In Today I Learn, we found there is such a thing called Free Skates (not to be confused with figure skating’s free skating segment, btw). No. Free Skate does not mean the skates are free. So, what the heck is Free Skates, anyways? Well, it is sort of like a cross between inline skates, AKA Rollerblades, (but with less wheels) and a skateboard. Just imagine a skateboard being split into two halves with each half sporting two wheels in an inline configurations.
However, unlike inline skate or traditional roller skate, it has no shoes or boots to strap on. Instead, you step onto each Free Skate like you do with a skateboard. See what I mean when I said it is like the lovechild of a skateboard and inline skate? I mean, seriously, it is clearly the offspring of those two devices. Come to think of it, Free Skate is like the man-powered version of the Segway Drift W1 eSkates – except that W1 has a single, wide wheels on each skate.
We must have been living under the rock the whole time because, apparently, Free Skates has been a thing since 2015 (or maybe even earlier?). It is only until we saw a video by Braille Skateboarding, did we learn of its existence. Man, where were we??? Honestly, I have absolutely no idea. With Free Skates, you can do pretty much what skateboard and inline skates can do, pull tricks, including kick flip and making half or quarter pipe runs.
Anywho, from what we heard, the sport is several years old now. When the original company that make these skates went bust, a couple of former staff decided to pick it up and give the sport a new lease of life. The new company, JMK Ride, now designs, manufactures and markets Free Skates and even have its own Pro Skaters, and have been doing so since 2015. So, now you know.
If you down for a new form of skating sport, you may want to consider picking up a complete set of Free Skates from JMK Ride for $120.
Images: JMK Ride.
Source: YouTube (Braille Skateboarding).
