Long Live Roller Skating Culture: Skate Sounds LDN Stands Up To Protect The Scene!
This article was drafted by Norman Busigu
During Adam Freidman’s immersion into the mighty metropolis that is London (having moved from Melbourne nearly a decade ago), one cultural phenomenon which left him bedazzled and bright-eyed, was seeing the immense technical intricacies boasted by London roller skaters which he had seldom observed anywhere else. Of note for Adam, is the synchronised backwards style which is visually akin to catching a wave when performed by multiple skaters simultaneously. Immediately enamoured by this community, he quickly found embrace, belonging and love as he immersed himself within it.
This initial fascination has now transcended mere passion towards the community and activity. Indeed, he has made it his mission to help the scene flourish through Skate Sounds LDN: an independent record label and production house rooted in London’s skate scene, of which he is its Founder. Skate Sounds LDN consciously exists at the intersection of fashion and music, promoting emerging talent within the London scene - which is known for being notoriously difficult to crack through.
Through the culmination throwing underground, secret and public skate events and galvanising the community, Skate Sounds LDN has secured a remarkable collaboration with Jordans to take things to the next level. He regards this milestone moment as significant as it will generate the flow on effect of bringing greater money/funding into the community, whilst providing a greater means to championing the next generation.
In Adam’s journey towards making Skate Sounds LDN an organic cultural juggernaut, he brings his arsenal of experience in the creative industries achieved thus far to bring his visions to reality while empowering the community that has given so much to him. At one point, Adam - impressively - ran his own joint venture out of Sony's London office, has garnered billions of TikTok views and over 50 million Spotify streams from records he’s produced/written/signed and previously been featured in the likes of Complex and New York Times. Along the way, Adam and the Skate Sounds LDN team have received press coverage from Dazed and BBC Music Introducing… While also helping to shine a spotlight on rising artists such as bbyshanzz, with her hypnotic bop “Jump”.
From Adam’s lens, skating as an activity has unique uniting elements, enabling it to operate as a social lubricant. This in turn has culminated in an infectious culture underpinned by community that facilitates the harmonic blending generations all partaking in an enjoyable activity that anyone can jump into. As Adam has observed, skater communities lend themselves to being judgement free zone, where - at no cost - you can come as you are with some skates or hand, in your authentic self and make some friends along the way. Because falling is very much expected part of the process - even for the pros - roller skating in many ways is egalitarian exercise in which ego is left at the door.
During my conversations with Adam, it became very clear that he is extremely cognisant and respectful of the fact that the foundations of London/UK skate culture are rooted in Black-British culture. It is his awareness of this (and his active role as an ally to the Black-British community), which has led to him authentically supporting those from this community.
What I find particularly special about this story, is that over time, Skate Sounds LDN has inadvertently evolved into something more profound… As the impacts of gentrification continue to sweep across London, one knock on effect is the continuous heavy encroaching and crackdown of spaces typically where skaters would freely occupy i.e. (car) parks and open spaces, with more recently paddle courts being built over Bethnal Green Gardens which has long been a safe space for skaters. In direct response to this, the Adam and the Skate Sounds LDN community have fought back for their very right to exist as skaters in London in various ways… one means being through their own sensational yet secret (underground) events and (listening) parties! One such affair held in collaboration with NBK drew in over 400 skaters!
I recently caught up with Adam to learn more about Skate Sounds LDN, the power of London skater community ecosystem, how they plan to push back against the crackdowns on skater spaces, securing funding and brand partnerships, championing the next generation of skaters, and much more…
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Adam, can you begin by providing some insight into what the roller skating community and culture in London is, and the ability it possesses to bring individuals from different social classes demographics and backgrounds together?
To me, the London roller skating community possesses an incredibly even spread of the people and things that shape this city. At the skate events, you can find doctors, lawyers, teachers, bus drivers, repair men, nurses, artists and more. To me, this community represents the most wonderful cross section of London. And at the heart of this community is black culture… now, there are roller skaters who are white, but life and blood of the roller skating scene – especially the underground parties - happens through Black-British culture. At the events, elements of Black-British culture are embedded elements in the food, fashion and music played at the parties. As an Australian who has moved to London, I’ve noticed the fast-paced, isolated, stiff-upper-lip energy of London where people only worry about themselves. I’ve found that the roller skater community embodies the love and warmth found within Caribbean and African cultures - and they are very willing to bring in random internationals like myself into their world!
Adam, please briefly explain what Skate Sounds LDN is, your role within it, and why you/your team have made a concerted effort to protect preserve and promote roller skating culture and community in London and beyond (as opposed to other activities such as skateboarding, BMX’ing, etc).
It initially started as a name where I could put my music under… for context Norman, I’ve worked in the music industry for years: I’ve produced records that have popped off, written records that have done really well… I’ve run my own record label under the Sony office in London - but I was always reliant on other people audiences so this was my chance to say let me not worry about other people’s clout and ride their coattails… let me build my own audience and service a community I’m passionate about, and let me provide value to it. And at the heart of it is preserving and promoting roller skating culture… I want to create a space where music and skating is at the heart of everything…
I truly believe that because of my love for roller skating, that the community shows me love back… one thing I truly love about the skating, is the mentality of “each one teach one” that exists within it. Many people have been patient with me during my journey - like when showing me how to improve my roller skating - and I want to give that same energy back… I also wanted to share my music to a really cool group of people that I’m crazy about.
But you can’t be as involved in London roller skating culture without (at some point) putting up your fist and actually fighting for the right to skate. What I initially thought would be a Tik Tok page to sharing my clips of cool people skating has turned into an activism page in terms of fighting for spaces and right for skaters to skate. It’s been a natural progression; London is known for car park culture of skating but now we are struggling to find safe space to skate (because of the crackdowns on these spaces).
