What Goes Around Comes Around, Including Roller Skating
2022-10-22
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1Have you ever roller skated? This sporty and tricky activity involves rolling around on special wheeled shoes.
2People do it both indoors and outdoors.
3Roller skating was hugely popular in America in the 1970s and 1980s, especially among children and young adults.
4Now, The Associated Press reports, roller skating is back in style.
5In Waltham, Massachusetts, recently, people moved around an outdoor basketball court on a cool autumn night.
6But none of them were playing basketball.
7The court is now a place to roller skate.
8"I had my eye on skates for a while - I saw they were making a comeback," said Waltham's Tammy Donroe Inman.
9The 48-year-old comes to the court every few days.
10"I fall all the time but it's pure joy," Inman said, with her new skates on her feet and a helmet on her head.
11The COVID-19 pandemic may have helped lead to renewed interest in skating.
12It is an accessible, social and physical activity that can be done outdoors.
13It is linked with the fashion and music of the "disco" period in American culture.
14Later, in the 1990s, inline skates, or roller blades, became the leading kind of roller skate.
15Over time, roller skating in general dropped in popularity.
16Now, you can find temporary roller skating rinks set up in parks and on roadways.
17Roller skating is trending on social media. Skate meet-ups in large cities worldwide are common.
18New York City's Rockefeller Center held a skating rink this summer for the first time since 1940.
19Organizers advertised the event as "bringing the magic of the 1970s with it."
20And then there are all famous people on skates.
21Country music star Tyler Hubbard and rock and roller Madonna recently took some turns skating around a rink in New York's Central Park.
22The summer skating event was part of a disco celebration.
23Skating references are common in media of all kinds lately: music videos, magazine covers, movies.
24Stars of music, film and the internet are among the producers.
25A 2019 HBO documentary, United Skates, presents roller skating as a lively Black subculture.
26The filmmakers told the AP that they expected to be reporting the end of an era.
27But they found the opposite.
28As one young skater told them, "Skating's not dead. It just went underground."
29Harlick Skates is a skate boot maker based in San Carlos, California.
30It has been in operation since 1933, but owner Jason Kuhn says roller skate sales started to take off again in 2020.
31"I started seeing the orders roll in," he said.
32While roller skates used to be only 20 percent of Harlick's business, they are now more popular than ice skates.
33"It was hard to find workers. Not everyone knows how to do this kind of work," he said.
34Many adult roller skaters have not skated since they were children.
35This has resulted in a burst of online classes.
36Nicole Fiore of Orange County, California, teaches skating skills and dance online.
37The 30-year-old is a four-time roller skating world champion.
38She often missed school because she was at competitions.
39"I've never seen people roller skating in grocery store parking lots before, and suddenly they're here," she said.
40"I've been waiting for this moment my entire life."
41A day of skating can be a serious workout.
42There are several forms of roller skating, including competitive, speed, dance and roller derby -- a contact sport played between two teams.
43Ana Coto lives in Los Angeles and goes by the social media name @anaocto.
44A 2020 TikTok video of her skating seemingly effortlessly to the Jennifer Lopez hit Jenny From the Block earned 2.5 million likes and millions more views.
45"There was no intention - just to feel good and feel happy, not to find something to put on TikTok," she said.
46"I started posting a skate journal, really for myself."
47Then Coto saw that people were interested in watching her skate.
48Coto, who is an actor, was later contacted for appearances in a movie and has since appeared in the Dua Lipa music video, Levitating.
49"It is funny. skating has given me this little foothold in the industry that I never had before."
50I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm John Russell.
1Have you ever roller skated? This sporty and tricky activity involves rolling around on special wheeled shoes. People do it both indoors and outdoors. 2Roller skating was hugely popular in America in the 1970s and 1980s, especially among children and young adults. Now, The Associated Press reports, roller skating is back in style. 3In Waltham, Massachusetts, recently, people moved around an outdoor basketball court on a cool autumn night. But none of them were playing basketball. The court is now a place to roller skate. 4"I had my eye on skates for a while - I saw they were making a comeback," said Waltham's Tammy Donroe Inman. The 48-year-old comes to the court every few days. 5"I fall all the time but it's pure joy," Inman said, with her new skates on her feet and a helmet on her head. 6The COVID-19 pandemic may have helped lead to renewed interest in skating. It is an accessible, social and physical activity that can be done outdoors. It is linked with the fashion and music of the "disco" period in American culture. 7Later, in the 1990s, inline skates, or roller blades, became the leading kind of roller skate. 8Over time, roller skating in general dropped in popularity. 9Now, you can find temporary roller skating rinks set up in parks and on roadways. Roller skating is trending on social media. Skate meet-ups in large cities worldwide are common. 10New York City's Rockefeller Center held a skating rink this summer for the first time since 1940. Organizers advertised the event as "bringing the magic of the 1970s with it." 11And then there are all famous people on skates. 12Country music star Tyler Hubbard and rock and roller Madonna recently took some turns skating around a rink in New York's Central Park. The summer skating event was part of a disco celebration. 13Skating references are common in media of all kinds lately: music videos, magazine covers, movies. Stars of music, film and the internet are among the producers. 14A 2019 HBO documentary, United Skates, presents roller skating as a lively Black subculture. The filmmakers told the AP that they expected to be reporting the end of an era. But they found the opposite. As one young skater told them, "Skating's not dead. It just went underground." 15Harlick Skates is a skate boot maker based in San Carlos, California. It has been in operation since 1933, but owner Jason Kuhn says roller skate sales started to take off again in 2020. 16"I started seeing the orders roll in," he said. 17While roller skates used to be only 20 percent of Harlick's business, they are now more popular than ice skates. "It was hard to find workers. Not everyone knows how to do this kind of work," he said. 18Many adult roller skaters have not skated since they were children. This has resulted in a burst of online classes. 19Nicole Fiore of Orange County, California, teaches skating skills and dance online. The 30-year-old is a four-time roller skating world champion. She often missed school because she was at competitions. 20"I've never seen people roller skating in grocery store parking lots before, and suddenly they're here," she said. "I've been waiting for this moment my entire life." 21A day of skating can be a serious workout. There are several forms of roller skating, including competitive, speed, dance and roller derby -- a contact sport played between two teams. 22Ana Coto lives in Los Angeles and goes by the social media name @anaocto. A 2020 TikTok video of her skating seemingly effortlessly to the Jennifer Lopez hit Jenny From the Block earned 2.5 million likes and millions more views. 23"There was no intention - just to feel good and feel happy, not to find something to put on TikTok," she said. "I started posting a skate journal, really for myself." 24Then Coto saw that people were interested in watching her skate. Coto, who is an actor, was later contacted for appearances in a movie and has since appeared in the Dua Lipa music video, Levitating. 25"It is funny. skating has given me this little foothold in the industry that I never had before." 26I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm John Russell. 27The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. 28______________________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30style -n. the state of being popular 31helmet -n. a protective head cover 32rink -n. an enclosed area with a smooth, dry or icy surface for skating 33era -n. an important or outstanding period of history 34trend -v. to show a tendency 35boot -n. a fitted covering (as of leather or rubber) for the foot that usually reaches above the ankle 36journal -n. a record of experiences, events, ideas, etc. 37______________________________________________________________________ 38Have you had a roller skating experience? What kind of physical activities do you enjoy? 39We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 40Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.