Table of contents
The company history of SkaMiDan goes back to 2015. Please use the following overview and links to quickly find out more about the years that interest you most.
- 2022 – Big changes and the SkaMiDan Skateloft
- 2021 – Second lockdown, SkaMiDan team riders and new tutorials
- 2020 – SkaMiDan Showroom and the Corona Lockdown
- 2019 – Company building and sleepless nights
- 2018 – Passion becomes vocation
- 2017 – The first course offering
- 2016 – YouTube and the first tutorials
- 2015 – From Head to Action, the Starting Signal
For competitive reasons, I do not wish to provide insight into the latest changes at SkaMiDan. The update for the 2023 business year will be published in 2026.
2015 – From Head to Action, the Starting Signal
Even as a child, inline skating fascinated me, but it wasn’t until I was 26 years old that I finally took the step to start skating myself. This decision in November 2015 marked the beginning of my journey – a journey where I dedicated myself with passion and daily practice to learning the fundamentals of this sport.
I was about 12 years old when I first saw a group of inline skaters at a skatepark. From that day on, I was captivated by the sport. However, I never actually tried inline skating myself.
Many years later, at the age of 26, the time had finally come.
It was a day in 2015, to be precise, a day in November 2015, when I said to myself:
„Inline skating has been on your mind for over 10 years, but you’ve never started. Why not?!“
I had no answer to that question. But on that very same day, I bought my first pair of inline skates and aggressive inline skates.
This was the starting point, and with my first days on inline skates, my enthusiasm for the sport grew even stronger. I trained every day to quickly master the fundamentals—the so-called basics of inline skating.
I knew that if I wanted to skate safely and progress, mastering the basics was an absolute must.
2016 – YouTube and the first tutorials
Since I was often skating alone, I looked for a way to change that. This led to the creation of my YouTube channel, SkaMiDan, where I not only aimed to inspire others to take up inline skating but also to connect with like-minded skaters.
It turned out to be a success – helping many people get started in this diverse and exciting sport.
Day by day, I became more aware that I was spending most of my time skating alone. Well, to be fair, that was partly my own fault. But why?
I love skating through villages and cities, but I also enjoy learning new tricks at the skatepark – a style of inline skating that wasn’t very common in 2016.
At that time, I also realized that many people didn’t even know about trick skating, also known as aggressive inline skating.
But I no longer wanted to skate alone so often. So, I asked myself: How can I change that?
That’s when I decided to film and upload my first inline skating videos on YouTube.
I named my YouTube channel SkaMiDan, which stands for „Skating with Daniel“ – a name that still holds its meaning today.
The videos I created were tutorials showcasing the techniques and tricks I had already taught myself.
With these videos, I hoped to inspire others to take up inline skating. At the same time, I also hoped to connect with other skaters in my area and region.
The idea quickly became a success, and I got to know more and more inline skaters.
I was able to inspire many people to take up the sport. Through my online video tutorials, I also helped others easily get started with inline skating.
This allowed many to discover the beauty of the sport – seeing how versatile, healthy, and joint-friendly inline skating is. Additionally, it trains the entire body, improves personal fitness, and strengthens the mind.
2017 – The first course offering
By 2017, not only did the online inline skating community grow, but so did the enthusiasm for my free tutorial videos on YouTube – both in my region and worldwide.
To reach even more people, I started providing my videos in English, founded my own inline skating school, and optimized my online presence – an important step in further promoting the sport.
By 2017, not only had the online inline skating community grown, but more and more sports enthusiasts from around the world were showing great interest in my free tutorial videos on YouTube.
As a result, I decided to make my videos available in English as well.
This meant a significant increase in effort, but my goal was to ensure that everyone had access to high-quality, helpful, and free tutorial videos.
In August 2017, the next big step followed – the founding of my own inline skating school.
At that time, I was working for Intersport GEMO in Weil am Rhein, a company for which I am still very grateful today.
This company not only gave me valuable insights into various sports industries, but it also provided me with the opportunity to sell my first inline skates to fellow skating enthusiasts and offer them expert advice.
Additionally, they allowed me to promote my inline skating school and even showcase some promotional clips in the sales area.
During the year, I also improved my English so that I could offer international inline skating enthusiasts easy-to-understand instructional videos. At the end of 2017, the time had come.
Since that moment, all my online tutorial videos have also been available in English.
Additionally, I decided to go for a visual rebranding of my online presence, marking another important step forward.
