Editing Inline skates (section)

=== Aggressive skates ===

{{Main|Aggressive inline skating}}

[[File:Aggressive Inline Skate-Gawds-Ground Control-Dead Wheels-Red-by IG Simply Vic-bg.png|thumb|right|200px|Gawds/Ground Control]]

Aggressive skates are the most specialized inline skates, in contrast to recreational skates. They are designed for one specific purpose only: grinds. Grinding is the art of sliding on street obstacles such as stairs, rails, benches, curbs, ramps and walls. To support a skater performing these stunts, aggressive skates are built with strong hard boots based on ski boots, as Olson originally did with his Ultimate Street Skates. These are bolted to thick frames which are fitted with the smallest wheels in all of inline skating. The smaller wheels bring the boot closer to the ground, making tricks and grinds easier to perform. To help a skater lock onto an obstacle of interest during a grind, an aggressive skate provides channels and surfaces such as H-blocks, frame grooves, backslide grooves, grind plates, [[soulplate]]s, etc. Transitioning between these stunts, a skater often jumps considerable heights, or rides down a long flight of stairs (known as stair bashing). Thus, aggressive boots are often fitted with shock absorbers to dampen shocks upon landing.<ref name="gutman-catching-air-2004"/>{{rp|134–163}}<ref name="powell-svensson-inline-skating"/>{{rp|33,156–168}}<ref name="vegter-names-in-inline-skating"/><ref name="bladeville-components-of-aggressive-skates">{{cite web
|url=https://bladeville.com/blog/how-aggressive-inline-skates-are-built
|title=How aggressive inline skates are built
|website=Bladeville
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250112023306/https://bladeville.com/blog/how-aggressive-inline-skates-are-built
|archive-date=2025-01-12
|access-date=2025-01-12
}}</ref><ref name="welch-demystify-inline-disciplines"/>

[[File:K2 Fatty Pro-2nd gen-EU edition-1997-Aggressive Inline Skates-A Schneider-IMG 9497-Back-bg.png|thumb|right|200px|Grind plate on K2 Fatty]]

Aggressive skates co-evolved with the discipline which started as '''inline stunts'''. It then turned into '''streetstyle skating''', and finally into '''aggressive inline skating'''.

Soon after the Rollerblade Lightning TRS was released in 1988, skaters experimented with extreme stunts on inline skates. Many took the axle wrench that came with Lightning TRS, and bolted it onto the frame as a makeshift grind plate. In the early days, frame grooves were formed on frames by the continuous grinding of frames on street obstacles.<ref name="vegter-history-of-soulplates"/><ref name="gutman-catching-air-2004"/>{{rp|137–138}} Inline skating books published on or before 1995 treated the discipline as stunt skating or street-style skating, following nomenclature from skateboarding. The word "street" in '''street-style''' meant that skaters performed tricks on and over '''street obstacles'''.<ref name="feineman-wheel-excitement"/>{{rp|98–110}}<ref name="fried-cassorla-inline-ultimate-guide-1995"/>{{rp|6,64–77,170–174}}

[[File:K2 Style Points Bob SPB-1998-Aggressive Inline Skates-A Schneider-IMG 9485-Profile-bg.png|thumb|right|200px|K2 SPB, 1998]]

In 1993, the movie [[Airborne (1993 film)|Airborne]] came out, showcasing streetstyle inline skating to an entire country. In 1994, the video ''The Hoax: An Inline Crime'' was released by T-Bone Films, featuring icons such as [[Chris Edwards (skater)|Chris Edwards]], [[Arlo Eisenberg]], Chris Mitchell, Jess Dyrenforth, Pat Parnell, and others. Both videos inspired a new generation of young aggressive skaters.<ref name="gutman-catching-air-2004"/>{{rp|134–136}} While skaters were still custom-modding their skates for aggressive skating, the Aggressive Skaters Association (ASA) was formed in 1994.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://asaskate.com/about.html
|title=About the ASA: History
|website=Aggressive Skaters Association (ASA)
|url-status=usurped
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013124456/http://asaskate.com/about.html
|archive-date=1999-10-13
|access-date=2025-01-10
}}</ref> Shortly after, ESPN [[X Games]] adopted aggressive inline skating in 1995 and ran aggressive competitions for 10 years, cementing the discipline.<ref name="x-games-history-official-page">{{cite web
|url=https://www.xgames.com/our-history
|title=Our X Games History
|website=X Games
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215135205/https://www.xgames.com/our-history
|archive-date=2025-02-15
|access-date=2025-02-20
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|date=March 8, 2005
|title=Inline No Longer X Games Competition
|url=https://www.espn.com/action/news/story?page=EXPN.no_xg_inline
|access-date=2020-10-18
|publisher=[[ESPN]]
|type=Press release
|archive-date=2016-06-18
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618044432/http://espn.go.com/action/news/story?page=EXPN.no_xg_inline
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

Over time, aggressive skates evolved to incorporate even more mods by skaters. The frame walls were thickened to provide rigidity, and to allow skates to be inclined further during grinds, without incurring wheel bites. Frame grooves became a standard, and H-blocks were integrated. The two middle wheels were spaced farther apart, creating a larger split between these two wheels, to enhance grinding experiences.<ref name="vegter-everthing-about-grooves"/><ref name="gutman-catching-air-2004"/>{{rp|151–152}}

