In last year’s ONE Blade Awards post we closed with these words:
“As we head into 2020, no one knows what is in store for rollerblading. But if the past is any indication, then we can rest easy knowing that the people listed above, those nominated for awards, and even names that many of us have never heard before, will step up and help drive rollerblading ever forward — reinventing the combined sum of our history into something bold and exciting.
We can’t wait to see.”
Whelp, that’s pretty much exactly what happened. But along the way 2020 rocked the world in ways no one could predict.
A year that started with Australia draped in flames, then Brexit, quickly saw the world engulfed by a once-in-a-century pandemic caused by Covid-19. There was Impeachment and acquittal. A United States in protest of police injustice and systemic racism. We saw historic civic participation for elections, new horizons for human space travel, and unprecedented attacks on democracy.
That was, in this author’s humble opinion, a very chaotic and stressful year. So if you have made it this far do not take it for granted.
But as we all know by now, despite the aforementioned mess, our favorite pastime of rolling on wheeled boots has experienced a true renaissance.
Faced with closed gyms, limited outdoor options, and obviously the hard work of our core community for the past 28+ years (wink wink), people around the world rediscovered inline skating. But, perhaps most importantly, so did columnists and writers at high fallutin’ magazines like the Wall Street Journal, NY Mag, Vogue UK, Men’s Health, Powder, NPR, and more. So thanks to those folks, shops all over the world experienced demand like they haven’t seen since the ’90s. And because of that, manufacturers have spent the year racing to keep up with or meet demand.
During a year when so many people have experienced unfathomable loss, the proverbial silver lining to this cloud is that rollerblading helped so many other people deal with the anxiety and instability that 2020 delivered.
On that front it has been an active and exciting year. The rollerblading community evolved in real time to meet the challenges of a world in flux. Online sessions brought us together in dynamic new ways, savvy contests moved into the digital space and increased their reach, and the already growing body of podcasts and streaming media reached fever pitch. There is, as we’ve accurately said every year prior, quite literally more rollerblading content to consume now than ever before. It is a golden time to be a rollerblader or a rollerblade consumer.
And so it is time to celebrate the people, brands and products that made the largest impact on the most bladers. And while year-to-year some of these names may show their popularity and staying power with their continued presence, for seasoned Awards followers, clocking changing tastes and trends through the emergence of new entries is the most interesting part.
Because the ONE Blade Awards are powered by our readers we asked you, as we have now for 11 years, to nominate your favorite people, products, brands, clips and contests. Those results identified the Top 3 nominees within each voting category.
Then once those results were tabulated, the global blading community came together again for Final Voting. This decisive vote determined the results that you see below, providing special recognition and much deserved attention to the hard work and dedication of the leaders within our community.
Each of these Finalists represents the best in blading, and we offer our most sincere congratulations to each and every nominee, finalist, winner, and, of course, every single blader that took time to participate in this process. Blade Democracy only works when you get involved.
Now, please give a round of Likes, Shares and Heart emojis for your 2020 ONE Blade Award Winners…
* * * *
[PEOPLE]
BLADER OF THE YEAR
Nils Jansons (39%)
Runners Up:
Eugen Enin (36%)
Alex Broskow (25%)
BLADIE OF THE YEAR
Mery Muñoz (49%)
Runners Up:
Chynna Weierstall (31%)
Martina Svobodova (20%)
BREAKOUT BLADER OF THE YEAR
llia Savosin (40%)
Runners Up:
Eric Michael (37%)
Marius Gaile (23%)
HONORARY CHRIS EDWARDS AWARD
FOR MOST POSITIVE BLADE INFLUENCER
Jon Julio (40%)
Runners Up:
Nils Jansons (33%)
Brian Freeman (27%)
[EVENTS]
BEST ONLINE BLADE CONTEST
E-FISE (54%)
Runners Up:
IRollNY (29%)
Global Game of Skate (17%)
BEST SOCIAL MEDIA CLIP
Nils Jansons – FISE World (44%)
Runners Up:
Alex Broskow – Fast Food (39%)
Hood Panda – Nude Highway (17%)
[INDUSTRY]
BRAND OF THE YEAR
Them Skates (60%)
Runners Up:
USD (24%)
Roces (16%)
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
Them Skates Danny Beer Pro Model 909 (44%)
Runners Up:
Them Skates 909 (31%)
Razors Shima1 Re-Issue (25%)
BLADE SHOP OF THE YEAR
Loco Skates (43%)
Runners Up:
Oak City Skates (32%)
Intuition Skateshop (25%)
ANGRY YOUTH AWARD FOR BEST MARKETING
Them Skates (53%)
Runners Up:
Konjure Brand (25%)
USD (22%)
[MEDIA]
BEST EDIT OF THE YEAR (BLADER)
Eugen Enin “Shadow Chronicles” (57%)
Runners Up:
Cody Lampman “Ashes” (22%)
Carlos Bernal “City Fade” (21%)
BLADE VIDEOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Dom West (44%)
Runners Up:
Ivan Narez (33%)
Greg Preston (23%)
BLADE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Dominik Wagner (43%)
Runners Up:
Erick Garcia (41%)
Sam Cooper (16%)
BLADE VOICE OF THE YEAR
Jump Street Podcast (52%)
Runners Up:
ONEblademag (29%)
This Week In Blading (19%)
Now the calendar rolls to 2021 and we can all hope that blading continues to thrive as the world heals and normalcy returns to our lives. But no matter how soon that does or does not happen, we can all be assured that bladers around the world will continue to push life on skates to new heights, forever reminding us that blade life is the best life. So keep rolling, stay safe, and be your best self in the new year. We all need it.
* * * *
Photos used from social media with thanks and appreciation
Congrats yall, shred on! <3
Didnt regioniced Them is getting that big last Year, best Brand with 60%, best Product and best Marketing, thats really impressive !