We’re several months into a rush on roller skates and I’ve seen a lot of people asking what kinds of skates they should buy as they decide to join our little skating rebellion. The more I thought about what to recommend, the more I realized there’s a question that should come before that. You want to roller skate, but what kind of roller skating do you want to do?
I sat down with Chum Fiesta, who I like to call my wife/soulmate/fellow Midwestern casserole aficionado, to talk about how to figure out how to determine what you want to do on your skates. Chum and I met nearly a decade ago when she and her husband Sam moved their company, Plug Your Holes, to Kansas City and we both transferred to the Kansas City Roller Warriors. We tried out for KCRW and became forever besties.
Check out our discussion about derby versus ramp skating versus trail skating. We talk through our own experiences to give you an idea about how you want to skate so you can figure out what kind of skates you’d like to buy.
Best of all, we follow it up with an overview of Chum’s skating setup. I’ve linked out to her favorite brands so you can get a sense for what she’s using.
Chum Fiesta skates on Antik roller skates she custom designed back in 2012. She upgraded to Powerdyne Revenge plates and Gumball toe stops and she loves her 90A Juice Java Wheels.
And for pads, she has a mixture that works for her: TSG wristguards, 187 Killer Pad elbow pads, and Atom knee pads. She’s also a huge fan of Bauer hockey helmets. You can also follow her current playlist here.
Is it possible to add transcripts of the videos?
I would love to! I think for accessibility it’s a great suggestion and will start trying to get them added very soon.