the X games. This is why people get upset about it

[@AirScottyfpv]

Eito and Takeshi Yasutoko were doing tricks that were unimaginable on very. Chris Haffey showed street skater could slay in the park (and big air later with nitro circus). Brian Aragon was the pretty boy mogul just like Ryan Sheckler. Anyone that says blading didn’t bring enough just simply never watched blading. Great video but makes me very sad…

[@wheelsceneblading]

By the time Aragon and Haffey blew up, X Games had already dropped in-line

[@jenkims1953]

@@wheelsceneblading Yep its a shame because they came just right on the cusp of it basically, all those kids should of been at Xgames, all of them there is tons of kids that should of been. We even saw some go like Cj Welllsmore at age 9 and is def someone that should of been a kid thaat grew up as a Xgames skater, but he never got an actual chance after that because they cut the sport. Look at all the adult skaterboarders in Xgames now, its all adults that grew up as kids in Xgames, there is tons of Rollerbladers that should of had that occurrence too. Even more so because Rollerblading basically started X games. Just imagine Aragon or Browscow as a gold medalist at the Xgames this should of been an occurrence but they never got a chance. i can picture what Aragon would look like at Xgames, like he sitting on shoulders holding his gold medal all sweaty looking.

[@codyscorner4337]

Rollerblading is where it’s at

[@RolandAshcroft]

The darker side again, great work, keep it up ! I don't think blading went down because of X-games or mock campaigns, shops and businesses already noticed decreased sales in 2002-2003. If I would have to guess, then rollerblading and aggressive rollerblading had a... I hate the word, but a fad phase, the time when it was cool and when everyone was doing , it came on with a boom and it really had to went into somewhat of a bust . About the stigma: I never ever really cared if people hate me for it or wish that I would fall. I see how a lot of people make it look really awkward and lame, but there are also so many more who make it look like the coolest and most badass thing ever. The people who matter don't care about X-games, everyone cares about social media and the people we need to get to blade are the gen-z kids on tiktok and other social media.

[@TheHalofivebroken]

In the days of Shaun White and 12-year-old skateboarders in the Olympics. I think Inline had it's run there are no big companies behind the sport and all the sponsorship dried up. 8 year olds don't want to be Chris Edawrds they want to be Tony Hawk Shaun White Nigel Houston Sky Brown or Sakura Yosozumi. Also, I think practicality killed inline a place that says no skating you can easily step off a board grab it and walk through with inline you have to unstrap pop on shoes. Longboarding took over fitness skating as well. I do think rink skating and summer hockey is the future and survival of the sport go back to what the sport was designed for a way for ice skaters to keep their skills fresh in the summer months. Leave it for roller rinks and hocky courts and let skateboarding be skateboarding X-Games are for boards bikes and E-Sports.

[@powertrip6426]

Couldn't agree less. I grew up skateboarding and recently got into rollerblading and the skill it takes to land the simplest tricks is crazy. It's an art form and sport just like skateboarding. I have no idea why people try to gatekeep stuff like this, kinda blows my mind. I could watch a sick BMX, skateboard, or rollerblade edit and appreciate the artistry and mastery of the craft behind all of em 🤷‍♀️

[@SonicCDspeedrunArchives]

As someone who grew up skateboarding, doing Rail 360 flips and going to skate parts and crap like that; ironically I only ever watched the X Games for Aggressive Inline Vert. Because it was something I just couldn't do myself, and the tricks were so much cooler than what I could do with a skateboard. Triple Vert with the breakdancing medalists and Matt Lindy throwing out Triple Backflip attempts are so memorable and symbolic moments that defined what the sport was for me. It's really tragic how it evolved and we lost that kind of spirit that it had. All the Inline Medalists deserve to be listed and remembered on the X-Games site. ESPN to me only even blew up because of the X-Games, so it's just so weird to see this was the future of it all.

