How roller skaters are helping to rebuild a neighborhood

Bloody thighs and bruises are two things most people avoid at all cost, but this is not the case for a group of mostly women who ramp skate on eight wheels. Long Beach is a home to these roller skaters, a hardcore community that doubles as a haven for women of color and queer folk.

On Sunday, Sk8 Dojo hosted a competition for the local community dubbed, “Game of Skate”. The event, hosted at Michael K. Green Skatepark, was sponsored by Habitat for Humanity and State Farm with a $500 Visa gift card as a prize for the winner.

Although the event was competitive in nature, participants could be heard repeatedly, saying that it was just for fun and all the skaters rooted for each other with congratulatory high-fives and cheers whether the competitor landed a trick or not.

This is representative of the strong sense of comradery felt and offered within the community.

“It’s a very independent sport that can be shared with others … when you get the community involved it’s even more fun because we have a little bit more of a challenge and more support where you wouldn’t have found that if you were by yourself,” Karen Cruz said, also known by her skate name, Karen the Karrot.

The event also gave away free child-sized skates, along with backpacks and safety gear to all guests in attendance. Many of the older skaters took these giveaways in order to pass them out to children at their local skate parks, encouraging a new generation of roller skaters.

“Long Beach is a Mecca for roller skating and inlines,” said Victoria Hernandez, founder of the rollerskating based non-profit Sk8 Dojo. Hernandez continued and said, “People from all over the world come to skate here.”

Long Beach is home to many popular skate locations, such as Junipero Ave. Hill, which leads to Alamitos Beach, Houghton Park in North Long Beach, and Michael K. Green Park in the Washington neighborhood.

Nicknamed “Ghetto Park,” Michael K. Green Park has become a spot frequented by roller skaters. The park had previously been neglected, as holes and graffiti took over the ramps making them almost unusable.

With the help of Habitat for Humanity, Hernandez has been able to help maintain and improve the park for everyone, by getting the holes fixed in the ramps and adding cement pathways to the park.

Sk8 Dojo has tasked itself with keeping the Michael K. Green Skatepark clean and usable for the community, while also leading events that serve the skate community. Hernandez was originally using money out of her own pocket to clean the park until she got a Small Sparks grant from Habitat for Humanity to help fund the project.

“The community is blossoming all over the country now … it’s always been popular, you just had to look for it,” said Hernandez.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine, roller skating has gained an immense amount of traction as people were in search of an independent hobby during a time where isolation was encouraged. This sudden spike in popularity even caused a worldwide shortage in skates in 2020.

However, Long Beach was home to the niche community long before its boom.

Long Beach is also the headquarters of Moxi Skates, one of the most prevalent brands in roller skating around the world founded by professional skater Michelle Stielen, a.k.a Estro Jen.

To put it simply, Long Beach is a roller skate haven.