Since the beginning of ONE the back cover has been an opportunity we’ve used to present the personality of rollerblading. Often times that has included an actual person, but for our latest issue photographer John Haynes produced an image that captured more than a thousand words about the true essence of blading.

When I saw the photo of Aaron Peterson’s “retired” skate I knew immediately that it had seen a lot of action. Any idiot could see that. The frame was cracked, the backslide plate split and hanging by a thread, and the fabric on the soft-sided boot was visibly burned from friction. Friction that was unmistakably the result of thousands if not tens of thousands of grinds. Is that an exaggeration? Could be, but an exaggeration done out of respect. Respect to not only Aaron for the four and a half years he put into these blades, but respect for every one of us that’s putting milage on our own grooves. Making this all the clearer was the superior quality of the image itself, sniped while onset of some other production with an insane camera by John Haynes. A quick thinker that Haynes. But anyway, this picture got put on the back cover to remind everyone of the irreplaceable history inscribed into us by the pieces of plastic and urethane we fashion into rollerblades and ride for enjoyment. Worn-out skates a testament to the agony and ecstasy of an infatuation with blading. — JE