Hello everyone, my name is Christoph.
I am a proud team rider at SkaMiDan and currently live in Erzingen in the Waldshut district – Tiengen.
In addition to my passion for rock music and attending concerts, I have maintained my love for inline skating since childhood.
The starting signal
At Christmas in 1995, when I was 13 years old, I received my very first inline skates. They were ordinary fitness inline skates. Once I could skate confidently with them, I quickly realized that I didn't just want my skates to get me from point A to point B – I wanted more!
So, I unscrewed the heel brake and practiced riding ramps and pipes, as well as doing my first jumps on a funbox, at the nearby skatepark.
Before long, I became so hooked that I started saving my pocket money. After I had gathered enough money, I quickly acquired all the parts I needed to customize my skates to my liking.
This meant having two wheels for rolling and two grind wheels per boot instead of four rolling wheels per boot. Additionally, with the help of a file, I ground a groove between the middle wheels and installed a sort of soul plate.
Thus, I quickly learned and mastered my first grinds.
At that time, personal customization of skates was just as popular as stylish clothing. Even though I hardly listened to rap or hip hop back then, I embraced the blading lifestyle from America.
This meant that baggy pants, at least two sizes too large, and oversized T-shirts were simply part of the look. Still, even back then, four out of the five manufacturers had their headquarters in Europe.
The first aggressive inline skates
By Christmas 1996, I received my first proper aggressive inline skates. That period saw a true boom in aggressive inline skating.
It seemed like everyone my age had a pair of the right skates, and everyone was swept up by the skater lifestyle. Skateparks, plazas, and halls were filled – or even overcrowded – with aggressive inline skaters, colloquially known as bladers. Other roller sports, such as BMX riding, were a rarity.
Print media, VHS tapes, posters, mail-order services, and local shops were everywhere. However, as the year 2000 approached, the trend collapsed. Print media, local shops, and skate halls gradually disappeared.
At the same time, the first aggressive inline skates with the standardized UFS (Universal Frame System) hit the market, offering many new opportunities for customization and high-quality aggressive skates tailored to every individual style. But even so, the scene became smaller and smaller.
Local skateparks were repurposed due to a lack of youth meeting spots, and gradually, the parks were closed. In 2001, I bought my last pair of aggressive skates for a while, and from then on, I was more or less a remnant of the local golden inline era.
Life and responsibility
My education then took center stage – after all, one is supposed to grow up. Nevertheless, a skate session was always the perfect way to clear my head.
In 2009, my girlfriend gifted me a new pair of aggressive inline skates. Then, in 2015, I was completely re-ignited. My newest skates, used as "bad weather skates," were in use at least three times a week.
This allowed me to quickly catch up to my old level during peak times.
I visited many skateparks in southern Germany, which made it painfully clear that I was the only remaining active blader. The times had indeed changed over the years.
By that time, the internet had also matured. For example, on YouTube, a lot had evolved, and there were many videos about inline skating – sometimes even channels dedicated solely to inline skating or even just a specific discipline of inline skating.
Welcome back to the Inline Community!
Towards the end of 2017, I met Daniel, the founder and owner of SkaMiDan! His YouTube channel really resonated with me, and after watching several of his videos, I realized that he must live very close by. So, I took it to heart and got in touch with him – just as he says in his videos.
We immediately hit it off and are now good friends. Through him, I also got to know many people from the community that he is diligently building, gathering, and supporting.
Inline skating is, as I mentioned at the beginning, my sport! No fixed training times, no restrictions, nothing monotonous, yet it's available anytime and anywhere. You have no limitations, and that’s fantastic!
Whether skating alone or in a group, whether it's a relaxed rail session or an all-or-nothing session, whether it's a laid-back or exhausting meetup in Weil am Rhein, a session at the Basel skate hall, or at one of the many beautiful public spots across the region, meeting friends and making new acquaintances – this hobby, this way of life, is more than desirable.