Kamis, 24 November 2011
Rabu, 23 November 2011
How it all began
How it All Began Legend has it that the first in-line skates date back to the 1700's when a Dutchman attempted to simulate ice skating by nailing wooden spools to strips of wood attached to his shoes.
In 1863, an American developed the first roller skate with wheels attached side by side. Soon, the two-by-two wheel formation became the standard and the in-line skate was quickly forgotten. Versions of the in-line skate resurfaced periodically, but the concept hadn't caught on yet.
Given the technology of the time, in-line skates could not be designed to function as well as conventional roller-skates. By 1930, roller skates had found a permanent place in society. But it took 29 more years, until 1959, for someone to mass-produce a metal-wheeled skate. The next significant development came in 1973 when the skate was further improved and popularized by the introduction of the polyurethane wheel. In 1980, two hockey-playing Minnesota brothers discovered an in-line skate while rummaging through a sporting goods store and decided that this design would make an ideal off-season hockey-training tool.
They refined the skate and began assembling the first Rollerblade skates in the basement of their parents' Minneapolis home. It was that same year, when they founded the company that would become Rollerblade®.
Hockey players were soon turning heads as they glided down Minnesota roads in the summer. Nordic and Alpine skiers were also quick to adapt Rollerblade skates to their training regimens. Business grew during the early 80's, but the in-line skate market was undeveloped and limited geographically.
In 1863, an American developed the first roller skate with wheels attached side by side. Soon, the two-by-two wheel formation became the standard and the in-line skate was quickly forgotten. Versions of the in-line skate resurfaced periodically, but the concept hadn't caught on yet.
Given the technology of the time, in-line skates could not be designed to function as well as conventional roller-skates. By 1930, roller skates had found a permanent place in society. But it took 29 more years, until 1959, for someone to mass-produce a metal-wheeled skate. The next significant development came in 1973 when the skate was further improved and popularized by the introduction of the polyurethane wheel. In 1980, two hockey-playing Minnesota brothers discovered an in-line skate while rummaging through a sporting goods store and decided that this design would make an ideal off-season hockey-training tool.
They refined the skate and began assembling the first Rollerblade skates in the basement of their parents' Minneapolis home. It was that same year, when they founded the company that would become Rollerblade®.
Hockey players were soon turning heads as they glided down Minnesota roads in the summer. Nordic and Alpine skiers were also quick to adapt Rollerblade skates to their training regimens. Business grew during the early 80's, but the in-line skate market was undeveloped and limited geographically.
Strategic marketing efforts were introduced in the mid-80's to position in-line skating as a new sport, and grass roots marketing tactics were employed in Miami Beach, FL, Minneapolis, MN, and Venice Beach, CA.
Through the middle 80's to late 80's, direct sales were eliminated as Rollerblade sought distribution through sporting goods retailers.
As the 80's came to a close, Rollerblade expanded the market further through in-line skating events, competitions, and other activities specific to the sport; including the new trend of aggressive skating.
In addition, traditional marketing tactics and an aggressive public relations plan catapulted skating into the mainstream. In the early 90's, international distribution was first realized with the establishment of several distributorships. Also, in 1991 Nordica, a member of the Benetton Group, purchased a 50% stake in the company. Cross-promotions with major consumer product companies gave credibility to the market and publicity for the sport was at an all-time high as popularity soared and participation grew faster than any sport in history. The 90's were filled with further expansion of the market and industry, which was spurred by great strides in skate technology. Lighter, stronger materials, lower pricing, and technologies such as our revolutionary ABT® brake, continued making skating more accessible to people of all ages, and athletic ability.
Through the middle 80's to late 80's, direct sales were eliminated as Rollerblade sought distribution through sporting goods retailers.
As the 80's came to a close, Rollerblade expanded the market further through in-line skating events, competitions, and other activities specific to the sport; including the new trend of aggressive skating.
