Bittercold has come and gone and everyone is still bitter and showing no signs of giving up, and who could blame them? Most of us are paying for that misadventure in one way or another. The memories certainly aren’t paying for my upcoming credit card bill, and all my funny money went to bus tickets, past hi-jinks, and generally to guzzle away the memories of my manic mayhem from that weekend. Nothing is what it is, and there is always another story to tell. My condolences to the winners and us losers, we should of had some consolation prize, something to ease the moody blues from Monday through March. You turn eighteen, get a job, get a degree, or go into plastic’s debt, and it ain’t a bad place to be for a few years. Until it becomes your student loan and you’ve learned too much about rollerblading, life, and now learn how to pay for it. If you want to make it in rollerblading, sign the dotted line and you can buy tickets to paradises where you smoke cheap, drink cheap, eat ramen, double cheeseburgers, and learn; that nothing is free, the couch you sleep on is the grave you dug. Detroit was a reminder of the times I’ve traveled and a reminder of a price tag still to be paid.
Dear Mike Budnik, forgive me for I have sinned. Punch me drunk, kick me, I’m shitty.
It’s been brought to my attention that I’m “Mr. Washed Up.” I can see it. I don’t put the effort into rollerblading. I’m not making seasons of blade blogs, or filming for sections of videos, or promoting my image on social networks, or even traveling to chill with friends (sorry guys). Rollerblading has dropped from my priority list, we’ve broken up, and now we are holding hands wondering if it’ll ever work between us again. I’ve immersed myself in school and am set to graduate this spring. I couldn’t do that being a pile on the road, but being a pile at home somehow works. I don’t pour out edits or turn out clips or call for any undeserved attention, and wince whenever my name is brought up, much less an old nickname, a sociopath alter ego.
It’s easy to grow apart from impracticality. Not to say I don’t participate in blading. I go out with my homie, and we skate, and hate on all things about the industry, and I go to school and I wait tables, and I’m complacent and consistent, and I’m trying to finish something for once in my life. Onepissedoffreader, “How does this help rollerblading?” An outsider’s perspective? I guess it wouldn’t… I’m force feeding the viral masses and I’m washed up and figuring things out while screwing you, the reader.
But it allows certain freedoms.
I don’t have any alliances within the industry, I don’t have to promote anything, or do anything but fuck about downtown with coffee, or a tallboy, and too many cigarettes. I’ve learned to exist and to live alone, and to accept the low life. Recently, Jeremy Spira brought to my attention that I wasn’t “ready for Negrete,” a dig after I said he was Aragon’s shadow. We were trading biting remarks, but if the public opinion was that I wasn’t good to begin with, then wasn’t I washed up before I came up? What’s it matter to anyone if I blade or not? Maybe because I stopped sharing. I took my personality and ran away with it. My condolences.
And while I’m apologizing, “Morgan Reed,” Kato and I go way back to when I was 14 and he made skates by hand, and I wrote him nine-page sagas about breaking and entering into his apartment and taking his girlfriend (wife) by hostage. So shush and let it go.
Being old and washed up has its advantages and excuses, but getting back on the blades is such a pain. Especially since nothing feels all that great, and nothing looks all that sharp. And there aren’t a legion of guys marketing the goods to the all-around adult. We’ve got niche companies pushing images, and if you look like A.) you’ll ride A.) And if you look like B.) you’d be silly to ride A.) A Kaspa kid in green Hooi thrones? I don’t know about relying on so-so logic. Euro trash colors, flannel, black, ebay, or sandal skates. It becomes a question of who to support, and why. Do you like that they keep you updated, or do you like being left in dark’s doubt, knowing it’s just skating and no one’s a celebrity. Content, quality, celebrities, and keeping kids of all ages into this thing seems better than immoral ignorance. Showing what you sow, what you sell, could help your brand. Now that everyone is tightly fitting into the uniform of yesterday’s faux paw, where’s the difference, and what’s supposed to be authentic? If you can’t trust something, or be sure if some brand is authentic, how can you believe in it? Much less support it.
When I had aspirations of starting a shoelace company, Laced, with Luda, one of the first orders of business was to set up a blog and give all the team riders the password so there would be constant updates from people kids know and care about. You get an entrance into their interest and lives and know who you’re supporting. You get a flood of cool. All these pros nowadays are responsible enough to share themselves on their social networks, so why not let them unify that effort behind a brand’s blog or “webpage.” Who threw up last night, what was the anthem, and who deserves the shame and cup of Joe today? And here’s a pic or here’s a song. Maybe I’m just stuck outside the practice box here, but it’d be a bigger benefit to show what you know, sell your hell, then to be stuck in line and a garage sale. And I get it — everyone is good at skating. What I don’t get is why doesn’t everyone get good at anything else.
Money’s a sorry excuse.
I’ve had three kinds of hand-me-down skates this year — broke one, one was broke, and trying to adjust to being dizzy on the blades, falling and yelling fuck, and it feels good. I think blading has been my gateway into public masochism. Who cares about being good when lumps, cuts, and bruises feel better than drugs, sex, and self.