[@jenkims1953]

The tipple inline was not a good thing, it was making fun of the sport, Chris Edwards break dancing. I guess who really knows but the ppl that were involved because Chris was actually a dancer who started out doing dancing on rollerblades but he is also the person who did the first ever grind on rollerblades. He was also the poster child for rollerblades at the start of the sport. He started of dancing before the tricks came but he also was one of the first to pioneer many of the early tricks or at least ones that would progress into others. Chris edwards is our version of Rodney mullen i would say but he got kind of dated after time in his style, where he was doing tricks that only he would do and his overall style be came dated. Hard to say but most consensus in the sport think that it was when they were making the sport more into a joke with triple inline. Having someone dance in the middle of the ramp while skaiting around them is not serious its done more for entertainment value. That is not a good representation for a sport in a compitetion that should be taken more seriously. When Rollerblading was the leading sport. it really makes you think this is why the skaters started revolting, idk because i was not there i only hear or know some of the rumors. But i have also been in this since i was a kid. I was only a kid when all this stuff was happening but because of X games like many other kids it is the reason why i got into it to begin with.

[@SonicCDspeedrunArchives]

@@jenkims1953 Making fun of the sport? Nonsense. Crowd popping off? Legit. Don't stretch the word "serious" to where the sun don't shine; Triple Vert was nothing but cool factor for viewers at home, the crowd, and why it got points with the judges. Street Luge and Inline were the entire reason to watch the X Games. Street Luge was the highest rated segment, and look at what happened with them. I think people really over analyze what happened with the sport to a degree. Video games. Inline was in, THPS 2 came along and got everyone to buy skateboards instead. Then we couldn't do ollies without getting hurt so skating fell by the wayside once more. Days long gone of people laying pipes out in the street to grind on with Inline blades, then skateboards. Gone. So since video games drove Skateboard sales up, it provided political leverage to push Inline out. Everything is dollars; all the other drama is noise. It's not like skateboarding became the big mega event of the X Games afterwards. They killed off what the brand meant, and it just became a motorcycle show. Family events during the summer that always had the X Games on, now simply had golf on TV so everyone just spent their time outside instead. It's sad. But everything is dollars.

[@jenkims1953]

@@SonicCDspeedrunArchives its not about what you think its about what happened. I am not just making this up the triple round is seen by majority of the rollerblading community as the defining point when the X games started taking the sport less seriously and where forcing rollerbladers to be more entertainment value. Yes so to say they need to be more serious is not incorrect, because we are talking about a competition where people compete to rank for placements and medals. They did remove one of the segments to replace with that. I forget which one , but no one should be dancing in the middle of the ramp like that on something that should be taken more serious. There was also nothing cool about triple vert, just go watch the proper vert. Taig chris solo or yautoko brothers solo. It wasn't street liuge at the top because it was rollerblading, hands down the most popular sport in the entire history of the x games Was rollerblading. 25:00 you don't get a poll that landslides the whole poll like that for no reason. ASA aired befoer the x games by 1 or 2 years so the viewers where coming off the back of that. Where Rollerblading was a 24 million participant count industry by this time. Skateboarding and Bmx were struggling to pull anywhere close to those numbers. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jp6ndol4oNqWd6s Just go watch "Barley dead" DVD if you haven't. It explains some of the reasons why Rollerblading died and it also shows with accounting that Rollerblading was the biggest extreme sport of its time.

[@SonicCDspeedrunArchives]

@@jenkims1953 ok kid.

[@jenkims1953]

@@SonicCDspeedrunArchives you have nothing to say and that will be due to the fact you don't know, some of us are from that time, how can i be a kid when i am probably older than you?

[@davidhokett]

I competed in the ASA world vert in 2008, I think. There were only 2 competitors including myself. There were no cameras or TV coverage. I thought ASA and roller blading has died. I regret not going to Asian xgames. I went to Woodward one more time to practice my double backflip and put down my blades after that for nearly a decade before attempting it again in Dallas, tx. Video of my skating experience can be found if you search my old KZbin name supahman009. It would be great if xgames brought back aggressive inline, I think a lot of people want it back.

[@Hayyothhakodesh]

I'm 45 I started freestyling in the 90s and I'm back doin it in my 40s after time off for a decade . I sure hope they bring it back. Just picked up a new pair of razors shima 3s remastered in 2023. I snowboard in the winter but skate in the non winter months.bring it back. I hate how slow skateboarding is and how much wasted energy u have for a few tricks . Bring back aggressive inline please!!

[@94SexyStang]

Same here at 41....just got back on my Blades, man what a thrill. I recently tried skateboarding again, ughhh just so boring....although I do dabble, and like to build boards.... it definitely feels lame in general. Rollerblading is way more fun.

[@DamianLewd]

They polled and still didn’t bring it back. What does that tell you

[@neilwowen]

Nice work fella- really enjoyed this one 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@adamblackburnblacky6493]

Fuck x games I wanna see rollerblading in the Olympics now bmx and skateboard are....

