Through the Eyes of a Krow

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Through the eyes of a Krow

July 27, 2010

Through the Eyes of a Krow: Kimmie Krow on roller skating and roller derby in Toronto

Toronto area skater Kimmie Krow has a passion for roller skating and roller derby. Nicknamed “The Krow” from her resemblance to singer Cheryl Crow and her trade mark skate trick, Kimmie shares a little bit of what it has been like to grow up roller skating in Toronto.

Roller Funk: When did you start roller skating and what rinks did you attend in Toronto when you were younger?
Kimmie Krow: I started skating when I was 12 at Roller World, The Terrace, Scarborough Roller Palace, Mississauga Roller works, then Scooters. I became involved in roller derby in 2006.

Roller Funk: Why do you continue to roller skate when many have given it up?
Kimmie Krow: I never hung up my skates. Since the day I got my first pair of skates, I knew I was a natural and loved skating better than wearing my shoes.

Roller Funk: Do you miss any rink in particular that has closed in Ontario and why?
Kimmie Krow: Yes, of course I miss THE Terrace the most. A huge traditional land mark was destroyed to build townhouses….this one hurt the most. The Terrace was the most central place to skate! How everybody cried on that day. Terrace reunions are held at Scooters annually in April. So please come on out and see if there’s anybody you’ve lost from the past.

Roller Funk: Have you done any acting or modeling in the past?
Kimmie Krow: Yes, I have done some modeling but I sadly didn’t have time with my professional banker day job. Currently working on a reality show with big CTV producers. Will be premiering Sunday Aug 8th at Revival night club.

Roller Funk: What would happen if you couldn’t participate in roller derby?
Kimmie Krow: If I couldn’t practice roller derby? I wouldn’t be me!!! And THE KROW as we know it with the black feather cape, would be no longer. My fans and fellow skaters would miss me …that’s for sure.

Roller Funk: What do you think of the state of roller skating in Canada? Would you like to see more rinks opened up in the future?
Kimmie Krow: Yes of course i would like to see more rinks opened up in Canada. This is a must!! If I win the lottery I will promise you a rink!! There is such a huge demand for skating surface these days with derby leagues popping up all over the place. Canada currently has 28 leagues across the nation. Us derby girls are tired of taking the side step to the hockey rinks in the summer!!! Canada is in desperate need of more available skating rinks..the demand is there that’s for sure.

Roller Funk: Is there anything else that you would like to tell the readers about yourself.
Kimmie Krow: THE KROW wants everybody to wipe off the dust off your quad roller skates and see for yourself that skating is back to stay. And Please please please, support your local roller derby league!!! We love our fans and volunteers, we couldn’t do it without you!! THE KROW _ Head Referee GTA Rollergirls. & Jammer for the GTA Chrome Mollys #55…Derby out…Derby love. …Keep on rolln…..
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* For more on roller derby in Toronto visit GTA Rollergirls

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Heidi Walker on roller skating in Hamilton

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September 12, 2010

Since Hamilton Roller Gardens closed in 2005 their has been no roller rink in Hamilton, Ontario. Avid skater Heidi Walker provides us with some insights on what it was like roller skating in Hamilton in the past and what the skate community in Hamilton is up to now.

Roller Funk: How long have you been roller skating?
Heidi: Since I was very little (5 years old), my older brothers used to take my sister and I. 31 years ? WOW……don’t tell anyone my age LOL!

Roller Funk: What was roller skating like in Hamilton before the rink
closed?
Heidi: It was our lives. In elementary school, the teachers would hand out coupons for One Free Admission, They looked like a dollar bill and they would be a different colour every week. I looked forward to getting them because all the other students that thought it wasn’t cool, would give theirs to me. We went at least 3-5 days a week. Every Tuesday,Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We looked forward to the Friday and Saturday nights because when we actually turned the appropriate age to be able to stay past the half way session, we would be so excited to get our wrist bands.
I remember doing so much chores around the house to get allowance to go during the week. That’s probably why I am so handy now!! LMAO
Roller Gardens was my second home. And i think for many families as well. This is what our generation did, and the parents knew where to find their kids at all times.

Roller Funk: Were there any other rinks in Hamilton when you were
growing up and if so what were they like?
Heidi: There was a few: one on Centennial Parkway, and one on Main St West by the highway, that my brothers frequented alot.