Well, for some…
It turns out our most controversial icon in the sport turns out to be a real true fruitbooter, and a girl at that. I guess we can all put our leather jackets and cowboy hats on the hook. What’s the point in trying when someone is so willing to bare their soul on the internet. You hate to love it? I don’t think hate or love capture my feelings about Fallon Heffernan. The things she says speak louder than her action sport addiction. All week she’s gotten a slew of honest hate and admiration on forums. She became the epicenter of two of three main pages in blading. Thanks, Fallon, for being so interestingly mediocre. Just kidding. Isn’t everyone? Over in the critic’s corner you might think differently with a slew of remarkable 188 blink and make you think comments spewing verbal sewage for the world to see and shit themselves. What’s painful is that she sunk to their lower level and attempted to respond with dignity. Unfortunately, when you drop a hammer first trick, you can’t bring anything but bangers the rest of your run. What’ll happen next? I’m on the edge of my seat and shaking in my fruitboots awaiting the next real life snippet. Until then these trolls stabbed her insincerity and pretty much summed up the general feeling of all the hate comments. But don’t worry, those sorts of swine won’t even use their real names.
And finally some good news, Champion Baumstimler is back on the blades, add that to Aaron Feinberg and we’re “Back to Basics.” What else? VX Shima jeans coming soon. Oh, and Star Urethane coming through with that UC pro pour, no shit. It’s cool ’cause STAR was one of those companies you wanted to support, but they chunked, but now they won’t, so it’s cool, and it’s a cool team, and it’s America, Fuck Yeah! You might be thinking I’m just giving AJ shine for his shine, and you might just be right and it’s pay to play, or our motto, “support the supporters.”
— Dan Leifeld
Great read
I wish I still had some of your hollywood emails to me.
Thanks for the shine.
“Washed up!” Now that’s rich! And I agree, if you were never pro, how can you be washed up? People put the emphasis on fame and not fun. It makes rollerblading, well, NOT fun.
thanks for illuminating the darkness though
That’s my bad bro. I was stoned and pissed about life when I wrote that, and I noticed I was completely wrong right after I clicked submit. It’s too easy to direct our frustrations at the guy with the comment section on his blog, so that just makes us dicks. My humblest apologies. You owe me a cock punch.
haters
I always get this really defensive feeling when I read these blogs you write. It seems like it’s mostly, if not entirely, negative toward this or that skater, and sometimes rollerblading as a whole. I know this stuff is going on, but is it really a good idea to bring all this to everyone’s attention?
One magazine is a big deal to alot of people. To most kids out there it’s the gospel. I’m glad you and Kato are old buddies and you can crack jokes and it’s cool with you guys, but people reading this don’t know that. It seemed like that last blog made him and Haffey look like villians to rollerblading. What if a bunch of kids chose not to buy remz because they think he’s a money hungry douche? That’s no good for your friend, and it’s no good for rollerblading.
I always feel hopeful when I open up this blog that there’s going to be something in it that gets me pumped to put on my skates and promote rollerblading, but honestly it makes me feel the opposite. I feel weighed down by all the people you’re showing me that hate what I do, and all the skaters hating on other skaters for no reason. It seems like there’s alot of potential to paint a more positive picture of what we do to the skaters and non skaters alike with this, but it’s just not happening.
No hate intended Krans.
I’m actually being completely honest here. If anything I just want positivity in the community.
Atleast Krans didn’t get all bent out of shape when somebody left a comment that didn’t agree with him. How big of a dick are you gonna be when someone actually says some thing negative on here?
Why can’t ONE hire someone who isn’t a cynical cry baby to do their blog? What a waste of space.
But then again who gives a shit what actual rollerbladers think about this magazine right.
WEB ROLL is ONE’s “disinformation.” Believe, dis-believe, or hate at your own risk.
FYI this whole site is a “blog,” and WEB ROLL is a column. One piece of the whole. Like how the color spectrum is made up of light and dark.
If you don’t like this column just read our new content the other 6 days of the week.
Love it or hate it, thanks for reading!
I understand what you’re saying but that still doesn’t make it necessary. It’s so off key from the rest of ONE. Why spread all this negativity? I, like alot of other readers, come to your site to catch up on rollerblade news that will make my day better so I can forget about all the other b.s. I have to deal with. When I get here I read this blog and I feel like I’m back in highschool all over again. I’m not the only reader complaining about this.
You don’t have to take me seriously and I’m sure you won’t. You’ll probably just make some joke about me and go about your day, but this blog is adding to the ignorance and negativity that is holding rollerblading back from being where it needs to be. Do you really really not see how it’s contributing to the problem?
I’m really not trying to argue with you guys here. It truly hurts me to see a rollerblade magazine that is making me feel this way about the one thing that’s always made me feel so good. If this comment space is for anything then it’s for saying what your readers think about your magazine’s performance and contributions. Is that something that concerns you guys?
