“This country seems to be about a year behind, so sales should continue to increase. I’ve just come back from Chicago and saw lots of new designs that aren’t available in Europe yet. It’s definitely going to get bigger.”The accessibility of rollerblading partly accounts for its popularity. The brand name, Rollerblade, is now synonymous with the product. Rollerblade Inc was sold in 1984 and its products now compete in a market which was worth around $700 million (approximately pounds 480m) in 1994.Rollerblades have been in England for about five years, after visiting Americans brought their skates along for the ride.

Stores in the UK sold in excess of 300,000 pairs of blades last year and this year’s figure is expected to be higher still. In the early Eighties, together with his brother, he peddled his new skate from door to door, without much success.By the mid-Eighties, however, sales had picked up and the corporate name, “Rollerblade”, was coined by friends of the Olsens. Knee (pounds 12), elbow (pounds 10) and wrist (pounds 13) pads are also advisable.Rollerblades, of some description, have been in existence for more than 200 years. While early examples are hard to come by, they remain the inspiration for the modern design. The man responsible for rollerblades, as we now recognise them, is American, Scott Olsen.In 1980 he modified the design of an ancient skate to provide a practise boot for hockey players during the close season His idea was not an instant hit.

Safety equipment is recommended, with a helmet costing in the region of pounds 20-pounds 40. I assume, correctly, that he’s an expert, by virtue of his thick American accent. “Rollerblading has become a social sport now, so people of all ages are taking part,” he explains “The average age is between 16 and 30. Many of our customers will have owned rollerskates in the past.

Rollerblades seem to attract ex-rollerskaters more than skateboarders.”A pair of rollerblades can be purchased for as little as pounds 80 or in excess of pounds 200, depending on the quality required. The staff were happy to enlighten me on the basics, before I handed over the contents of my wallet.”It’s primarily younger people who buy rollerblades,” Dan Reed, an assistant, explains. Here was my chance to skate onto the rollerblading bandwagon.One of my trendier friends sent me down to Slick Willie’s in High Street Kensington, a specialist outlet for American sporting fads. I subsequently witnessed an endless line of “mature” individuals “blading” around local parks.
Meanwhile, Adam Faith was pictured in rollerblades and the Duchess of Kent and Peter Gabriel were reported to own a pair.

But, having observed the meteoric rise of the rollerblade, it dawned on me that the pursuit is a pastime for all ages. When my 11-year-old sister received a pair of rollerblades on her birthday, I desperately wanted to try them out, but I held my tongue. With my teenage years all but a distant memory, the fear of public embarrassment easily outweighed dreams of blading through the local park. Slick and funny, the RSC also ask important questions, like: “Where was Oliver Stone on the night Malcolm X was shot?” This is the ultimate bluffer’s guide to the New World.Liese Spencer. Watch out for a hallucinogenic encounter between the gumshoe Spade Diamond and the Cat in the Hat – a Dr Seuss-styled Uncle Sam. well, today it’s our turn,” the Reduced Shakepeare Company say before diving headlong into their motherland’s history.