[@runrabbitrunracing]

Great vid! Was pretty lonely skating in the early 00s

[@oghomelesskid]

i find it interesting ppl want skating in the olympics and back in the xgames..... i wouldnt want us anywhere near that. currently think skating in a good spot and i want skaters to have the reigns to the big comps. if the xgames announced skating back in, id actively protest it.

[@flazay_da]

and this is pretty much why the sport is dead outside of middle aged diehards

[@jbmp1390]

I miss watching the Yasutoko brothers so much.

[@Alphanecevitt]

worst part is our PRO OG LEGENTS NEVER got what they deserve . Even aaron Feignberg !! awsome video !!!! made me sad and happy !! we just love this thing to love it ! ::)

[@jbmp1390]

I don't see how Arlo could've done much to change the decision with regard to inline being removed from the X Games.

[@wheelsceneblading]

He couldn’t. He was a freelance employee.

[@Money_Maker83]

I demand and claim for Aggressive rolling blading to comeback to the X Games, I still rolling blading with 39 years old 🤘🏻

[@bearwolffish]

"Demographic of the on site fans." Is like when the lady tried to say the bmxers and skateboarders were more professional. We were too young, too hood, too unwilling to compromise for them. Corps always soften, and undermine what they can't control.

[@Franz_giblet]

Personally I don’t think rollerblading really worked on the courses as everything is too far apart and is mainly ramp based. How relevant is the x games anymore?

[@thatmountain]

Tell that to Aaron F.

[@Franz_giblet]

@@thatmountain I don’t have his number 🤷🏻‍♂️. I don’t think it showcases the skills and greatness of skating compared to street skating.

[@krocodeal6919]

Xgames is declining for years, it's not as big as it was 20 years ago. About olympics, I don't want us to be part of it. It's one of the most corrupted organisation ever. Just need to stay away from this nonsense. FISE is looking bigger than xgames now (at least from my europpean point of view).

[@taylorgoson7119]

I remember I was the last of my friends to transition from inline to skateboarding as a young teenager and it hurt. I do not know how much the sport has progressed since it was last aired on X-games but they should bring back one event as a fan service.

[@jenkims1953]

as a teen in the 90s i started skateboarding but the skatepark i used to go to had a dominate group of rollerbladers and so i started rollerblading because of that as i made friends with them. I asked to try on their rollerblades and they let me. After that i was begging to get some blades at home.

[@kai_plays_khomus]

Skateboarding started out as a fad, it died and became the target of mockery and ridicule - but it had been this time which laid the foundation of modern skateboarding and its culture. And then it died again. And rose again. And died again. It's easy to get used to it when you start out as a fad and experience any decline as some sort of conspiracy especially when your measure of comparison is skateboarding - but that's how things are going, after all it took skateboarding decades with _and against_ the mainstream to make it what it is. I don't mean to say skateboarding would be somehow superior, just that it went to the same.

[@jenkims1953]

24:55 you don't landslide a poll like that for no reason, people watching back in the day know that rollerblading was the dominate sport, it makes me cry sometimes. I was only a kid but i recall going to my gradfathers house to watch it all the time because only he had pay tv but i recall it was a big event when the games came on the TV blew up just for rollerblading.

[@christycullen2355]

X games exists because of rollerblading. AMA was popping up everywhere and they wanted in on it

[@mattgrantham3161]

I remember this time in rollerblading history where everyone wanted a piece of the pie, it was an exciting time.

[@halfblooddutchprince]

The first X Games I watched i was fascinated. It looked like the inline skaters were flying. I hope every year for it to be brought back

[@DNYLNY]

It’s so crazy how we used to use the word gay in the 90-00 to mean bad and also insult ppl bc homosexuality wasn’t accepted then.