2018 – Passion becomes vocation
In 2018, I decided to turn my passion for inline skating into a career and became fully self-employed with my skating school and skate shop.
Despite initial challenges, I dedicated myself fully to promoting the sport, offering free courses, and driving my vision forward through donations and alternative revenue streams.
At the beginning of 2018, I realized that the inline skating community had continued to grow. However, the release of my free tutorial videos was progressing slowly – mainly due to a lack of time.
For this reason, I set myself the goal for 2018 to turn my passion and skating school into my full-time profession. I knew that only by doing so could I continue promoting our favorite sport, live out my passion, and share it with others.
2018 was the year I became 100% self-employed with my skating school and skate shop.
As with any new venture, the beginning was tough – I had to invest all my savings and significantly adjust my daily life to make it work.
But when you have a passion, you should pursue it wholeheartedly. At that moment, I knew that the only way for me to be truly happy was to turn my passion into my profession and share it with others.
At the same time, I found myself in a dilemma. I wanted – and still want – everyone to have access to a comprehensive and technically in-depth inline skating course at an affordable price.
So I decided that I wanted to offer free courses from time to time. Unfortunately, this wasn’t immediately possible, as I now had to earn at least a minimal income from my passion to sustain myself – and, as with any business, the first year was particularly challenging.
For this reason, I started fundraising campaigns, which quickly gained support and continue to do so today. Thanks to these donations, I was able to offer free courses for underprivileged families and individuals.
Even today, every donation helps to promote my commitment to inline skating and to further develop my skate school.
2019 – Company building and sleepless nights
In the second year of my self-employment, I focused on expanding my webshop, increasing awareness of my courses, and improving my own inline skating skills.
To further develop my business and secure my finances, I also took on a night job as a newspaper delivery worker. During this time, my future wife and good friends gave me invaluable support, helping me push forward despite the challenges.
I also started receiving my first requests for in-person fittings and consultations. However, up until that point, I had only ordered products from the manufacturer on demand, meaning I had little to no inventory of inline skates or other items.
Whenever a customer placed an order through my shop, I would purchase the item from the manufacturer – which meant I had to pay for it upfront myself. In online retail, returns are a common occurrence, which posed a significant financial risk for me.
When an item was returned, I not only had to refund the original purchase price but also cover the shipping costs that had already been paid. Additionally, I couldn’t simply return these items to the manufacturer – I had to keep and pay for them myself.
At the same time, this presented an opportunity – it marked the beginning of my first inventory, which allowed me to offer in-person consultations. With this initial stock, I could let customers test the skates and, after a consultation, order the perfect model and size for them.
However, my inventory was completely unstructured, as it only consisted of returns from my customers. I had one model in EU 38, another in EU 47, and yet another in EU 42 or EU 45 – a random mix that was far from ideal.
To expand my inventory and support myself financially, I looked for a side job. It had to be something that wouldn’t interfere with my self-employment, which meant it had to be a job I could do at night.
Back then, even my living room had to serve as my warehouse.
Working nights delivering newspapers had an unexpected advantage – I could do it on my inline skates or by bike.
At the same time, I used this opportunity to distribute flyers and advertisements for my own business by placing them directly into mailboxes.
My future wife supported me from the very beginning – without her, none of this would have been possible. She covered most, and at times even all, of our living expenses, allowing me to invest my entire income into my vision.
Additionally, Christian Peter, a close friend and former professional aggressive inline skater, lent me a hand by assisting with the filming of my video tutorials.
The year 2019 was a relentless cycle of work. My days were filled with receiving supplier orders, packing them for customers, and shipping them out. I also dedicated time to offering skating courses for schools, families, and other interested skaters while managing the development of my website, handling bureaucracy, and taking care of other essential business tasks.
In the evenings, I took short breaks to spend time with my partner, family, and friends. However, since I’ve always been a night owl (and still am), my workday didn’t end there. As soon as my future wife went to sleep, I would sit back down at my computer and continue working – usually until around 3:00 AM.
At that point, I would grab my bike or inline skates and head to a neighboring town to deliver newspapers – a job I finished by 6:00 AM, just in time to see my wife before she left for work. Then, I would get a few hours of sleep before waking up no later than 10:00 AM to start the process all over again – including weekends and holidays.
Since this wasn’t sustainable, I knew I had to expand my inventory and find a way to support myself financially. The challenge was finding a job that wouldn’t interfere with my self-employment, which meant it had to be a night job.
Being a night person who could function on very little sleep, I decided to work as a newspaper delivery worker. The best part was that I could do this on my inline skates or by bike, all while distributing flyers and advertisements for my own business.
