What is the origin of "Haters" in skating?

[netplaceus]

People who have been Roller skating even 50 years say it's always been that way, no different today. Except rexers are cool now!

When I started 5 years ago I could not understand why people say "skate don't hate". But if you get immersed in this subculture you realize it's there.

I still don't completely understand it. It does not seem to be much about race, but rather jealousy and competition, insincerity?

Some people hate on you for your skating style, some seem to hate on you just because you are doing better than them. Which is just about the time strangers start videoing you.

If you rink skate on adult night it can be almost like High School, worse actually, we are all over Youtube and Facebook with videos.

I don't hear about this in other sports so much, but I think skating is the only sport that is also kind of a performing art too. For the hot and talented, it's a narcissist dream.

So that's my thoughts, why do you think we have haters?

[HeBeGB]

I generally find that the haters are coming from an inability to accept that there is more than one style/type of skating (theirs). I say, embrace all forms and learn wherever and whatever you can to improve your own skills.

[HeBeGB]

Oh, and their "intelligent" argument usually consists of "That looks stupid"
At least with the likes of Mort, Ursle, Ferocious and others, their statements are backed up with their own experiences of the situation, not just outrageous statements with no support.

[rufusprime99]

LOL. Good question. Snobbery, clique-ishness. Used to see a lot of 595/Reactor, Pro Line, Advantage snobs. I was just mentioning a guy I had on a 45 who got pushed into a Pro Line I think it was, because some old time skater told him it was better. Shiny and more expensive. Better? Such a slippery slope. It depends on the skater.

But, you are pretty right. It is ugly out there. Jam skaters, art, rhythm, speed, derby, dance. I dunno why. I wonder if anyone will come up with a good theory.

I can trace the derby developement I saw in LA. At first, they were all nice and friendly, took advice, asked questioned. Then after a couple of years, they were "it" and you weren't. LOL

[fierocious1]

Originally Posted by rufusprime99

LOL. Good question. Snobbery, clique-ishness. Used to see a lot of 595/Reactor, Pro Line, Advantage snobs. I was just mentioning a guy I had on a 45 who got pushed into a Pro Line I think it was, because some old time skater told him it was better. Shiny and more expensive. Better? Such a slippery slope. It depends on the skater.

But, you are pretty right. It is ugly out there. Jam skaters, art, rhythm, speed, derby, dance. I dunno why. I wonder if anyone will come up with a good theory.

I can trace the derby developement I saw in LA. At first, they were all nice and friendly, took advice, asked questioned. Then after a couple of years, they were "it" and you weren't. LOL

Got to look past the ignorance that just because it costs a ton, it makes you a better skater. Tuning and talent makes your moves better, picking out acceptable gear to get the job done doesn't have to cost thousands.
Testing and trying out different setups "tunes" your preference. Don't follow the cow path.

[Mort]

A skater who is enthusiastic about the sport(all encompassing here from sliders to speed skaters) will appreciate any level of skill on any equipment. It's about growth as a personal measure and learning from each other. Teaching new people what options there are vs "this is the best because I said so" is the goal.. or should be.

Does gear make a difference? Absolutely, without a doubt it has an effect on the situation. Does it transform a skaters skill from nothing to epic? Hell no lol. The skater does that by finding themselves.

I'm more of a "show me what you can do with them ****** skates". I love watching people be fast and agile on something like a gtx500, or gt50, or Carrera or other 75 to 200$ skate.

Cheaper skates, for some(if not nearly all) people make a better skater, Why? Well they have to practice harder and be analytical about what they're doing because they get no help from elite skate gear. Thus they learn to fine tune their stride to make a skate grip, transition, and perform well. So when they do finally get on good gears you better watch the #$%@ out son. Lol

Sooo many of the best skaters I know had the worst pieces of crap when they were young, for years. The only advantage their gear gave them is it was theirs, and it performed the same way every time just about, where rentals are always different.


Seen many a skaters at rinks that have obviously more money (most expensive gear) get dumped on by a guy with a stock Fame skate.

[netplaceus]

These are all awesome insights, it's kinda what I thought was going on. It seems that once you have been around for awhile you figure it out. Apparently not everyone though, and hence the hate I guess.