[@rocesboyanthony5343]

I believe it’s a good thing that rollerblading was dropped. Like Arlo was saying “it wasn’t a good representation of the sport” I love that contests are held within the blading community. Of course the publicity of rollerblading being in the XGames is a good thing but it has to be done right. I think blading contests like Blade Cup should be live streamed on a somewhat professional level. With good quality cameras and multiple angles and maybe even some editing with a “HUD” display. Nothing crazy but enough to look proper

[@rocesboyanthony5343]

@@stuco agreed. Just seeing what pros can do with a course of the size it is now is amazing. It’d be super awesome to watch with a bigger course as well

[@deshi6661]

Great work as always

[@dawoodwilliams3652]

X games as a whole is a shell of what it used to be, the removed so much sports which were pillard of "Xtreme" sports, extreme sport culture changed, they started placing too much focus on sports using cars, and ended with four sports and different categories of those sports, i was a skateboarder in late 2000's and saw how sad the event was vs what we used to see, every skateboarder looked the same, no more unique skaters, it was all technical flashy moves, everything was to appeal to the crowd and what the corporate overlords, basically they degraded what the Xgames used to be, to just have events that would sell the most tickets, and as we saw people started pulling away and we have what we have now.

[@sk8rz2]

No way going back to the X-Games, once bitten twice shy. Blading should naturally on its own accord grow- whether it takes 10 years or 100. Big companies will just use blading and then spit it out when they no longer need it.

[@himmelsturmerIX]

4:11 I imagine if you want to motivate a group of people to compete, you would make a division for them so they can compete in smaller pool therefore more chance to win prizes.

[@hcr7559]

We don't need x games to justify our existence In fact, it is because of us that espn is able to succeed I'm glad I left skateboarding to be aggressive I will always have only one opinion on skate culture Sad bunch of people! ! ! Nothing has changed from 1997 to 2022 I believe it won't change until I die

[@haggiscaliente4723]

You asked for the comments but you didn’t ask me to like and subscribe so I don’t know what to do?

[@Rollerlife]

Awesome video. I don't think the X games should get blading back. there are other great events like the Worls Skate Games or FISE championship that are as good and have always supported inline.

[@robdigital1383]

Hopefully we may see the olympics in our various forms sometime soon.. I’m sure x games may be having the same idea in the near future .. either way it’s good publicity for the sport 👍👍

[@tionik06]

I remember, for me, my best friend and I just started skateboarding again and stopped blading. I think we hit our personal ability ceiling and wanted to try for something else. Also the peer pressure for a teen was insane. I was a skateboarder until late 6th grade. I remember blading up to school and all the kids I was hanging out with for a year were all of the sudden calling me gay. You brush it off but after a long time, it gets most people. I stuck in there despite this but at first, I really did feel the pressure but at least thought "well fuck them. They weren't real friends anyways."

[@raddog1478]

Blading should come back to the x games period. Some of you forgot where you come from and why you picked up the sport.

[@miguelibanez6079]

I would love to see blading back

[@destinsather9757]

I don’t feel like the marketing development was sufficient to build it up like skateboarding had with Tony Hawk. There was a lack of marketable personalities in aggressive inline, you clearly see that the best guys were super rebellious and anti establishment whereas skateboarding were able to mesh their personalities with being marketable.

[@emmyturner7385]

I hope this comes back.

[@ryankeogh6611]

Can anyone give any details to the Nicky Adam’s comment at 22:28? Did the dude start fights or something?

[@wheelsceneblading]

Nicky Adams was notoriously difficult to deal with, would get into arguments, fights and he eventually went to jail several times for various crimes.

[@ryankeogh6611]

@@wheelsceneblading thanks for responding 🙏 I’ve watched this video a lot of times and I always wondered . Keep up the great work

[@jameyjacade28]

Bring roller blading back it might just revive the xgames

[@MyMiguelFonseca]

Never go back to something that ended badly, x-games in-line is on the books, it’s time to move forward and make things properly, if there are enough people blading then the events will come naturally

[@3SecondsAgo]

If rollerblading came back to the X Games, it wouldn’t be the same. Nobody is dropping hammers anymore other than Nils Jansons and a few others. It’s not like there’s 100 bladers who are well known that drop hammers. Also, most records have been set already so it’s not like there would be any first time tricks done if the sport came back to the X Games. But hey, it would be cool, though, to see the sport back in the X Games.

[@wheelsceneblading]

Have you seen FISE? There are still plenty of skaters doing huge airs, spins, flips and combos. Julien Cudot regularly drops double back clips and huge spinning flips.

[@wesschepman]

My humble opinion would be a yes. I also feel like only way it would be shown is on the mega ramp.

[@knivesitaly]

Skateboarders have always snubbed inline skaters. I skated in the 90s and 2000s, when I traveled in Italy they treated us like shit. They took a long time to land a trick, we landed many tricks in a short time and flew over their heads, we annoyed them because ordinary people were more interested in watching rollerblading.

