We Never Took Them Off
There was a first pair. There's always a first pair. Ours were secondhand, half a size too big, and we wore them until the toe stops were gone.
Nobody Was Keeping Score
Roller skating isn't exercise and it isn't a sport, not the way we do it. There's no finish line and nothing to train for. You put them on, you go outside, and the afternoon takes care of itself.
The People Came With It
The friends came from the skating. Parking lots, boardwalks, somebody's driveway at dusk. You learn a lot about a person from how they fall, and more from how they get up.
We Wore Them Everywhere
To the laundromat. To the grocery store. Down the boardwalk at seven in the morning when nobody else is out. One of us got married in a pair. Nobody talked her out of it and nobody tried.
So We Opened a Shop
Three blocks off the Venice boardwalk. One roller skate, six flavors, and the socks and shorts to match. We built the shop we wanted to walk into.
If you already have a pair, you know. If you don't, start with one. Everything else follows.
Shop the six flavors