[[File:Roces 5th Element-1998-Aggressive Inline Skates-A Schneider-IMG 2834-Soulplate frame n wheels-bg single rotated.png|thumb|right|260px|Roces 5th Element with H-block & single-piece soulplate, 1998]]

In 1996, Roces M12 (Majestic 12) was launched, with small wheels, a boot closer to the ground, a large gap between two middle wheels, and an H-block. Soon, the M12 became synonymous with aggressive skates. In 1997, makers such as USD introduced integrated soulplates (also soul plates, from sole plates), providing a platform for soul grinds using the bottom of the boot, rather than the frame. Backslide grooves were eventually introduced, to allow even greater skate inclination during grinds. By 2003, the soulplate became a single-piece, flat platform in Roces M12, with an even wider boot bottom to further enhance soul grinding.<ref name="vegter-everthing-about-grooves"/> From then on, inline skating books dedicated entire chapters to aggressive skates and skating.<ref name="powell-svensson-inline-skating"/>{{rp|156–168}}

[[File:Aggressive Inline Skate-Gawds-Symetrics-Dead Wheels-Bottom view-by IG Simply Vic-bg rotated.png|thumb|right|180px|Frame groove and thick frame walls]]

In 2001, aggressive skate manufacturers standardized on '''UFS''' (Universal Frame System), the first replaceable mounting standard for inline skates. Most UFS frames accommodate small wheels up to 60mm.<ref name="vegter-everything-about-frames"/> Some UFS frames with frame grooves and H-blocks are designed with thick walls to prevent wheel bites. These frames can be used with a flat wheel setup, where all wheels touch the ground. Other UFS frames without prevention measures against wheel bites can be set up with an anti-rocker wheel configuration. The second and third wheels are replaced with even smaller "grindwheels" (or "antirockers") made of hard plastic that are resistant to wheel bites. Some skaters go one step further, eliminating the two inner wheels altogether. Instead of wheels, "juice blocks" are installed to keep the structural integrity of the frame walls.<ref name="vegter-everything-about-grindwheels"/><ref name="bladeville-components-of-aggressive-skates"/><ref name="markus-thierstein-wheel-rockering"/>

[[File:Inauguration du Skatepark de Plainpalais à Genève 03.JPG|thumb|right|280px|Aggressive competition in Geneva]]

Aggressive skates come with no brakes.<ref name="inlineskates-types-of-skates"/> It is assumed that skaters are able to stop without brakes, as they grind on street obstacles (termed '''street skating'''), perform stunts at skateparks (termed '''park skating'''), and take to the air at the top of ramps (termed '''vert skating'''). Brakes only hinder aggressive maneuvers.<ref name="powell-svensson-inline-skating"/>{{rp|33,156–168}}

The name "aggressive" has been controversial outside the core community of aggressive skaters. Even within the core community, debates continue to this day on alternative naming.<ref>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = What's in a name? Describing Skating to the Masses
| url         = https://be-mag.com/article/whats-in-a-name-describing-skating-to-the-masses/
| magazine    = Be-Mag
| date        = 2023-01-29
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240915111023/https://be-mag.com/article/whats-in-a-name-describing-skating-to-the-masses/
| archive-date= 2024-09-15
| access-date = 2025-01-13
}}</ref> Many in the community call aggressive skating '''rollerblading''' (or simply '''blading'''), and thus members '''bladers'''.<ref name="vegter-names-in-inline-skating"/> Others call it '''aggro'''.<ref name="gutman-catching-air-2004"/>{{rp|134–163}}{{efn-ua|name=rollerblade-aggro-culture-1990|
Page 77 of Skaters magazine from 1990 featured an ad by Rollerblade on "Aggro Culture", an alternative term for aggressive inline skating. It urged readers to send $4 for an "Aggro Culture Poster". It's not clear whether Rollerblade promoted this term beyond 1990.<ref name=Shevelson-golden-days-of-skating/>}} Some skate manufacturers eschew the label "aggressive", choosing to market their aggressive skates instead as '''street skates''' or '''park skates'''. For instance, Rollerblade Inc. called this discipline "extreme skating" in its 1991 official guidebook, ''Wheel Excitement''.<ref name="feineman-wheel-excitement"/>{{rp|98–110}} Even after the aggressive competitions from X Games in 1995, Rollerblade Inc. continued to call it "extreme skating", in its 2000 book: ''Superguides: Inline Skating''.<ref name="rollerblade-dk-superguides-inline-skating-2000"/>{{rp|40–41}} The company marketed these skates as "Street Skates" all these years, to this day, almost 30 years after the X Games.{{efn-ua|1=See archived product pages from Rollerblade: [https://web.archive.org/web/20110104214136/http://rollerblade.com/channel_street.php 2011 page] showing a selection of Rollerblade "Street Skates", [https://web.archive.org/web/20160315183029/http://www.rollerblade.com/usa/skates/?gen=28 2016 selection], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20241224030628/https://www.rollerblade.com/usa/en/mens/pro-skates/street-park 2024 selection].
}}