Posts Tagged ‘Roller Skating’
Why the future needs third spaces
It’s time to lace up, unplug, and roll into something real.
Remember when you could just be somewhere?
No expectations. No agenda other than to hang out, move your body, and bump into friends or total strangers — and maybe leave with a story or two.
Those places are disappearing. Fast.
In today’s cities, we’ve got two main destinations: home and work. And if you’re lucky, you might have a favorite café, a friend’s place, or the odd pub where you can gather. But the middle ground — what sociologist Ray Oldenburg called the “third place” — is vanishing. And with it, we’re losing something vital: the simple joy of human connection.
What Is a Third Space, Anyway?
Third spaces are the public or semi-public spots where community thrives. They’re not home (first space) and they’re not work (second space). They’re where life happens in between. Think: old-school roller rinks, some gyms, churches, rec centers, corner stores, skate parks, youth clubs, even record shops or video arcades.
They’re where you go just to be — no bouncer, no reservation. Just music, laughter, shared time, and maybe a few bad dance moves.
But with rising rents, shrinking leisure zones, and the algorithm slowly swallowing our downtime, these places are being replaced by feeds, not feelings.
Where Did All the Third Spaces Go?
Blame urban sprawl. Blame screens. Blame the fact that every square metre of public space now needs a business model. Or maybe blame the rise of “on-demand everything” culture. Regardless, here’s where we are:
Teen are loitering in shopping centres because there’s nowhere else to gather.
Friends catch up less in person, because why not just DM or send memes instead?
Families have fewer active, social spaces that aren’t sports fields or restaurants.
Loneliness has become a public health crisis, with social isolation affecting physical and mental health at every age.
We’re constantly online, but rarely with anyone.
Reclaiming Real Life (On Wheels)
Here’s the radical idea: What if we brought back the third space — but made it roll?
Enter: SKTNG.
SKTNG isn’t just a roller rink. It’s a movement — in more ways than one. It’s a vibrant, reimagined third space for everyone:
- Teens who need somewhere safe but fun
- Parents who want their kids off screens (and maybe even join them)
- Creatives and freelancers looking for a work-meets-play vibe
- Night owls who want more than just pubs and clubs
- Locals looking to feel like they belong somewhere again
- It’s a place you don’t need a reason to visit — you just go because it feels like yours.
Retro Wheels, Future Feels
Roller skating is having a major glow-up. The global roller skating market is booming, driven by everything from nostalgia to TikTok trends to a rediscovery of low-impact fitness. But more than that, it’s becoming a symbol of connection.
You can’t doom-scroll while skating.
You move together. Fall (yes, it happens to the best of us). Laugh. High-five strangers. You remember what real community feels like. It’s sweaty, it’s silly, it’s soul food.
And it doesn’t require a password or a profile pic.
The Future Rolls Here
We’re building SKTNG to be that rare, magic place:
- Where teens and toddlers and retirees can all share the same space.
- Where the lights glow, the music flows, and the Wi-Fi is intentionally weak.
- Where movement creates momentum, and people remember how to be people again.
Because the future doesn’t need more apps. It needs places.
Third places. Safe places. Real places. Places like SKTNG.
So roll in. Bring your friends. Or make some here.
Because you shouldn’t need a reason to belong somewhere.
Follow @SKTNG.space or SKTNG.space on facebook
The movement is real. And it’s rolling soon opening announcements, and community events.
Better yet — sign up to our mailing list and be first through the doors when the future arrives..
No AI. No algorithms. Just humans. #SKTNG
Roller skating as a rebellion against screens
How my roller skating childhood inspired a movement for the future
I grew up in Haverhill, a small town in the UK, tucked in the corner of Suffolk on the border with Essex, and Cambridgeshire. With a population of ~20,000 people, it wasn’t exactly a bustling metropolis. But for me, it had everything, because I had friends that lived close, miles of paths to ride my bike and I could roller skate.