My future wife supported me from day one – without her, none of this would have been possible. She covered most, and at times all, of our living expenses, allowing me to invest every cent of my earnings into my vision.
Christian Peter, a close friend and former professional aggressive inline skater, also supported me by helping with the filming of my video tutorials.
The year 2019 was a non-stop grind. My days were filled with:
- Receiving orders from suppliers
- Packing and shipping orders for customers
- Offering skating courses for schools, families, and other interested skaters
- Developing and expanding my website
- Handling bureaucracy and other essential business tasks
It was a year of constant effort to grow my business and establish a solid foundation for the future.
In the evenings, I took short breaks to spend time with my partner, family, and friends.
Since I have always been a night owl (and still am), my work didn’t stop there. As soon as my future wife went to sleep, I would sit back down at my computer and continue working – usually until around 3:00 AM.
At that point, I would grab my bike or inline skates and head to a neighboring town to deliver newspapers. I usually finished by 6:00 AM, just in time to see my wife before she left for work.
After that, I would get a few hours of sleep before waking up no later than 10:00 AM to start all over again – including weekends and holidays.
2020 – SkaMiDan Showroom and the Corona Lockdown
In the previous year, I had invested every free minute – and aside from just a few hours per week – all of my time into building my business.
This was the only way I could financially manage the first steps while also setting up my first small warehouse.
From Living Room Storage to My First Warehouse
During the first half of the year, my living room had to serve as my storage space.
However, in the second half of the year, I received incredible support from my grandmother. She generously allowed me to use various rooms and unused spaces in her house as storage.
This meant more space at home, but it also introduced significant logistical challenges for my daily operations.
My grandmother’s house was about 5 km away from my home and office, and I had no way to set up a technical infrastructure there.
This meant constantly commuting between my home, office, and new warehouse.
I would first go to my warehouse to pick up the ordered items and then bring them back home to weigh and prepare them for shipping. After that, I would head to the nearest DHL branch to drop off the packages, then return home again to update my customers with their shipping details.
To save money – and because I’ve never been a big fan of driving cars – I did all of this on my inline skates or by bike, using a trailer, straps, and a large luggage rack to transport everything.
At the beginning of 2020, my wife and I moved. On the one hand, so that we had more space for our private premises, and on the other hand, to shorten the distances for my self-employment.
There I had the opportunity to set up a small warehouse for my merchandise. This meant that everything related to merchandise trading could take place in the same place: goods deliveries, warehouse logistics and order picking. I only had to take the finished packages to DHL.
The year 2020 brought many changes and significant developments.
Already in 2019, I had started working with Peter Bodner and Clemens from Carinthia, Austria. Together, we developed a new braking system for inline skates – the Simbro SimBrake.
The Simbro SimBrake was a drum brake integrated into a standard skate wheel, which could be activated through a specific body posture.
It was an exciting project, and I conducted numerous live tests to fine-tune its functionality. The braking performance was excellent.
However, due to high development costs, time constraints on Peter and Clemens, and supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to scale back further development and collaboration.
Who knows? Maybe one day, the project will be revived – either by Peter himself or someone else.
My wife and I decided that I could use one of the rooms in our new apartment as an office and showroom. This marked the beginning of the first SkaMiDan Showroom.
I installed new flooring, set up my IT equipment, ordered furniture and a few slatwalls, and soon, the room had transformed into the SkaMiDan Showroom.
As life often unfolds in unexpected ways, 2020 brought COVID-19 and the associated lockdowns. Before the first lockdown, I was still able to offer one final large skating course for children.
The investments I had made in the showroom suddenly became dead, tied-up capital due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, which hit me hard financially.
During the lockdown, sports like inline skating became incredibly popular, and everything I had in stock sold out – which was great! However, at that time, I still had a relatively small inventory, and my stock was quickly depleted.
Unfortunately, my suppliers were also completely sold out, and as a small retailer, I struggled to get new stock. Meanwhile, larger and financially stronger competitors had already bought up everything, leaving me with limited options.
Due to the lockdown, both in-home sales and group courses were prohibited, causing me to lose two major sources of income. Additionally, many of my friends lived in Switzerland, and with the borders closed for an extended period, I had almost no one to help me with filming.
Thus, a year full of changes and challenges came to an end.
One pleasant surprise to close the year was the Christmas gift from my biggest business partner, Powerslide. Among other things, it included promotional items, such as cookie stamps – which, of course, had to be baked and tested as well!