In addition, traditional marketing tactics and an aggressive public relations plan catapulted skating into the mainstream. In the early 90's, international distribution was first realized with the establishment of several distributorships. Also, in 1991 Nordica, a member of the Benetton Group, purchased a 50% stake in the company. Cross-promotions with major consumer product companies gave credibility to the market and publicity for the sport was at an all-time high as popularity soared and participation grew faster than any sport in history. The 90's were filled with further expansion of the market and industry, which was spurred by great strides in skate technology. Lighter, stronger materials, lower pricing, and technologies such as our revolutionary ABT® brake, continued making skating more accessible to people of all ages, and athletic ability.
touring in line skate fitness
18/2011 Fitness
Rollerblade @ North Shore Inline Marathon 2011
Rollerblade @ North Shore Inline Marathon 2011
The North Shore Inline Marathon is the largest inline marathon in the USA, held annually in Duluth, MN. On Thursday, September 15th, Robert Guerrero, Ariel Surun, Kyle Sola, Andy Mafei (RB Warranty Manager) and Tom Hyser (RB Product /Marketing Manager) flew to Minneapolis and met up with RB President Stephen Charrier. With the exception of Stephen Charrier, this was largely a crew of rookies in the racing world. Robert is a professional street-skater, and skated the marathon last year for the first time. It was a whole new experience for Ariel and Kyle, who are sponsored NYC street-skaters; their endurance skating skills would be put to the test in this marathon. Tom and Andy both had to sit this one out due to recent knee surgeries.
Stephen picked up the crew at the airport and took everyone out to his house on Lake Minnetonka, meeting up with Stan Chaves and Chris Miller from Inlinewarehouse.com, who had also arrived. It was a bit chilly, but we all jumped on Stephen’s boat for dinner and a cruise. After dinner, we had a serious Nerf gun fight to finish off the day and Stephen’s eldest son, Austin, won the battle. He would accompany us to Duluth the next day.
On Friday morning at 5:30 am, we all piled into Stephen’s Suburban and headed north to Duluth to set up the RB booth. After registration, racers came by the RB booth to check out the 2012 skates and chat it up with the crew. It was a great to see everyone from pro racers to the average recreational warrior there to test their skate skills.
Saturday cranked up at 5:45 am to meet in the hotel lobby at 6:15 am. We hopped back into the Suburban and headed north to the starting line, jacked on caffeine and snacks, with Van Halen’s Eruption blasting as we approached the parking lot. Everyone was crazy hyped as they got their skates on and mentally prepared to race 26.2 miles. It’s always insane to see 3,000-plus skaters at the starting area. Soon enough the race started and the crew was off and rolling. Tom, Andy, and Austin took the Suburban back to the finish area and opened up the booth before the first skater crossed the line. The winning time was an amazing 1:05! Robert was the first of the RB crew to finish with an unofficial time of 1:23:05; not bad for a street-skater at his 2nd marathon. Next was Stephen a.k.a. the Terminator with a time of 1:31:30; not bad for a guy twenty years older than many of the skaters with whom he finished. Kyle finished with a 1:42:11 and Ariel with a time of 1:51:53.
After the race, everyone hung out at the RB booth sharing their experience. Robert found his groove with a super-fast group of guys and ripped it the whole way to the finish line for his personal best time. Stephen got kicked in the leg as his group crashed but he stayed on his feet. Kyle stayed with Robert till about mile 15 when his leg muscles turned into cement and forced him to finish the race at a mellow pace. Ariel was not so lucky and ended up doing a cartwheel into the grass as his pace group crashed. Ariel’s street skating skills prevented him from getting hurt but the wipe out cost him quite a bit of time to catch up.
Then it was time to tear the booth down, pack everything up and head out for some lunch. Robert, Ariel, and Kyle met up with local Pro street-skater Michael Garlinghouse and his lady, Caroline, for one more night of fun in Minneapolis. Stephen, Austin, Tom and Andy drove to the airport, along with Stan and Chris, and within a day we were all headed for home.
The NSIM is a crazy fun event and you should try it! There is nothing quite like ripping along the road with a massive group to the sound of humming wheels and bearings. Many great memories were made and we can’t wait till the 2012 NSIM.
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