I think this may be the only thread I have ever started where everyone is in agreement! It's encouraging and positive that most experienced skaters eventually see through all the BS, even their own.

[netplaceus]

Originally Posted by fierocious1

Got to look past the ignorance that just because it costs a ton, it makes you a better skater. Tuning and talent makes your moves better, picking out acceptable gear to get the job done doesn't have to cost thousands.
Testing and trying out different setups "tunes" your preference. Don't follow the cow path.

So true! I have really "nice" skates and the difference in performance from a plain decent skate is tiny in my opinion, mostly weight. Yes, they are stronger, but I'm not doing any serious jumps, so it's wasted on me. I have noticed over the years some (almost all) of the best skaters have old ugly beat up skates!

[rufusprime99]

Originally Posted by netplaceus

So true! I have really "nice" skates and the difference in performance from a plain decent skate is tiny in my opinion, mostly weight. Yes, they are stronger, but I'm not doing any serious jumps, so it's wasted on me. I have noticed over the years some (almost all) of the best skaters have old ugly beat up skates!

I did improve dramatically when I got my first good skate. 2 reasons I think. I remember on my first skate, an indoor/outdoor skate, cheap synthetic boot, nylon plate and soft wheels. I liked turning hard on it. I had trouble taking lessons with my daughter because of the improper plate mount. Same for the second skate. Then I got on the short forward DA45 with a proper plate alignment. With that I could edge properly to both sides, and turn like a maniac. I had a LOT of fun with that. Still do.

[Mort]

Originally Posted by netplaceus

These are all awesome insights, it's kinda what I thought was going on. It seems that once you have been around for awhile you figure it out. Apparently not everyone though, and hence the hate I guess.

I think this may be the only thread I have ever started where everyone is in agreement! It's encouraging and positive that most experienced skaters eventually see through all the BS, even their own.

Lol we had a "DJ" come down from another rink and he had a huge head on his shoulders. Guy was an ok skater and all, but his skills were rough, and not polished or smooth. Fast legs, does not mean they're functionally good or smooth looking. Lol

Then he came up to our DJ, asked her why there was no fade between songs, what program they used, etc. Ragged on her about that, then he tried dissing on her plate and said it was trash.

She skates a Arius platinum, that's been modified and personally set up by me, lol the kid who was talking trash skates a stock vanilla junior, and IIRC he put cosmic super flys on them. So her plate that he was talking trash about , as he didnt know what it even was, costed more than his entire skate.. hell even her wheels cost more than his Vanilla junior(custom color phantoms) . it was funny as crap.

Unfortunately, none of the good skaters were at that Wednesday session, it was dead. I was there but I didn't really do anything or speak to him or his friend. I had the wrong kind of skates there that day to mess with kids that dont know anything. Theyd assume I was slow because I couldn't corner in my skates or something. 97A in our rink is laughable ^.^

If he sticks with it someone will humble him and that snobbery hes running with will taper off. Maybe I'll convince the crew to go up to his home rink this weekend.

[netplaceus]

Originally Posted by rufusprime99

I did improve dramatically when I got my first good skate. 2 reasons I think. I remember on my first skate, an indoor/outdoor skate, cheap synthetic boot, nylon plate and soft wheels. I liked turning hard on it. I had trouble taking lessons with my daughter because of the improper plate mount. Same for the second skate. Then I got on the short forward DA45 with a proper plate alignment. With that I could edge properly to both sides, and turn like a maniac. I had a LOT of fun with that. Still do.

I agree with you completely. Once you get into a leather boot and a metal plate and good quality wheels it can be a game changer. Myself, I'm really into the hardware and how it fits my style and needs. I've experienced many different cushion options, wheels, kingpin angles. On my first skates I had a "Pro Shop" build them. I later learned they mounted the plate pigeon toed, made crossovers so hard, but I could do a crazy spin stops like no one else! Lesson learned, educate yourself and do it yourself.

I ended up with a Roll-Line Energy plate (15 degrees), not that different than any other good plate except it's designed for mixing cushions, which I found to be so beneficial, at least for me. I like sharp hard turns too!