Roller Funk: Do you think a rink will ever open up again in Hamilton?
Heidi: I hope so…would make a huge difference for some kids in our communities, and would love for our kids to have the memories that we all have.

Roller Funk: Why do you continue to roller skate? What makes you
keep coming back to the rink?
Heidi: It’s my passion.The feeling I get when I’m in my “zone”, I can’t even describe. Your body is in it’s own world and your feet just jam to the groove. There is no discriminating on wheels. Everyone is one person,one crowd doing the exact thing we all love at the same time like we’re on a cloud.
I love the music.It’s what I am good at it, and to be around all my close friends after a long week of work (distressing), is what I look forward to, always been my home away from home.

Roller Funk: What is your favorite skate song of all time and why?
Heidi: Of all time has to be More Bounce to the Ounce (FAST), Computer Love (SLOW)….no matter how many times you hear it,when it comes on, your body starts to move! I do favor anything from Roger & ZAPP, SOS Band, GAP Band also!

Roller Funk: Have you attended any skate Jams in the USA and if not
do you plan to.
Heidi: YES, Me and my boys just got back from Flint,Michigan skate (August 28,2010)

Roller Funk: What would you like people to know about the roller skating
community in Hamilton that they might not already know?
Heidi: There are many old school skaters that are still out there dying to get back on wheels!

Roller Funk: If you could tell other skaters around the world one
thing, what would it be?
Heidi: “ROCK, SKATE, ROLL, BOUNCE!” ~ One love

D-Breeze – roller skating in Chicago

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October 29, 2007


Roller Funk: How long have you been skating?

D-Breez: I’ve been rolling since I was 2yrs old!!

Roller Funk: What would you call your style of skating and how did you develop it?

D-Breez : JB Style, the late great James Brown and the JB’s band are the musical foundation for our vibe. I didn’t create the style, I only helped elevate it to another level. That is what all of us do for our styles as we evolve and become the best we can be. I used to skate 5 nights per week, all adult JB sessions, which helped me get better quickly! You get to a point when you’re not learning from others, you begin to create on your own! You dream something one night, and it becomes reality the next day. Or you slip and almost fall, but create some move or step in the process of saving yourself!

Roller Funk: What is it like skating in movies and TV commercials?

D-Breez: Different! You spend a lot of time waiting, then do something, stop, do it again, stop, do it again! But when they give you a spotlight time to showcase, it’s great because everyone is so excited like they’ve never seen this before! The people outside of our skate world are always so amazed at the things we (skaters) can do on wheels! I keep telling skaters that we need more commercials, movies, and videos in all parts of the country. Get in some of the upcoming artist’s videos or something!

Roller Funk: What are your two favorite rinks and why?

D-Breez: Locally, it has been The Rink-87th & Glenwood, because of the floors and the great atmosphere, the energy in the building! But we have a couple other rinks coming on fast here, like Rich City & MLK. Nationally, I loved the atmosphere at BBP and Elsmere and Cascade. I can’t wait to get back to BBP, they were rocking in that spot and the ladies were doing their dang thang!!

Roller Funk: What would you like to do with skating in the future?

D-Breez: Turn it into a major sport like the X-Games, and be on MTV Cribs like Tony Hawk, or Rob & Big! We really have so much further to go with Skating, we’ve only scratched the surface. But we have to keep it fun! So many skaters want to do something like the “And 1” tour. Some of us are working on these things now.

Roller Funk: What was the best skate jam you ever attended and why?

D-Breez: Sorry, I have no best ever jams, I give and receive so much love at too many events to ever pick one! My favorite jams are the ones where the skaters are really showing skate love, because then we are more than good skaters, we are good people and become good friends! I love the wheels, but I love the people more than they know!

Roller Funk: If you could tell the skaters around the world just one thing, what would it be?:
Keep your hearts in your roll! Because if you love it, you cherish it, you protect it, and you enrich it!
Much Love to All Skaters, Nationwide and Worldwide, I love you all!!

> > > D-Breez > > > of JB Elite

Buffalo Skater Jermaine tearing up the hardwood

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May 14, 2010

I don’t hear to much about Buffalo skaters on the national scene, but Buffalo skaters can tear it up. Case in point Buffalo skater Jermaine is tearing up the hardwood at Arcadia roller rink. If your planning a trip to Niagara Falls this summer, Buffalo has a great adult session on Sunday Nights at Arcadia Roller Rink from 8pm to 12pm. The address is Arcadia Roller Rink 30 East Amherst, Buffalo, NY 14214 email arcadiarr@aol.com

Smoothskate Entertainment Presents Lady Luck’s Groove

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May 12, 2010

NYC skaters are definitely some of the best you will find in the world. Vanessa Faye aka Lady Luck is an amazing skater out of the New York area and has recently been teaching a roller dance class in Manhattan.
If you are looking to learn some new skate moves I highly recommend you contact Vanessa to get in on her next class.
The link to her Facebook event page is here.

