Riedell

These are my babies. They are relatively knew. I used to have Carrera sports, but these are custom made Reidells. Most of my skating has been done on skates with brakes on the fronts However, in competing, there is too much foot work, so I've had to take them off. As you can see, I still use my toes to stop- which is bad for my skates- obviously. My partner, who is an incredibly amazing skater, uses the sides of his wheels.

Having the ankles free and using four wheels makes for a great deal more versatility in one's ability to move.

My partner is the true talent. I am just along for the ride. We do a lot of what you would see figure skaters doing. We are often asked if we are indeed professional ice skaters. Cool huh? He is quite strong and can lift me and spin and do all sorts of crazy stuff all at the same time. He can do back flips and whas been on t.v. commercials and parades and has been asked to do half time shows for basketball and what not.

I'm the luck one because I'm the one being lifted! And that's about all I have to do. I was a ballerina up until high school and have I've done all sorts of dancing (jazz, lyrical, ballroom, salsa, country). My part was being athletic, strong, graceful, and have a liftable weight.

To be the lifter you must have the gift of coordination and daring-ness. My partner is responsible to lift me and my skates- a lot of weight- while spinning and throwing me around- he will flip me from beneath his legs over his shoulders and be spinning and hitting every position all the while.

When I compete- which I haven't done in some time- I have a great number of people watching me. Honestly, to me, it is the GREATEST rush- it beats running marathons, skiing, climbing, dancing, and everything else. There is NOTHING like it. It's like the music starts and it seeps into my very soul, into my blood- it makes me giddy with happiness just thinking about it. It simply engages all faculties. It employs a great deal coordination, strength, SPEED, and grace.... And yes, many sports do this also; however, the differnce is that there is an abundance of music and people around one's self while employing all your faculties... It's just awesome. What more can I say?

If you want to know what its like- please TRY IT. But be prepared to be surprised not only by how fun it is, but by how much harder it is than it looks. Ask every guy I've ever taken on a disco skating date... They will testify.

And if you do try- do it DISCO style. Disco skating is the funnest. It is 158.9999 times more fun than skating to other types of music.