Visual Minority

Duncan Hurd is a writer and rollerblader living in Toronto. For several years he was working behind the scenes at the IMYTA contest series and with the Salomon Street International team.

He attened the Barely Dead & Accidental Machines premiere held in Toronto on November 19th, and these are his thoughts…

“I just don’t understand rollerblading.”

I’ve heard it from skateboarders. I’ve heard it from girlfriends. I’ve even heard it from my mother. For some reason when I show someone a skate video the response is always the same. They ooh and ahh at the big spins – then grimace and cheer for the falls. The grinds are met with the question, “Is he just doing the same thing over and over again?” And when I respond with, “No, see that trick. Well, it’s a mizou, and now that’s a tru-mizou. See, now that’s a full torque. No, that one was just a torque.” My friends quickly learn that I speak a second language that almost sounds like English and then we watch the rest of the video and then turn to Reba.

And I guess they are right. How do you make sense of rollerblading? What do you even call it? Stunt skating? Aggressive Inline? Rolling?

MisledLab’s Barely Dead attempts to establish a definition of the outsider and ostracized sport that is rollerblading today. Although I feel they may have just organized the mish-mash of stories and legends into an easy to swallow documentary without offering up an actual answer.

On Sunday November 19th, 2006 at a small Irish pub in the shadow of the CN Tower a small group gathered to watch two new rollerblading movies in a space typically reserved for projecting Toronto Maple Leaf’s hockey games and the odd CFL game or two.

At just after 6:00 PM the lights dimmed and the show began. As you may already know Barely Dead is more of a documentary than a standard showcase of the latest rollerblading stunts. Talking head interviews and voice-over commentary are mixed with skate stunt footage slowed down on great quality film as well as file footage taken from television, old VHS cassettes and the Internet. While I found the stop motion shots of traffic and construction sites rather pointless, the skating was more than worth seeing on this type of film stock.

By showcasing Chris Haffey, Jeff Stockwell, Eric Bailey, Alex Broskow and Brian Shima (although all quite repetitively) the editing was able to reflect the subtlety these skaters bring to their stunts. But, I don’t feel that simply slowing down a trick is enough to give the non-rollerblading viewer any insight into the complexities of balance and control required to perform at this level.

A central argument is made by writer Justin Eisenger and added to with interviews of Arlo Eisenberg, Shane Coburn, Jon Elliott and Jess Dyrenforth plus many others involved as pro skaters, company owners and videographers. That argument can be summed up as this: Rollerblading as a sport is undervalued for its contribution to the “extreme sports” category as the actual number of participants and gross sales throughout North America were driving factors to the creation and continuance of the X-Games and other related extreme sport showcases. And as presented, this argument is strong. Although, simply because sales and participation numbers are stronger it doesn’t mean that popularity is also going to have the same strength.

The point then becomes clear by emotional assertions by Arlo Eisenberg and Azikiwee Anderson that if we as rollerbladers aren’t going to get the recognition we deserve we’re going to have to find a way of taking it. And while the voice-over signals a possible solution by ending the talking heads part of the movie with, “Until now” all we are left with are a few montages of more slowed down skate footage that is impressive but does nothing to unify the viewers and skaters in a direction of continued solidarity and a push for greater respect and appreciation.

As the final sections wore down I found myself almost depressed and unable to make sense of why I should feel good about being a rollerblader. The frustrations of everyone involved in the interviews dominated the video and while the message is clear, the call to action is not. As a documentary the video frames the frustration and aggravations rollerblading (in North America) is going through. But, if you’re looking for answers to why, or what can be done, you’re going to have to find it in yourself as a rollerblader. And maybe that’s not a bad thing at all.

After a short break the lights dimmed again and the latest Mindgame film video began. A few pints to the wind and I was ready to be cheered up. And I was.

The skating is amazing. Shane Coburn’s editing is on point and he knows how to slow down the action and build up a trick. I’m sure if I’d seen Ben Schwab’s final stunt in regular time I may have been only mildly impressed. But the presentation of that stunt had me actually cheering, and I’m not prone to over-excitement.

The video follows the now Mindgamesque pattern of strong skating sections and interwoven skits. You may not like the interruptions to the skating but for those skaters who feel left out when all they see are tricks they’ll never do the skits are entertaining and occasionally funny.

The slightly drunker crowd responded to the hammers and painful falls section with cheers and jeers and made me feel once again a part of a sport that has shaped how I look at the concrete world. While talking about our problems may not bring us together, appreciating the complexity and balls-out talent involved certainly does.

The current state of the rollerblading industry may have those with cash investments scared to death. But, if the small crowd who gathered in Toronto is any indication of the spirit still alive among skaters, then rollerblading may never be truly dead.

- D. Hurd