The Evolution of Inline Roller Skates

1982 - In 1982, Scott Olson adds the toe stop, but found that it didn't work well. In 1984, he adds a heel brake to help beginners get over the fear of being unable to stop.

1984 - Minneapolis businessman Bob Naegele, Jr. purchased Olson's fledgling company, which eventually became Rollerblade, Inc. Though not the first company to manufacture inline skates, Rollerblade, by offering a comfortable skate with a reliable and easy-to-implement brake, took inline skating out of the exclusive domain of hockey players and introduced millions to the sport that now has the whole world on a roll.

1986 - Rollerblade, Inc., begins to market skates as fitness equipment. All Rollerblades are inline roller skates, but not all inline roller skates are Rollerblades. It is unfortunate that the name Rollerblade has become equated in the public's mind with inline roller skating , for such an equation not only neglects the many other manufacturers, it also blurs the history of roller skating and the history of inline roller skates in particular. However, if you decide to use Rollerblade brand skates, then you will be Rollerblading, otherwise, the accurate term is inline skating.

1989 - Rollerblade, Inc. produced the Macro and Aeroblades models, the first skates fastened with three buckles instead of long laces that needed threading.

1990 - Rollerblade, Inc. switched to a glass-reinforced thermoplastic resin (durethan polyamide) for their skates, replacing the polyurethane compounds previously used. This decreased the average weight of skates by nearly fifty percent.

1993 - Rollerblade, Inc. developed ABT or Active Brake Technology. A fiberglass post attached to one end to the top of the boot and at the other end to a rubber-brake, hinged the chassis at the back wheel. The skater had to straighten one leg to stop, driving the post into the brake, which then hit the ground. Skaters had been tilting their foot back to make contact with the ground, before ABT. The new brake design increased safety.

1993 - Bert Lovitt and Warren Winslow, two inventors working together, invent an all terrain skate that uses 2 angled wheels.

1995 - Sporting goods company K2, Inc comes up with a soft boot design which in most aspects of the sport (except Aggressive Skating) has become the most common design. This company also heavily promotes the soft boot design for fitness. By 2000 most skate manufactures follow suit, although the hard boot is still preferred by aggressive skaters.

1995 - John Petell, President of Harmony Sports Inc., contacts Nick Perna, a PSA master rated coach, to test a retro fit product called the PIC. The Pic device attached to conventional inline skates to enable figure skaters to perform figure skating moves requiring a toe pick that were not otherwise possible on conventional inline skates.

1997 - Inline skates and skating accessories become a billion dollar international industry, with nearly 26 million Americans participating.

1997 - Lovitt & Winslow file their first Patent Application for their two-wheeled skate invention.

1998 - A collaboration between Nick Perna and John Petell results in the development of a rockered inline figure skate, and their Pic skate was issued a patent April 14, 1998.

1999 - Lovitt & Winslow incorporate a new company to manufacture and market their new skates and call the new company LandRoller.

The National Museum of Roller Skating
is your About.com guide's resource for many
of the historical facts in this article.

You can contact the museum by writing to:

The National Museum of Roller Skating
PO Box 6579
Lincoln, NE 68506

Or email:
Roller Skating Museum Curator

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