The typical format goes something like this: a few people first find a spot to skate; then they tell their mates to come through; then over time that spot grows; and then security kicks us out and decides these kids are disrupting us and they don’t want us to be a liability; then we have to find a new spot… and it’s not just security (that block us) - it’s even the police! Even iconic skate spots like the Sainsbury’s in Vauxhall would have incredible parties on Friday nights where up to hundreds of skaters consistently come through, bring their speakers, vibe out and have this incredible expression of joy! One time, a supermarket put baby oil all over the floor and then sand so that we couldn’t use it - and now it’s filled with dust. This was all a hazard for us! By virtue of me being part of this community, there was no other option but to fight for the right to skate and protect roller skating culture.
For someone who has never experienced it, can you shed some light into the world of underground roller skating parties and their importance within the roller skater community…
I was once a person who never experienced roller skating parties underground in car Parks… to begin with, you kind of tap in at the surface level version of roller skating. For me – as an Australian – it began by seeing street skating in London… I had never seen a group of people all roller skating together! It was so exciting and interesting – and the music playing in the streets wasn’t goofy, and the crowd wasn’t middle aged men… it was really cool inner city kids going backwards through traffic! Then you find out about the various skate groups…
On a Monday you’ll find a group which skates faster and is more dangerous, and on a Sunday you’ll find a skate group that like to party all night… then you’ll also find underground parties where it’s like a Fast And Furious Tokyo Drift style scene in a huge car park, and when you follow the faint sound of the thumbing bass and eventually get right floor, you see this magical promised land of hundreds of skaters going in circles… you see decks, speakers, people socialising and just really having a great time!
Roller rinks, car parks and open spaces tend to be the spots where the skater community congregate informally… What are some of the more renown skater spots in London and why do they hold such significance?
Norman, I could talk about 50 - there’s so many hahahaha! Car parks in South, East, North: “P7”, “VS”, “HP” - these are the code names we use, not to gatekeep, but to make sure we aren’t overrun with people trying find the different spots (which could cause safety concerns)… That said, amazing groups and communities that come and gone – I remember two years ago on Tuesday nights at Colliers Wood car park, you would see 50 skaters - now you don’t see anyone. Many iconic spots have this natural lifecycle of growing, becoming big - some of them we get kicked out of - and we find the next one. Burgess Park on Wednesday is amazing; Roller Nation are a great London roller rink that’s around.
Adam, what do you love most about London roller skating culture?
The London style of skating differs from everywhere else in the world, as Londoners tend to do a chop and shuffling backwards style. What I find interesting is how within London you can tell some people grew up skating in certain areas… car park skaters have a certain smooth flow to them which more familiar with doing power slides and they are able to skate on smooth soft slideable ground… Whereas skaters from south more aggressive cut their teeth on non-gentrified grounds had to learn how to hop and skate over.
In recent times, the typical spaces which skater community call home have come under attack - with Bethnal Green Gardens recently having been taken over by newly built Paddle Courts… this is an activity which is far less accessible than roller skating. What are the implications of such crackdowns on roller skating spaces and should we be concerned. If so, why?
We have no qualms with paddle players but you can only fit a few of them at a time in places which could fit hundreds of skaters… I want to hold our events throughout the summer but the reality is I can’t advertise as much I’d like to – I’m worried about crowd control because of these padel courts. The implication of crackdowns is that, simply put, people can’t skate. And when they can’t skate, they don’t have community, and they could get into trouble…
I’ve met many skaters who have found their community at the right time in their life to take them away from trauma, tragedy and when life is life-ing. Whether it’s breakups or coming out of physical rehab because of knife crime… or keeping them straight after prison. To be real, there are alot of teens that live in this difficult city that are from a challenging life. in skater communities they can find the likeminded and have conversations (and build relationships) that aren’t focused around making money, impressing girls or making name for yourself… it’s literally stuff like what’s the latest trick you’ve learnt, where did you get those wheels, can I come skating with you next time…
Moving forward, how do you hope to protect other roller skating spaces so that they avoid the same fate as Bethnal Green Gardens? Why is it important that they are protected?
6 months ago Norman, I was asked what do I see for the future of skating. I said I want some corporate dollar… not to commodify the scene, but the simple truth is that money in this capitalist society brings opportunity. Now 6 months later, Skate Sounds LDN are running incredible series with a major sports brand (Jordans) and we can put on events for the community while also empowering young teens who are real leaders in the community whilst putting cash both into their pockets and the wider community to help the scene grow. I’m actually doing workshops for young skaters on how I got this brand deal so they understand brand positioning, negotiation, pitch decks… and they will get the opportunity to budget and pitch to me their ideas which I can help fund. For me, this is an amazing flow on effect of growth!
I say this because this was always a big first step to prove we can have a meaningful co-sign from a reputable brand – and the next step is having a space to skate. Right now, we don’t really have a consistent space which is sheltered from the rain. Yes we can skate in the streets and parks - but for winter we want a big space to skate. There are roller rinks but they can be small and rather costly for younger generation… I think there is a world in the not-too-distant future where there will be permanent sheltered rink available for London skaters. Even if there’s nothing fancy - even if just huge slab of concrete in park that will help the community… This can house hundreds of skaters on regular basis and I think a flow on effect will be that we can truly champion and mentor the youth. Even without the spaces, we can do things like regular street skates and skate meet ups...
The meet up in Colliers Wood was so successful because Taylor had great relations with the employees at the supermarket of the car park where we used to skate. Taylor was willing to put the rubbish away and put people in line if they misbehaved. I think do we need to focus on doing things where we can allow young leaders to step up - it’s not about getting the big brand deal or top dollar; if you can champion your community the skating will continue…
