How YouTube Rekindled My Love for Sport, part 1: Roller Skating

Real Inspiration for Getting Active Later in Life 

Feeling stuck or too old to start moving again? Here’s how YouTube adventurers reignited my love for fitness—and how you can develop passion for sports too. 

Extreme adventure sports look exciting 

I didn’t expect to be inspired by YouTubers in their twenties jumping off cliffs and scaling mountains—but here we are. After years of being on-and-off with fitness, I stumbled across a few adventure sports online, and something clicked. It reminded me that sports can be outdoors, adventurous—even imaginative. If you’re 50 like me, or way over and thinking it’s too late to get active again, I’m here to tell you it’s possible. You don’t need fancy equipment or a gym membership to get started—just curiosity, a bit of courage, and maybe a YouTube video or two. 

Let’s go through several sports (over time) and see whether they inspire you. For each one, I’ll include at least one video to whet your appetite. I’ll write mainly about sports I’ve actually done, and a few I plan to try soon. If you want more info, add a comment and I’ll gladly respond as best I can with my growing knowledge. 

I’ll review essentials for beginners of roller skating today. I will report more sports in the coming weeks, and add more info to each sport over time as well. I’ve simply run out of time this week! 

Roller skating 

What roller skating looks like 

These are some of my favourite video clips of the past few years.

My thoughts on roller skating 

The first of the wheeled sports I love. I tried desperately to learn as a child, but pavement near my childhood home was rough so I couldn’t glide properly. 

Roller derby has gained a sustained following in many cities. So does skating in skateboard parks! You may also find roller dance and jam skating groups or classes in your town. I think most cities now have local retailers for skates and safety gear. 

Types of skates 

At rollergirl.ca, you’ll see a nice categorization of indoor vs. outdoor and derby vs. recreational and dance skates. 

• Recreational, dance, and fitness skates have tall boots 

• Derby skates and jam skates (it’s like breakdancing on skates) are ankle high like shoes 

Where to buy roller skates 

• In Victoria, B.C., Zumiez in Mayfair mall sells Impala beginner skates, and Influence board shop on Quadra near McKenzie carries Moxie Lolly (I got mine there!) 

• In Vancouver, you can visit the physical store of Rollergirl.ca where I got my Riedell R3 skates 

• Try to see skates in person; the fit varies from brand to brand, and is different from shoe sizes usually 

• Skates range from $200 to $450 CAD, although Impala beginner skates start somewhere around $125 CAD 

• Online, you’ll find a wide variety of suppliers and brands; beware duty on sporting goods will apply if you’re ordering something to be shipped from U.S. to Canada 

Where to roller skate 

• Lacrosse boxes are perfect for learning, when not in use 

• I recommend sweeping dirt away if possible in a small area so you don’t trip on anything unexpectedly 

• School yards may have smooth paved areas or paths 

• Community parks often have a paved basketball area, but might be frequently occupied 

• Look for level areas clear of people, traffic, rocks, and dirt—and have no skating restrictions 

• Tennis courts typically look great but may have a gritty grip finish, and usually bikes and skates are banned (wheels do leave marks in my experience) 

• Avoid areas that get debris from trees and playgrounds, unless you love sweeping 

• Paths with grass on both sides can be great 

Safety gear for roller skating 

• Find or repurpose some safety gear—at least a helmet and knee pads 

• Ideally get a tooth guard and wrist guard, plus padding for hip, elbow, and shoulder 

• Sizing: padding needs to stay in place; knee pads will likely get a lot of use early on when practicing to fall 

• When trying new skating moves, I take my broom, hockey pads, and multipurpose helmet to a lacrosse box when nobody’s around 

I used to play inline roller hockey with a bunch of young men, and we all wore hockey gear from a sports gear trading shop. Hockey pants have hard, bouncy shock absorbing pads, and does hockey shoulder/chest gear—you can fall many times and keep getting up, unless you break your ankle like I did once. As a 5’6″ tall woman with almost-normal weight, I luckily fit youth large for hockey pads, so I save a lot of money.

Tips for scared skaters 

• Start in your kitchen where you can lightly grasp countertops
• Use full gear, ice hockey style if possible
• Sweep the area so you don’t need to worry about tripping over tiny rocks or tree debris 
• Start by learning to fall on grass 
• Do a proper warmup so no part of your body is stiff if you make sudden moves 
• Skate alongside a fence that you can grasp gently while taking first glides
• Get some time on your skates
  • Push off fast enough so tiny bumps don’t startle you
  • Stay in a deep squat so you can feel the skates hugging the pavement, and you can find your balance
  • Reach hands way out in front like you’re pointing where you want to go
  • Bum should be way out behind you for balance

Tips for falling:

• Practice falling forward onto knees on a grassy area, until able to do this without thinking; find great YouTube tutorials for this and many other skater skills
• Practice falling and tumbling to one side also; you’d want to instinctively tumble to one side if falling backwards so you don’t land directly on your bum (I’m not an expert about this but you’ll find tutorials on YouTube or in your community)

It’s okay to dive slowly into roller skating if you’ve never done it before, or it’s been a while since your last time. Enjoy the process, and you won’t be disappointed. Feeling comfy while spending quality time on your skates (even if only on the grass and wearing head-to-toe padding) is still fun and productive.  

Next time, I plan to cover skateboarding and scootering. Watch for my blog for tips, encouragement, and workout footage every week! 

By Heidi Bada