Posted Feb 2003
 

SKATING IN HARLEM

"Fool, get out of the street!"  Those were the words a young boy heard in the early 1950s when he skated in the avenues of Harlem New York.  Back then adults had their own ideas of what children should spend their time doing and skating in the middle of the road was not on the list.

That, however, did not stop Lee Knowles and his playmates from strapping on their metal-wheeled skates and skating through neighborhood streets as often as they could.  Since there were no skating rinks in Harlem they had no other option.

Lee continued his street skating for three years but as a teen he stepped away from the sport, much to his regret.  Other than a brief one-month return to the wheels in the late 1970s, he did not skate again until 1991 at the age of 51.
 

SKATING IN CENTRAL PARK

He was inspired one day in New York’s Central Park when he saw skaters who looked like they were having so much fun.   That park was a hub for many New York skaters who daily came with their own skates or either rented them from a skate rental shop located nearby.

After Lee saw those skaters, he decided he wanted to get in on the excitement so he rented a pair of roller blades and ventured through the park in them.  Days later, he bought his very own pair and continued skating with the Central park crew whenever he could.

Eventually, he was encouraged to switch to quad roller skates and once he did, there was no turning back.  Every weekend he was in the park steadily improving at his new found hobby.

"I was part of the crew helping set up for the skate every Saturday and Sunday and for a whole summer season I was in Central Park from noon to seven p.m.  Do you think I learned a little something about skating?" he asked.

At that time there were three skate circles in the park and each one had its own DJ and skaters would alternate among the three.  By the time Lee stopped outdoor skating, things had changed and there was only one DJ for the circles.

Eventually an official skate association was formed and recognized by the city which issued  permits allowing the group to close off certain sections of the park during the summer season.  These restricted areas even today are for roller skaters only, people on bikes, skateboards, with pets or frisbees are not allowed into the association’s reserved section.  There is, however,  an informal area that is open year round to anyone who wishes to enjoy the park.

Central Park skaters only need a patch of dry ground and some music to have a good time, and even when temperatures are below freezing you will find them practicing their sport in the park.  Lee was one of those skaters and there were moments he questioned his sanity.

"You are not going to believe this but it would be 16 degrees and we would scrape off snow so we would have an area to skate. I asked myself, ’What am I doing out here?’...But as long as the ground is dry people are out there skating."

That continued until he graduated to indoor skating in 1994 which was a dream come true.  Lee used to have dreams (during the 1980s) about being on roller skates and at the time, he was not skating at all.  He is living proof that some dreams really do come true.

For a while, he continued to skate outdoors a few hours a week along with skating indoors certain week nights but that ended when one night, on a train to a Brooklyn indoor session,  he almost lost one of his skate wheel nuts.  He had two sets of wheels, one for indoor skating and one for outdoor, and he would switch them back and forth depending on where he would be skating.

That night on the train while putting his indoor wheels on, he dropped one of the nuts onto the floor of the train.  He literally had a panic attack screaming and searching for that nut but once he found it he returned to his seat greatly relieved.   To his embarrassment, he was also aware that many passengers were looking at him as though he had lost his mind.  After a few other incidents on the train involving changing wheels he decided to keep his indoor wheels on all the time which meant only indoor skating from then on.
 

THE LOVE OF SKATING

Lee lives to skate and really enjoys pairs skating which is one of his strengths on wheels.  As a youth, he could not dance well and even into adulthood dancing was not his thing, but once he is on skates, roller dancing appears to become second nature.

Not only is skating a great love in his life but it is also a great stress reliever in that most times he leaves the rink, any troubles he came with seem to have diminished or drained away not just from the workout, but also from being in the company of other skaters who have become like family. The camaraderie he has experienced is the main thing he loves about the sport along with the eagerness many skaters have to learn from and share with others.

"It’s a me sport where everybody is trying to be the best they can be.  Everyone is trying to have fun and nobody is trying to put anyone down - that makes such a big difference," he said.

If there is anything he does not like about skating it is how some feel the need to drink or get high before coming to skate.  Skating is like driving and just as drivers must drive with care, he believes a skater must also skate with care and remember they are not the only one on the floor.

Lee plans to continue skating and traveling to events for the rest of his life or until he absolutely cannot do it any longer.  He began traveling in March 2002,  has skated in a number of states and looks forward to many more events - top on the list for 2003 is Cincinnati Ohio.

He is so impressed with Ohio skaters that he wants to get a taste of actually seeing a larger number of them skating together at an event hosted in their state.  Traveling to various skate functions has allowed him not only to take note of other city’s styles,  but also to meet and greet many wonderful people who also love skating.

He views these events as "love ins" where many come as strangers but leave with a number of new found friends and in today’s world that is something to be thankful for.

"Anybody who has an opportunity to learn how to skate has entered a new world.  It just takes over your whole body and spirit...I’m in heaven when I’m with skaters, if there is a heaven for skating, these are our wings."
 

- Kim Muhammad -