Today the new ScootNation magazine shows an image of 2011 UK Skater Of The Year Alex Burston lacing a TTP on a ledge. On the opposite page: a stunt scooter rider doing a flair in a skatepark. The image is shown below. To explain, the article in the magazine is a profile of photographer Sam Cooper, a great photographer and long-time Rollerblader now making his living taking photos for the Scooter brand ‘Grit’. The mag is run by Rollerblader Tom Willox and contributed to by rollerbladers such as Sam Cooper and Ricky Johnson and is in fact a very well made and professional looking publication. I know that there’s alot of people on the defensive about the scooter boom. Before you fly into a child abusing rage about rollerblading appearing in the mag or the kids in your way at the skatepark, I’d urge everyone to take a second to think about the positive effects the boom has on our industry. Burston’s appearance in ScootNation is visible by literally tens of thousands of people (24,000 copies are made), an audience otherwise difficult to reach. If you are someone who is interested in the popularity of rollerblading increasing (you may well not be) then I can only see the picture as a positive piece of PR. Saying that, people have different views and that’s what makes us interesting. Many skateparks are now virtually unskateable at peak times and yes that can be irritating, but also consider how many new skateparks have been built and old skateparks have been renovated as a direct result of the increase in demand for skateparks. It’s also notable that in the last two years many kids have visited skateparks who would not have previously necessarily known what a skatepark is! Well now they know; and although it’s just speculation one would make the assumption that a percentage of those kids will take up Rollerblading in the future (just like rollerbladers turned to skateboarding in ’98 when the more impressionable skaters were bullied out of it by their school friends and other kids at the skatepark). By the way, the age demographic for scooter riders is 9-14 year olds. You can’t call a 10 year old ‘gay’ because you don’t approve of the toy they are using! Most are kids, literally KIDS, with the right to play with what they want to and yes, kids do get in your way at skateparks regardless of the formation of wheels beneath their feet, there just happens to be more of them on scooters right now. If you have a criticism to make it would be good to say something a little more credible so that we (rollerbladers) don’t end up as a community throwing empty insults at children. I’d be interested to know your reactions… so I’ve posted this on our Facebook page where you can comment (I get the feeling allowing comments here on the blog may be a little antagonizing!). Visit our Facebook page (you may have to ‘Like’ it first).