Since there was never any formal introduction from the new author of the blog, I assumed it was still written by Krans. Sorry for the mix-up. So my bad vibe is in fact coming from you Liefield and within 2 blogs you have already proven yourself to be even more negative and an even further hinderence to the progression of the rollerblading community than Krans ever was.
great read dan
love the ill photoshopping too
keep em comin
Why did you erase your comment about my facade Leifeld? Don’t you still think I’m a fake?
ace reed lol
boooooooooooom sannnnn shit wuz guhguhgagaguhguhganster first fun thing to read in blading cause it’s raw as a bannanana split nigga! booom
dude doesnt have to fake rep, das wussup
who the hell is krans?haha
Those red and green lines under the words that you are typing mean something.
And I get it — everyone is good at skating. What I don’t get is why doesn’t everyone get good at anything else.
Best part.
“And I get it — everyone is good at skating. What I don’t get is why doesn’t everyone get good at anything else.”
Pure and simple ignorance. Every person I skate with is either a talented artist, a hard working and caring parent, or so talented at everything they do outside skating it’s sometimes baffling on the edge of desbelief. I even skate with a liscenced surgeon.
Just one more example of the ignorance and negativity you’re feeding an already injured community. This “column” is one of the many flat tires that is dragging us all down.
What a waste of time, Jesus, I tried to read it all and see if there was any point that started to make things interesting.
Well, nothing happened but a ‘washed up’ non-rollerblader asshole talking shit about his shitty relationship with rollerblading.
Move on, if you just don’t have anything to do with the sport anymore except from gossips about european bitches (you ‘washed up’ fuckers love bitches like Spears and crap like that right?) then just make your life outside the sport, get married, have children and die, will you? No one’s gonna miss you, I’m sure of that. Great rollerbladers have just vanished from our world when they realised they had already given what they could. -Someone remembers Cameron Card? What a talented guy!!-
About rollerbladers not getting good at anything else, well, I’m not sponsored or anything but I can remember being a published writer at the age of 15 -pwned!-
Look, I’m not getting much longer, but you must do something in order to not be a fucking crybaby anymore. Get the fuck out of your country for a while, just buy a ticket to Mexico or something and get to know other people, go skate somewhere in Chihuahua or Monterrey. Oh wait, you just blew all your money at the Bittercold right? Sorry, my bad, then buy a book and don’t you dare to publish anything more at One.
P.S: Yes, you can be washed up even if you never became a pro. You can be wahed up at living, and for Christ’s sake you are.
it’s like telling someone they have a booger in their nose
common courtesy, like it nice.
satan isnt even cool anymore. I could sacrafice a goat in the mall food court over a flaming pentagram and people would look at it and say, “I wonder if the Gap is having a sale today?”
Is the gap having a sale?
I don’t think he meant it as ignorance, but more a criticism of people who are good at blading and contribute nothing else culturally.
I do think many bladers are talented people as educators, working professionals, artists, filmers, etc. But for every talented rollerblader we all know a rollerblader who fails at life in general.
So I took his statements to be more about putting all of your talents not just into the actual act of rollerblading, but the life you can live while being a rollerblader. It will benefit everyone in the end. Any success someone has professionally is a win for rollerblading and spreading our influence.
Brian Krans is the guy who kept WEB ROLL up to par for a long time. He did WEB ROLL #1-37. I guess he has bigger fish to fry. Good luck Krans. You’re my idol dude!
As a loyal fan du Krans this web roll sucked. I could barely read it, plus, WTF its all words, none funny. This shit was like Chelsea Lately, all hate no love. Boo on you. This used to be about rounding up all the internet jibber jabber, now, I have no idea what this is about. Shame on you One, this in no way is supporting blading or the hardships most pros face. This will be my last click to this page straight up. A loyal web roll reader gone, and I though hell I’ll give the new guy a chance. Chance waisted. Reading the comments was more interesting!
I should’ve just stuck to voting for B.Smith for SOTY….JSFJSFJSFJSFJSFJSFJSF
Other than the very last paragraph about Champion… wtf did any of this have to do with skating? It just sounded like the pent up frustrations of another frustrated blader… We all feel this way, I think many people can relate… but why bring this type of negativity to the forefront of rollerblading.. believe it or not ONE Magazine and this web roll are the primary if not only source of truth within the rollerblading community. It’s not that I disagree with what you wrote, I feel you, I just don’t think it needs to be said… nor glorified, which is really what your doing when you post this type of post on the worlds leading blade magazines web site.
funny how krans got all his gay friends to post on here cause he doesnt get to write it anymore
Buy the ticket, take the ride. I’m sure you know that one. You got the loan. We all have to grow up someday. This is to negative. The Pow Wow is coming April 10th, 2010. Be there if you can it is going to be fucking awsome. I might have a couple KASPA shirts down there for sale too for anyone who would like to be an A or a B. If you buy one I promise I won’t use it for my college portfolio, profile you, or judge what kind of skates you have. Insert Clenched Fist.
This is called community service Charles, nice necklace.
Krans shouldn’t be involved in rollerblading if he bitches this much. Good luck. Maybe your parents will pay your school loans off as you use this as your portfolio.
Ok. Some people need to read the name at the bottom of the new WEB ROLLs. It’s not me. It’s Dan “Hollywood” Leifeld.
And Arnold, if anyone posted anything on here, it’s their own decision. Why would I have people come on the ONE site in my defense when I quit on my own accord?
Thanks. Enjoy life.
Could read your articles all day.
