First of all, big props to Choong Hooi producing this video & congratulations to him for getting engaged. Secondly, allow me to show you how much progress Malaysian rollerblading community has made.
Wow. Seriously wow. I thought, “Betul ke ni?”. Let me show you how skating was like 4 – 8 years ago:
It’s a big difference. The amount of tricks, the creativity. Man, no words to describe the excitement I’m feeling. The best part, I can actually see a 3rd generation of Malaysian rollerbladers. It’s not been long, but it’s been that a while now.
Coming from the 1st generation, so I think, the 1st crew I rolled with was the Shah Alam crew – Abang Hardy’s crew. That crew was one of the early pioneers of rollerblading in Malaysia. Setiawangsa was one of the toughest crew to beat. Big tricks, solid, superb creativity (back then), handrails jumpers, the police. It all started in 1994 and it’s been 15 years since then. I might be off with the years, but it’s been that long since I remember grinding that big fat practice rail in Section 9 Shah Alam. The MESA. The small street battles on handrails: not a Hoax, but enough to make you wet. The early days of being the firestarter of a new industry. The noisy minority.
Then came the KJROLLERS years. Created & formed this crew when I moved back to Kelana Jaya. That pretty much boomed in early 2000. The early involvement with ESPN Asian X Games organisers pretty much made the mark for most of us. Then came the street comps. The local merchandising. The skate videos.
And now, the 3rd generation appears. The skateparks. The new blood. And I’m out of the game. Literally.
Man, the amount of skating done in a short time of our lives is so damn bloody much. And it hurts 15 years later. In the knees all. But it was worth the pain. Worth every bruise.
Keep on rolling boys. I’ll have my kid rolling soon.