2021 – Second lockdown, SkaMiDan team riders and new tutorials
The year 2021 was largely defined by COVID-19, another lockdown, and many restrictions. In-person customer visits and sales were reduced to a minimum. The increased COVID-related sales also receded a bit, and manufacturers regained their ability to deliver.
Therefore, I focused on adding many new products to my webshop and expanding the range during the first half of the year. The demand for roller skates increased, which led me to gradually include more roller skates in my product range.
Additionally, this year I introduced a new logo, an improved website design, and offered the first official SkaMiDan merchandise.
Already in 2020, I had the pleasure of welcoming Jakob as my first official SkaMiDan team rider. Back then, his father, Mark, bought a pair of skates for Jakob, which led to us meeting. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but seeing how happy Jakob was on his skates brought me so much joy that I wanted to support him and Mark.
That’s why I decided to fully sponsor Jakob’s skating gear, which not only created a skate partnership but also developed into a friendship. Since that day, Jakob has been a proud team rider for SkaMiDan, and I am just as proud to have him on the team!
In 2021, the SkaMiDan team grew even further. Julia and Christian joined, both receiving full sponsorship from me. Why? Simply because they had an immense passion for skating, radiated that enthusiasm, and their love for the sport was contagious. They share the same values I associate with skating and bring friends and positive energy into the community.
This also led to a great collaboration. The SkaMiDan team developed into a small family in which everyone is there for each other and supports each other.
Together with Christian we were able to film new videos and publish new free tutorials for our inline and roller skating community.
2022 – Big changes and the SkaMiDan Skateloft
The year 2022 brought major changes, opportunities, and significant business risks for both SkaMiDan and myself. The outdoor market had become saturated after the COVID years, a war broke out in Europe, living costs skyrocketed, and everything became increasingly expensive.
Despite these challenges, it was time to separate SkaMiDan from my private space and home. Finding a suitable commercial space was difficult, and when I finally found one, I had to seize the opportunity – no matter the cost.
Outsourcing SkaMiDan from my private space was essential for several reasons:
- Lack of storage space – My inventory had outgrown my home, and to remain competitive, I wanted to stock more products. This allowed me to offer one-day shipping for many items.
- Greater product selection for in-person customers – A dedicated space meant I could offer more variety for local customers to try out.
- A professional infrastructure – A workspace designed for efficiency meant streamlined processes and more time for the community and customer consultations.
- Better work-life balance – Having a separate business location allowed me to take real breaks at home and avoid being constantly surrounded by work, which was also beneficial for my family.
- Returning to my own skating journey – One of my biggest goals was to skate more again, film more videos and tutorials, and help even more people learn inline skating and roller skating.
The new commercial space – my first real business location – provided the perfect opportunity to achieve these goals.
My vision was to create a dedicated skate space, where skating could happen anytime, regardless of the weather.
The move and setup of my new commercial space took countless days and nights. To save costs, I did everything I possibly could by myself. At this point, I am incredibly grateful to my friends and family, who helped me not only with the move but also with later tasks – such as assembling countless storage shelves.
Once the essentials were in place, I began working on what would become the future "SkaMiDan Skateloft."
This required:
- Removing about 200m² of carpet
- Tearing down a wall
- Installing new cable ducts
- And much more
It was a huge effort, but every step brought me closer to my vision!
With that, the first foundation for the SkaMiDan Office, complete with a warehouse and Skateloft, was officially laid.
For my local customers, I was able to offer test skating on wooden boards until the final setup was completed – of course, this was only a temporary solution.
Last but not least, I chose this new location for SkaMiDan because DHL was located directly below. This allowed me to ship customer orders until 4:00 PM without any significant additional time investment – a huge advantage for efficiency and service!
The word "self-employed" isn't a coincidence – anyone who runs a business knows just how much work and bureaucracy comes with it. For this reason, I felt it was important to find another hobby – one that had nothing to do with skating and something my wife and I could enjoy together. That’s how we discovered our shared passion for bouldering and sport climbing.
Looking back, we increasingly realized what a great balance and perfect complement bouldering provided. It strengthens the entire body and improves the coordination of all muscle groups.
The stretching and balance training that comes with bouldering was especially beneficial – it helped us stay fit, flexible, and healthy while preventing tension and pain, ensuring a strong foundation for the future.
2023 – The story continues
For competitive reasons, I do not wish to provide insights into the latest developments at SkaMiDan. The update for the 2023 financial year will be published in 2026.