The beginning
It all started in 2018/2019 when four friends wanted to skate together and listen to good music.
We quickly realized when we went out that not only was there zero Black Skate Culture in Vancouver, but the music was terrible, and the existing rollerskating scene was an uncomfortable place to be if you were a racialized person.
We made the best of the situation at the time and when we rolled out in public vibing — people’s jaws dropped when they saw us skating together.
2020
It was a challenge to get together and skate in the early days of the pandemic, but we started again in the summer of 2020.
We got tired of waiting for an invitation to the table in the very caucasian-dominated Vancouver roller skate scene. After a series of wild events, we knew that if we ever wanted to see dance skating in Vancouver in a space folks could be comfortable, we’d need to set our own table. Our space would be one where racialized folks could feel safe, listen to the music we wanted to, skate the way we wanted, and promote Black History and Black Skate Culture. That’s when we made Bad Bounce official.
We also wanted to help make rollerskating more accessible in a very expensive city, where systemic racism is not only prevalent, but Black folks were actively pushed out https://www.hogansalleysociety.org/about-hogans-alley/.
Additionally, we knew others would be feeling the financial crunch of the pandemic. Now more than ever before, marginalized people needed access to a sport that could benefit their physical (skating is an aerobic exercise that burns 350 – 600 calories an hour, and causes 50% less stress to the joints than running https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/is-roller-skating-good-exercise), and mental well-being. So we did a fundraiser to help remove the cost barrier.
2021
Everything moved slowly during the early days of the pandemic—there was a skate shortage, plus we were all working FT, and dealing with other challenges. However, a year later we managed to:
– teach 25 Black and Indigenous folks how to skate, plus organized skate lessons for several others
-create and hold safe space for 29hrs of skate time
-acquire, and re-distribute skates and/or pads for 15 skaters
With everything stacked against us we managed to meet and surpass our accessibility goals.
We also started some fantastic collaborations along the way, like with the amazing folks at Colour the Trails – a BIPOC organization advocating for inclusive representation in outdoor spaces. https://colourthetrails.com
2022
After looking for a regular skate spot for more than a year, we finally got into a space summer of 2022! That was a massive undertaking, as Vancouver has tons of accessible skateboarding locations, but no designated places to roller skate. Along the way, we realized that rolla skating isn’t about being in a fancy rink. It’s about the community. So we were thrilled to have found a community space, for our community group. With that finally sorted, we’ve been able to get back to holding regular skate events and dig into learning all those sweet moves so we can level up our rhythm skating!
Bad Bounce is a grassroots, volunteer-run, cost-recovery, community rollerskate club that holds safe space for adult BI&POC on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations aka Vancouver aka Van City.
Check us out in the media!
CBC
Georgia Straight
Bad Bounce 