Floyd Mayweather – richest roller skater alive?

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May 5, 2010

Is Floyd Mayweather the richest rhythm skater alive? That is a good question. Beyonce held her 21st birthday at Cascade in Atlanta and we know that she may have more dollars than Floyd, but is she an active skater? Another good question. I thought Floyd’s appearance on What Chilli Wants represented an occasional skate for Floyd, but no way, Floyd is a skate-a-holic. On What Chilli Wants, Floyd was seen wearing Prada roller skates but those aren’t the only custom made skates in his arsenal. Floyd was seen tearing up the rink in Grand Rapids Michigan in another pair of custom skates last fall. With his recent win in Las Vegas and $60 million dollar pay day there aren’t many skaters who can hang with Floyd’s wallet. Floyd is in a league of his own.

Thoughts on the Empire

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May 3, 2010

Of late I’ve been going through a musical depression. In my younger days I was an avid record collector and sometime DJ. I can recall waiting patiently for payday to buy records while I was in high school. The first thing I would do on payday was head down to the record store on Yonge st to buy some 12″ records. Back then House music was all the rage and in Toronto me and my boys would head down to the Twilight Zone on the weekends to party. Girlfriends had to stay at home because Saturday nights were all about dancing to the latest music from Chicago, New York and London. I still miss those days. As a skater I don’t frequent clubs. I don’t think I’ve been to a club to party in over a decade. I skate and I get my musical high that way. As a skater I considered the Empire roller rink in Brooklyn New York to be my personal heaven. The creme de la creme of roller rinks. Not because it was the best building or had the best sound system, but because it had that magic when it came to music. You can still find that magic in roller rinks right across North America, but in my opinion Empire was the best. It was a night club on wheels with an atmosphere that was untouched.

Being a former DJ i am always interested in hearing the newest music, music that is hard to get. Sadly I haven’t been able to have that experience in years unless I go across the border to the states. I am still missing the Empire roller rink, like many others. This week’s Empire reunion at BranchBrook Park roller rink is an event which I personally applaud. It seems that in urban communities sometimes the best part of our culture is often lost simply because authorities do not know the value of it. I think that fate befell the Empire Roller Rink and the Skate Key. These are not simply “rinks”. These are places where the highest expressions of urban culture was practiced on a weekly basis. The Empire was hip hop, it was rap, it was soul, it was house and much more. It was roller skating, music and dance all combined into one.

Urban culture should not be brushed aside as though it were nothing. The Empire should have been considered a historical building in my opinion and left alone for that very reason. For me the fight for the Empire roller rink and what it represents will never be over. As a student of history I find the past particularly hard to let go of and the most important pieces of it I will never let go of. Here’s to the Empire roller rink, the Skate Key and all those places where people laughed, cried, met, fell in love and celebrated life. The best will never be forgotten.

5th Annual Charity Old School Roller Jam

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May 1, 2010

The 5th Annual Charity old School Roller Jam in support of the Canadian Red Cross was a great success. Organizer Kathi Nicholl says that 300 skaters came out to support the cause raising valuable dollars for the Canadian Red Cross. DJ Glen C and Carl Allen kept the skaters grooving to old school and R&B. The event was held at Scooters Roller Palace in Mississauga, Ontario Canada. Congratulations to all who came out, see you next year.

What Chilli Wants – Floyd MayWeather Brings Chilli to the roller rink

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April 22, 2010

Wearing Prada skates with light up wheels, boxer Floyd Mayweather brought TLC’s Chilli to Sparkles roller rink in Atlanta for their second date. The date is all part of Chilli’s new reality show “What Chilli Wants” which see’s the former TLC star get hooked up on a series of dates to find the right man. Good luck Chilli.

Shamika’s Groove

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April 11, 2010

Atlanta Skater Shamika Davis would love to show her acting and skate skills in the next big skate movie,look out Lauren London! This budding Forensic Investigator would also like to go to poor countries around the world one day, to do volunteer work.