At age 13, I was roller skating every chance I got — bombing the slopes behind my house on a school driveway, doing laps of the empty school playground, skating in circles for hours with my Walkman in my pocket, headphones on, fully lost in the music and the movement. Those early sessions weren’t about performance or exercise — they were about freedom.
By 15, my parents were driving me 20 miles each weekend to our local rinks, Rollerbury in Bury St Edmunds or Rollerworld in Colchester. Both had 25m x 50m Olympic-grade maple rotunda roller skating floors, proper lighting rigs, massive sound systems, and DJs spinning everything from R&B, pop to dance tunes. The Prodigy played there, Take That!. Mr Blobby showed up once. I skated with strangers who became friends, and friends who became family.
By 16, I was roller skating at all-night sessions — the kind where you'd start skating at 10pm, blink and realise it’s 7am Sunday morning.
At 17, the first place I drove after passing my driving test? the rink.
And that crew? That massive crew I rolled with back then? Even when I moved to Australia — literally the other side of the world — I still keep in touch with almost all of them. Some of them still roller skate every week. That community never really left us.
Even though both of these iconic rinks have now been pulled down for developments, the culture, community and memories have lived on long past any physical buildings. But now, we catch up at different rinks, outside but still on skates.
From Playground Games to Push Notifications
Now fast-forward to 2025.
Kids aren’t bombing driveways anymore. They're not gliding around playgrounds with a Walkman and an imagination. They're inside. Sitting. Scrolling. Watching someone else have fun.
According to Common Sense Media, kids aged 8–12 average 5.5 hours of screen time a day. Teenagers average 8.5+ hours. That’s not including schoolwork — that’s pure, unfiltered scroll time.
It’s no wonder we’re seeing record highs in anxiety, depression, and disconnection in young people. They’re more “connected” than ever — yet they’re missing real connection.
Roller skating as Digital Defiance
Roller skating is more than movement — it’s medicine.
At SKTNG, we’re bringing back that wild, wonderful, real-life experience I grew up with. Not as a throwback. Not as a gimmick. But as a radical alternative to the endless feed.
Roller skating makes you feel alive. You’re in your body. You’re in the moment. You fall. Laugh (a lot). You get back up. Learn, not by clicking a video, but by trying — and failing — and trying again.
When you're skating, your phone isn't in your hand. It's in a locker. And your focus is on the here and now: the music, the rhythm, the people, the vibe.
Games, Chaos, and Community
We’re rebuilding the rink culture I grew up in — the one that shaped me, my friends, our community.
Where Sunday nights meant chaos and connection:
“Trains” — linking bodies and barrelling across the floor, the whips were legendary
“Little Man” (shooting the duck)— crouching low and weaving through packs of skaters
“Chariots” — two people sitting together, intertwined, someone pushes, and you fly
“British Bulldog” — full-contact roller mayhem, no pads, no helmets (don’t tell our insurance provider)
“The Dice Game, Speed Skating, Limbo, Last Man Standing” — it was glorious madness
It was play. It was adrenaline. It was belonging. And it was all without screens.
That’s what SKTNG is bringing back — a space where games, culture, and community collide, on wheels.
This is not nostalgia.
It’s resistance. Its presence. It’s the future we want—made of people, not programs.
In a world where everything is increasingly digitised, gamified, and monetised, the simple act of showing up, moving your body, and connecting with others in real time is revolutionary.
SKTNG is more than a roller rink. It’s a third space. A cultural hub. A digital detox zone. A place where kids, teens, families, creatives, misfits, and movers come together not to scroll — but to roll.
Join the Movement
We need more than likes. More than followers. We need friends, stories, shared experiences, and safe spaces to just be.
So whether you’re 7, 27, or 67 — whether you’ve never skated or you’ve still got your original wheels — come be part of something real.
Come skate. Connect. Rebel — with lights, music, and a little bit of wobble.
Follow @SKTNG.space or SKTNG.space on facebook
The movement is real. And it’s rolling soon.