
Rollerblade is a brand of
inline skates owned by
Nordica, part of the
Tecnica Group of
Giavera del Montello,
Treviso, Italy.
The company was started by Scott Olson (b. 1960) in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
as Ole's Innovative Sports; when they sold the company, it became Rollerblade, Inc.
and has changed hands over time between Nordica,
Benetton Group and Tecnica.
[ and ]
Inline-skates had been used for many years by ice speed skaters before they became mainstream. For the first few years after Rollerblade was developed, Rollerblade, Inc. were the only manufacturer of in-line skates that had worldwide distribution. This allowed the company to capitalize and grab a huge percentage of the world market share and almost total dominance of the North American market with aggressive advertising campaigns and sponsored in-line-only sporting events.
Rollerblade, Inc. manufactures different types of skates, such as those for
aggressive skating
Skating involves any sports or recreational activity which consists of traveling on surfaces or on ice using skates, and may refer to:
Ice skating
*Ice skating, moving on ice by using ice skates
**Figure skating, a sport in which individuals, ...
(aimed at jumps, tricks, and use at skate parks), fitness, or recreational use with removable "walkable" liners, as well as adjustable skates for younger users.
References
External links
Rollerblade official web site
{{Inline skating
Brands that became generic
Roller skates
Tecnica Group
American inventions
Products introduced in 1982