[@dannytwitch3276]

There is no doubt that rollerblading will return to the Xgames. I’d like to see aggressive inline vert as well as aggressive inline street events at the X games.

[@joshuayoung9207]

Bring it back to X Games and to the streets. Aggressive Inline is missing from the Australian skate parks and ramps, I still have my skates at the age of 40 and still skate so why doesn't the world see us bladers tearing it up.

[@Martin_Krutina]

Thanks for video.

[@GESSIM90GRAUS]

parabens pelo video, vale muito apena assiste e ver toda evolução.

[@lassddhole2864]

Well, just remember it's easy to tap a curb with a board and call it a grind when.In fact a roller blader has to actually grind their way down said ledge or handrail ....fuck skateboarding

[@chrisgoblin4857]

IMYTA is all the proof that we don't need X Games. It's so out of touch with our sport as it these days. Events like the Boschi Pope jam, Winterclash, Blading Cup and the Franky Morales invitational are better than the X Games could ever be. Keep it in the community and do it ourselves.

[@thomasmendez5063]

Let’s run it back. In-line park/street for sure not sure anything else is needed I don’t think the vert talent exists anymore.

[@Kevhoe]

Mega ramp for sure. A discipline rollerblading hasn’t touched.

[@romeisfallingagain]

we need a new jet set radio. i always mocked the bladers, but its a cool sport

[@Pupixario]

In my mind back in those days it was simple. Skaters had to learn 5 tricks in 3 years straight and their skill was not applicable to any other sport, not even to snowboarding really. Meanwhile, bladers could carve the city traffic at 30mph and you could be doing wild tricks 3-6 months in. On top of that, your skills transferred almost 1:1 to skiing, hokey and ice skating in general. They saw this as a direct threat and especially those that have invested YEARS already in learning skateboarding were scared and jealous as **** My mind is set since then that that's the shittiest community you could find your self in...

[@danbowmen4180]

ESPN dropped it because it lost NHL rights. Losing NHL rights and their decision to remove inline skating from XGames happened in the same year. Since inline skating was also used for street hockey, aggressive inline had to go too.

[@wheelsceneblading]

I don't see how that can be the case when they continues the vert competition for several years after they dropped the street competition.

[@jonathanromero2]

Im rollernlading and i understan. This not personal its only for money, prestige and viewers. I don't care what they have to say

[@ratty5]

Yes, that'd be amazing if it came back. I saw the Yasutoko brothers in real life during the early 2000s. They inspired me to get into aggressive inline. I got back into rollerblading when the gyms were closed during the pandemic. It's great exercise. I'm surprised how well the sheep of our society still cling on to rollerblade hate. It shows when the same motions can be done on shoes, ice skates, or rollerskates and people cheer. The second the wheels are in a line, the homophobic slang begins 😂 So stupid

[@lucasjgigante]

Rollerblading need to come back to X-games, for sure!!!

[@wheelsceneblading]

I think that ship may have sailed.

[@iitstre_4550]

Because the Skateboarders cried and went out of their way to absolutely destroy the Blading market. They got their wish. Now we’re all friends but the damage has been done.

[@auroraboelon2288]

If N-line wants to grow, and be more than a soulful hobby, it must be on the main stage, or else those kids will be discouraged and chose something else with the promise of success, and not end up like me poor, broken, and crazy.

[@penrodautorepair3170]

I don’t blame Arlo.

[@jojooso695]

would you like to see inline in xgames... absolutely

[@runrabbitrunracing]

That 1995 comp ❤️

[@alhallaj]

Bring inline skating back!!

[@SnedxNJ]

Rollerblading has gotten sooo much more technical, bring it back, we need to get more kids skating. Between the x games and woodward both pulling in-line it’s fucking depressing

[@Kevhoe]

Shit I didn’t know Woodward pulled in-line. When was that? I went up Woodward PA when I was a kid.

[@kunlesanders]

Inline Skating events R.I.P. (sniff)

[@MeliorIlle]

Most bladers I have ever met are pretty based and scoff at gay stuff Jackass would do. Seems like they wanted to project their own insecurities and silence them through being obnoxious because bladers would hold their immoral behavior in contempt.

[@Alphanecevitt]

x games made fun of us after that which srports do you want it to come back !!!!