Want a wheely good time? Embrace the skate aesthetic.

Sports like bicycling and roller-skating have been making a comeback after getting a boost from stay-at-home measures that took effect in spring 2020. While lots of bars, clubs, restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters were closed the itch to get outside drove a revival in roller skating and embracing the skate aesthetic!

If your first thought was one of dismissal because, after all, when was the last time you went roller skating, think again because as it turns out, the whole skate aesthetic is actually very trendy right now.

Thanks in part to a number of roller skating dancers who have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram, people have remembered that skating is a cool, fun activity to do. Sneakers with built-in roller skates actually just got back on the market as well.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that if I saw a person or a group of friends out and about on their roller skates having fun the only thing I would want to do is join. Part of the skate aesthetic is having fun and being cute and as long as you embrace that, no one can really make fun of you.

If like me just bringing this up hasn’t revived your need for speed, then here are a few more specific reasons why you should give roller skating a shot.

Roller skating is like ice skating but better

Ice skating is a fun winter activity, a classically cute date idea, and overall a nice outing. The thing about ice skating, though, is that you need ice, which also means being in the middle of a cold winter or going to a designated indoor facility. Because it’s cold you also need a full set of gloves and winter clothes.

With roller skating, you can have all the same nice things – a nice outing or a classically cute date – with fewer downsides and more perks. For starters, it’s basically the same motion and activity. Sure, you need the skates themselves and, if you want to go all out, protective gear, but you can roller skate anywhere you want, and it doesn’t have to be cold. Heck, you could roller skate in your own house if you wanted to.

You can go roller skating and get a cool tan, make your way to the local grocery store, or just take it easy and get some fresh air. You might have to watch out for hills, but rollers are undeniably a lot more versatile than ice skating.

You don’t need a lot of people to enjoy it, but it never hurts

As we all know by this point, we need to do our best to avoid large groups. Luckily enough, roller skating is an activity you can do alone or with one or two friends and still enjoy to the fullest.

Think about it. Instead of sitting at home alone binging a random Netflix show or endlessly scrolling for a decent Video to watch, picture yourself taking a leisurely roll down a riverside, shorefront, or park, headphones in, sunglasses on, sun coming down, and not a care in the world.

Conversely, think about a group of you and a few friends, laughing about how awful you all are at roller skating and having a good time trying to look good and skate at the same time. You guys take a few skate aesthetic pictures for the books, grab a drink, and roll away.

Unfortunately, roller rinks have to stay out of the picture for a while but either of those other scenarios can be done with social distancing rules in mind and with a mask.

I used to spend afternoons roller skating down river banks with my family and had a great time with lots of laughs. I also used to roller skate back and forth in my hallway or alone in front of my apartment and had just as much of a good time, albeit much calmer.

Roller skating is good exercise

Admittedly, you aren’t going to see any major muscle growth or pounds shed if you go roller skating every once in a while. Unless you really pump the gas, you also probably aren’t going to break out in a heavy sweat and need a recovery day. But, after your singular or small group session, you might realize that your legs actually got a good pump going and that your body is just a little tired.

I’ve always been somewhat athletic and even for me a couple of hours of roller-skating would leave me happy and the good kind of tired; it’s like exercising without exercising.

If you’re a parent and you want your child to get out of the house to get some exercise, skating is a great way to do just that. It’s way easier and a lot more humane than making them run, and if you join them it’s almost guaranteed to be a good chance for light-hearted family bonding. I have a sneaking suspicion roller skating was a tactic my parents used to get my young ice-cream addicted self out and about, but I honestly had so much fun that I can’t resent them for it. If you are a parent, there’s no shame in using the same tactic for yourself.

The skate aesthetic is really cute

I’ve mentioned the skate aesthetic a few times already and you might be wondering what exactly that is, and there isn’t a good way I can think of to describe it with words. However, there’s one TikToker and Instagrammer who’s become the staple of this skate aesthetic. Ana Coto is dubbed the TikTok Rollerblading Queen after a video of her rollerblading backward to a song went viral and her account blew up.

You can watch the videos yourself to see what everyone’s talking about, but I will say that I followed her account the second I saw her first video. Ana’s videos are cute, happy, light-hearted, and groovy. She’s exemplary of what the skate aesthetic is and it’s hard to deny that it’s alluring. I haven’t thought of or touched my roller skates in years, but seeing her videos made me want to pull them out as quickly as I could.

Ana’s video actually brought roller skating/rollerblading back to life. I’ve already mentioned that shoes with roller skates built in got back on the market and a quick google search will yield dozens of articles from companies like BuzzFeed and Vice about how Rollerblading is ‘back.’ However, Ana isn’t the only one who can pull off the skate aesthetic.

All in all, what’s to lose. We’re all bored and a little hopeless about the state of 2020. As long as you aren’t a leading scientist or leader of a country, all we can do is follow COVID regulations and live our lives as best we can. Nobody said we couldn’t have a bit of fun at the same time, so live a little and get your skates on.

If you wish to support my work you can purchase my book This is Your Quest online at BookLocker, from Amazon, or from Barnes & Noble. The Ebook version is available on Amazon (Kindle), Barnes & Noble (Nook), Apple (iBooks) & Kobo. Check out my Amazon Author Page here or my listing on Booksradar.com.

You can also follow me on my FaceBook Page and sign up for a Free Guide that I wrote for women to remind them that they should give themselves permission to be all that they can be.