[netplaceus]

Originally Posted by Mort

Lol we had a "DJ" come down from another rink and he had a huge head on his shoulders. Guy was an ok skater and all, but his skills were rough, and not polished or smooth. Fast legs, does not mean they're functionally good or smooth looking. Lol

Then he came up to our DJ, asked her why there was no fade between songs, what program they used, etc. Ragged on her about that, then he tried dissing on her plate and said it was trash.

She skates a Arius platinum, that's been modified and personally set up by me, lol the kid who was talking trash skates a stock vanilla junior, and IIRC he put cosmic super flys on them. So her plate that he was talking trash about , as he didnt know what it even was, costed more than his entire skate.. hell even her wheels cost more than his Vanilla junior(custom color phantoms) . it was funny as crap.

Unfortunately, none of the good skaters were at that Wednesday session, it was dead. I was there but I didn't really do anything or speak to him or his friend. I had the wrong kind of skates there that day to mess with kids that dont know anything. Theyd assume I was slow because I couldn't corner in my skates or something. 97A in our rink is laughable ^.^

If he sticks with it someone will humble him and that snobbery hes running with will taper off. Maybe I'll convince the crew to go up to his home rink this weekend.

Hopefully he will learn. Sometimes negative feedback is good. When I first started I overheard someone say Eric is "stiff as hell". I was mortified. I became obsessed with learning to be smooth, I didn't even know what that met at the time. That one negative experience had a huge impact on what would become my future style.

[hoohoorjoo]

My daughter is 15 now. There was a little group of 3 or 4 girls at the rink last weekend and they were hating bigtime, rolling their eyes and all. Come race time, she ate their lunches. During her victory lap, she did a screeching hockey stop right where they were standing at the edge, then smiled and skated off. It was the highlight of that session. I was proud.

[netplaceus]

Originally Posted by hoohoorjoo

My daughter is 15 now. There was a little group of 3 or 4 girls at the rink last weekend and they were hating bigtime, rolling their eyes and all. Come race time, she ate their lunches. During her victory lap, she did a screeching hockey stop right where they were standing at the edge, then smiled and skated off. It was the highlight of that session. I was proud.

Great story!

[Oicusk82huh]

Similar story... There is a teen girl at our local rink with high functioning autism. She panics when she sees her bullies outside of school. The roller rink is the only place where bullies don't make her panic. She is a fantastic skater and can out-skate any of them, so she feels confident. It's really beautiful.

As for the world we live in, narcissism is proving to be quite beneficial. The narcissist needs attention, but ONLY from people that they find to be superior, so cliques develop. Narcissist is just a polite way of saying A**H***.

Skating should be a place where everyone is welcome. Do your part, reach out.

[rufusprime99]

Originally Posted by hoohoorjoo

My daughter is 15 now. There was a little group of 3 or 4 girls at the rink last weekend and they were hating bigtime, rolling their eyes and all. Come race time, she ate their lunches. During her victory lap, she did a screeching hockey stop right where they were standing at the edge, then smiled and skated off. It was the highlight of that session. I was proud.

Well, in trying to suss out some of the reasons for tension on the skate floor, I think this points to a factor: Competitiveness. Those eye rolling girls were there to compete. Being a bit unsure is certainly what brings out the eye rolling. It is a way to try and throw off the competition. Get in their head.

I think all skaters are trying to compete. To be seen as good. Or, at the very least, not to be seen as bad. But, there are different kinds of good. I remember a girl who went to the Whittier rink when I was helping teach. She came to this "lesser" rink to practice so she would not look bad at Fountain Valley. FV was practically an advanced skate floor Thursdays and Sundays in those days. She did not want to be embarrassed in front of the cool skaters, so she came to work on her skating elsewhere. LOL

[quantoo]

just check for koolaid drinkers .lol

[jbgerman]

Social media raised the competition. Skating isn't "sing-a-long" so it takes some time and effort to get to a certain level - + the creative skills to stand the social media. Perfect for jealousy, hate and competition.

I see also tension between the young skaters, who started in the last years, because it is cool and again popular, and older skaters, who maintained skating although literally nobody roller skated on traditional roller skating. The young skaters behave sometimes like they invented or least discovered roller skating and elder skaters complain about the lack of respect. - up to hate, because you cannot beat 30-40 years of experience.