Just us being grommets again.
It's 2024, we just dropped a new collection and more is in process of being created. It's the time of year when all rollerblading news accounts go on and on and on about who's SOTY, Skater of the Year. Now we were discussing this and came to the conclusion that we don't really have a SOTY. However, we are total fanboys and stuck in our own bubble completely. So we figured we just drop a post on our current favorites out there.
Just us being grommets stuck in a dadbod, that's just how it is. And no we didn't ran any survey, poll or what so ever. This is just us. But considering who's probably the SOTY 2023, we think we aren't that different than the most of you. So here we go.
Sean Kelso
Absolutely without any doubt Sean Kelso is on our list of favorites. Just like, come on, how couldn't he be. This dude has been skating with his brother for so long he just mastered rollerblading and figured out a way for him to still challenge himself. But fun fact, he's not on this list just because of his amazing skating. He is without a doubt the most fashionable guy in rollerblading. The pants, the shoes and the vintage nascar tees, what's not to love about him? We really wanted to add one of his edits from last year, couldn't really decide so went for the easy way out and choose Reflect.
Michael Witzemann
Second on the list is Michael Witzemann. This young star has it all. His style is amazing and his skills are beyond there. Witzemann is great on both aggressive and wizard stuff. Probably next to the Kelso's one of the most productive people in rollerblading too. If he's not filming for his amazing part in Plastic Pusher 4, or his pro Sway edit, he is uploading content to his YouTube and Patreon channels.
Especially the last few years his YouTube was just great. We both learned a lot form the "How to skate a ledge" edit. The "How to use an Insta360" edit was great too. It's mainly his behind the scenes vlogstyle edits that keep us entertained the most. And that's not only because he is often found rocking a Pardon hoodie, like the blue Pardon Hoodie in his latest vlog on YouTube.
Pat Ridder
Last on this list that is totally based on our biased fanboyism is Pat Ridder. Yes, you read that right. Pat is one of the most fun skaters to watch. In any clip you can just feel the vibe. It's always pure joy that comes forward in these videos. Filming him must be really difficult as Pat can basically skate anything that's not even an obstacle you would think of. Like in that latest piece on the Them Insta. Bumping of the curb and doing some kind of weird cess thing up that fence. Like is it even a trick? But it looked fun. Same with the hop over the fence followed by the backslide and that late 180 after it. How do you film that? It looked so improvised by Pat, you just got to keep that camera rolling and focused on him. Not to forget that Soyale, textbook material there. Is it all about his tricks though? Yes and hell no. It's how he performs them with so much style! Besides the executing, he's is just one stylish fashionable mf.
So there you have it. Our list of riders when we are acting like total grommets. When these guys drop a new edit, we drop what we are doing at that moment and go watch them. What do you think?
1 comment
Pat Ridder somehow always makes me smile while watching his edits and clips.
There’s some mischievous feel to his skating, that makes it fun. He is totally acting on what the spot is giving him to play with, and that always gives me feels of how I, we, started out skating back in the day; us exploring the spot in stead of just grinderblading it.