The History

Installation in Seigfred Hall Gallery — Athens, OH (May 2007)

I constructed an online zine as a free forum for skaters to speak their individual mind about areas of rollerblading. It all developed as part of my graphic design senior thesis at Ohio University. The initial concept was to document the rollerblading community around me and the historical origins of rollerblading. After graduation I have relocated to Berkeley, California and have continued to capture the dynamics of a new rollerblading community. This has allowed me to take this project into new territory.

I am not creating this for profit or to compete with other rollerblading media. I am creating this media as a way to inform or connect with the rollerblading community. It is for me as much as it is for you. I lived 23 years in Ohio, disconnected from the heart of the industry. I always wanted to be in it — I did not want to study my ass off and work hard for a degree. But due to that education, I now possess the knowledge to help promote and give something to

rollerblading other than just my own tricks. I would be wasting my talents as a designer if I was not giving back to the one constant identity in my life — rollerblading. None of us are professionals, we all skate and live different lives, but we share a common bond of skating. This is a way for us to show people we what we do. There are no rules, a loose direction, and a way to gain a reward.

These are not solid photos or hammers,
the stories are not about video sections
or sponsorship — they are just about
having fun.

I encourange everyone to think about why they skate, and what they are trying to get out of it. This is my dream and the more people who share in it, the more we can overcome adversity. And people may right this off as another DIY spout of bullshit attempting to build rollerblading from the ground up. But those are the same people who do nothing for rollerblading and are the ones who criticize those trying to make a difference. I do not think we all want success, just a form of acceptance. A respect for putting our bodies in danger, for looking at the world as a something to skate. For every fall where you question whether it is worth it to destroy yourself. For every challenge — you define yourself. You tap into something that forces you to achieve a goal you never thought possible. To use the world around you as something other than it was intended. And the means by which you achieve this asthetically or technically is what separates your skating from everyone else.

Being an art form of little recognition or obtainable history, newcomers to skating have to rely on others for their development. While networking is great for skating, there is no other resource for people to understand how tricks and aggressive skates work. It is a much needed commodity in an activity that has a confusing catalogue of grinds, spins, variations, etc.

And that's why Roll Zine exists.

Brandon Ballog
b.ballog@gmail.com