Skate Mates

Natalie Walker

BY CARLY FINDLAY

Last year I was getting outside more than I had ever done. During the darkness of Melbourne’s lockdowns, we were first allowed out an hour a day for exercise, and then two. I genuinely loved the fresh air and movement - because there was nowhere else I could be.

I kept seeing videos of women rollerskating. Black women; fat women; queer women; women wearing hijabs, a woman using a mobility aid. Skating seemed to be for everyone!

They were skating in unused car parks and on quiet roads, with sunset filters and retro soundtracks. I could do that, I thought!

And then, when a friend bought skates that looked like watermelons on wheels (coral and green), I searched for some too.

There seemed to be a rollerskate shortage - everywhere was sold out! After hours of middle of the night searching for rollerskates (which beats doom scrolling in a global pandemic) I finally found a near new pair in my size on Facebook marketplace for $60. If I didn’t stick with this hobby, at least I didn’t pay a heap, I thought. I ordered a helmet and padding even before the skates arrived. My mint green skates with pink laces arrived, and I couldn’t wait to put them on.

When my skates arrived, we were still limited to two hours out of the house, in a five km zone. And so I could only venture to a barbecue area - which was enough for me. I put them on, and I gave it a go. It was quite scary being on eight wheels off the ground. I held onto a pole a lot.

When I did move, I was Bambi! I was so scared and slow.

I had skated as a kid -I did rollerskating instead of swimming when I was in year 7, and developed a lengthy crush on a long haired teen who came to my rescue after my hire skate wheels fell off. I bought rollerblades soon after that, and I’d blade at the petrol station next to my houses after the sun went down.

Rollerskating again wasn’t as easy as when I was a tiny 12 year old. Now I’m a giant five foot one, sixty kilos, it’s further and heavier when I fall. I was terrified.

But I kept at it - progressing from the barbecue area to the museum forecourt and then to Princess Pier, netball courts and also at rollerskating rinks. the sea air. My husband and I have held hands gliding around on the skating rink. I had decreased my drinking during lockdown, but have still woken up with a hangover - giddy on doing laps to Living on a Prayer at the roller disco. A group of existing friends took up the hobby, and of course o made heaps more friends while out rollerskating.

The friends I skate with regularly are mostly women over forty (I’m six months short). In addition to cafe and shopping meet ups, my friends and I now have skate meet ups. We dress very coloufully - we do this usually, but it’s way more fun on skates! My friends have bright orange, pink and blue skates. It’s become a weekly , sometimes twice weekly thing for me - my friends skate in their rainbow outfits more than I do!

I’ve loved that most of the people I know who have recently taken up rollerskating are people my age, or older.And I’m also interested in the way it’s changed people’s lives.

Forty year old Belle Hadiwidjaja has been skating since she was seven - when she wore strap on skates. She immersed herself in different forms of skating; inline hockey, ice figure skating, roller derby, and jam/ dance skating. Belle finds skating as a creative outlet and stress relief, and loves the feeling of gliding effortlessly. “After a good skate I always come home happy”, she says.

The 2020 Melbourne lockdown made Belle pivot. Or should that be spin?! Ice rinks closed during lockdown, so Belle started doing roller skating around the

Photo by: Myekal Benham

She started off wearing normal clothes, and always carried a portable speaker to play music. Belle and the kids would stop at a Yarraville park, and she would dance skate to music while the kids played around me. Passers-by stopped to watch my skating and then clapped, or complimented her on how beautiful it was.

She then had an idea - to skate in costume! Belle had a costume of Anna from Frozen from a dress up party years ago. And so the next day, she went to the park, dressed as Anna, and her daughter dressed as Elsa. She played songs from Frozen and rollerskated to it. Kids, adults and dogs stopped to watch, clapped and cheered. They said that it was very uplifting to see her performance, amongst the dark lockdown times. So I grew my costume collection and kept skating almost everyday. I did it because not only skating makes me happy, it made many others happy too.

Belle thinks that rollerskating became popular in lockdown because people were looking to find fun and exercise in places they don’t normally look. “Their usual exercise venues were closed, so roller skating became very appealing because it can be done anywhere, socially distanced, and it is inexpensive”, she says. “Most importantly it looks FUN, making non-skaters tempted to try it.”

Belle told me that post 2020 lockdown, it was very hard to have a day job, be available for her children, AND have a passion project. She recently quit her office job - so she can have more time to look after her kids, and also teach rollerskating to kids and adults.

I’ve been getting lessons from Belle, and it’s helped with my confidence a lot.

Skating brings me joy - it feels good to move, and I am also doing something that scares me a lot. And it’s fairly low impact, even when I fall. Every time I fall, I realise that my bottom isn’t as padded as I thought it was!

As I write this, I’ve been skating for eight months. I am far more steady and confident on my skates. I can go forwards, turn around, go backwards a little, stop, fall well and also do some on the spot dance moves. I’m not like any of those skating queens - yet, but I’m happy. Practice makes progress.

A friend met me to skate recently. She also started in 2020 lockdown, but hadn’t skated as regularly as I have. And so I was showing her how to do a few things. It was so cool to teach her a little of what a learnt and see how far I’ve come

It’s really hard to start something new as an adult, especially when it puts me at risk of breaking a bone! But as I say a lot, as I’m gliding along the museum forecourt, I’m doing it.

Belle Hadiwidjaja | Photo by: Sammi Leigh

About the Writer

Carly Findlay OAM is an award-winning writer, speaker and appearance activist. She also works part time as Access and Inclusion Coordinator at Melbourne Fringe. Her first book, a memoir called Say Hello, was released in Australia in January 2019. She is also the editor of Growing Up Disabled in Australia, released by Black Inc Books in 2021. carlyfindlay.com.au

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