May 6, 2025 • 21 mins
The spinning wheels of roller skates have their perfect complement in the spinning vinyl of a DJ booth. This fascinating connection comes alive as Steve Gonzalez (DJ Speedy) takes us into the world of skating DJs—a specialized art form that's about far more than just playing songs.
Starting his skating journey in 1979 and picking up DJing in 1982, Steve provides a time capsule of roller skating culture spanning over four decades. He explains the crucial difference between club DJing and rink DJing: "You have to know your crowd and build the music." From his beginnings at Lorain Skate World in Ohio to his current residency at United Skates in Tampa where he draws crowds of 150-200 skaters, Steve's career traces the evolution of both skating and music technologies.
The conversation takes a poignant turn as Steve shares how vertigo forced him to hang up his skates in 2019, followed by a heart attack and bypass surgery—physical challenges that transformed but didn't end his relationship with skating culture. Despite these obstacles, his passion for creating the perfect skating atmosphere continues behind the booth.
Music selection emerges as a fascinating topic, with Steve favoring funk classics from artists like Zapp and The Gap Band that perfectly complement shuffle skaters. His assertion that modern music "has no heart" (with exceptions like Bruno Mars) reveals the thoughtful consideration behind every track at the rink. The technological evolution from vinyl to digital platforms has made beat-matching easier but perhaps less artistic—a transition Steve navigated while maintaining his distinctive approach to skating soundtracks.
Whether you're a skating enthusiast curious about what makes rink music work, a DJ interested in specialized venues, or someone fascinated by subcultures that blend physical activity and music, this episode offers rare insights into an art form that keeps the wheels turning. Find DJ Speedy on Facebook to follow his continuing journey at the crossroads of music and motion.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hey there, welcome to how Do you Skate, the ultimate
destination for all skatingenthusiasts.
We cater to everyone, frombeginners to pros.
Whether you love inline and iceskating or prefer quads and
skateboarding, we have it allcovered, and we bring you
exclusive interviews withprofessionals, talented amateurs
(00:31):
and influencers in the industry.
So sit back, relax and getready for an exciting journey
into the world of skating.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Welcome to this week's episode of how Do you
Skate.
I'm your host, sean Egan, andmy guest today is Steve Gonzalez
, who is also a skating DJ.
So excited to have finally a DJon board.
So welcome to the show.
Thank you very much Glad to behere.
So when did your whole skatingstart?
How old were you?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I started skating when I was about 15, about 1979
okay, so nice and early.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I was a little younger then, but well, actually
actually you know.
But so now you've been skatingsince 1979, so obviously you've
seen quite the transition in theskating culture from 79 to now.
So anything exciting about thetransition that you've seen,
(01:30):
it's more well you froze up anddown here in Florida there's a
freestyle and the bass music.
Okay, so now, when did youstart DJing and how did you
transition into skating DJ?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
I started DJing in 1982.
Okay, on vinyl.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
The good old days, yes, the good old days.
Now did you scratch too, orjust no, it wasn't that
challenging, didn't get that farinto it.
So what made you transitionfrom?
So you, obviously you startedwith like parties and stuff and
then transition actually Iturned a party that started uh
doing house parties, okay.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
And then, uh, I started uh working on a local
skating rink, which was lorraineskate world in lorraine ohio,
okay, and uh, which was LorainiSkate World in Lorain, ohio,
okay, and that's just for me.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So what is the difference between, like, a
normal DJ and a skating DJ?
Because it's something that alot of people see, so just
curious about it.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
The difference is how you treat the crowd.
You have to your crowd.
You have to know the music.
Okay, obviously you're notgoing to play a slow song when
you should be playing somethingthat's faster.
You know so it's.
You have to know the crowd andthen build music nice.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
And now with that is it like certain kinds of music
that work better than others,because I like rock and I like
to skate fast.
So it kind of goes hand in handwhen, at least back in the day
when we have fast skate, we'dhave a listen to the music and
play some metallica, so what?
(03:20):
Is some of your favoriteartists that you play that as
far as that goes.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I play a lot of funk.
I play like Zap Death Band.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Okay, corner Game.
And so now with that wholething, it's like do you have
like a lot of jam skaters orshuffle skaters or what's like
the the main style?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
So now, are you okay?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Are you a shuffle skater yourself?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
No, I had to stop skating in 2019 because I
developed vertigo.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Oh, okay, so, and pretty serious vertigo.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Not that I couldn't skate.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Okay, so I suffer from that occasionally, that
occasionally so, but it hasn'tstopped me, I'll just take the
dive.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
so but do you miss a lot?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
I'm going to all be taking that so now, with that,
what's kind of some of thetrends that you find with
skating, because I know out herelike we have dj dough boy and
then like they do like a lot ofthe big parties, do you partake
in a lot of the the big partiesfor skating or?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
I do a local party here that I'm part of.
Other than that, I don't go outof state, okay.
Not that I don't want to, Ijust never been asked to okay
you'll get there, don't worry,we'll get you there.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
So, but with the whole entire, since you started
what 82 you said with the rollerrink and have you been?
And then, like dh, about 92 andI just walked away from it all
oh, in 92 you did yeah, and thendid you come back to it yeah
came back to it in 2011?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
okay, and what was the cause of the walk away and I
got tired of the regrets justdoing the same stupid things I
did a week.
You don't look out, there's awhole bunch of dude yeah, did
they give you like creativefreedom back then?
Yes or no?
No, but it didn't matter.
They still the same stupidstuff we can only got.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I just get tired of it, yeah, so now when you came
back to it, was it a lot.
Is it still the same everyweekend, weekend out, or do you
have?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
it's still the same, but I have more patients now
okay, that definitely helps.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, and do you do mostly like adult skates or are
you working?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
so I do uh adult skates and I do uh once a month
at a local rink up in uhinverness okay, and have you
been at the same rink for thewhole time?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
and I've been at united skates for about 14 years
, okay, and how's that going?
Pretty good.
So can you tell us about therink?
Like, what kind of is it likewood floor?
It's wood floor.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
It's a rotunda floor.
It's not that big, but none ofthe rinks down here in Florida
are that big.
Okay, all the bigger rinks areup north.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Okay, and what part of Florida are you in?
Tampa, tampa, okay, yeah, andyou guys get hit by hurricanes
there, right, yes, okay.
So does that like really screwthings up?
Does the rink get some seriousdamage when those come through?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Actually it's pretty well.
It's got some minor damage, butnothing that closes down.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
So now, when you started skating, was it like you
just went to the roller rinkand started skating, or did your
family?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
I started skating because my friends in the
neighborhood started skating,okay, and we were all, all
together.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Okay, and was it?
Let's see how would I say it,because I know, when my first
pair of skates, I had theadjustable with the metal wheels
.
Or were you classy enough tostart off with nice skates?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
No, I started all with the brownies.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Okay, cool, so, and then so you skated.
Did you skate all the way up to92 and then walk away from
skating also?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yeah, I walked away from all of it.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Okay, and not even like recreational skating from
time to time.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
The only time I went was when I took my daughter and
son.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Okay, and are they pretty?
Are they pretty, still intoskating?
Or my daughter is.
But my son is Okay, and is hein line or no, he's just quads.
Okay, jam skater too.
Or yeah, jam skater, nice, doeshe do any competitions.
Or no, no, nice, does he do anycompetitions?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
No, he does it in Michigan with his family.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Okay, is he getting his kids into skating?
Speaker 3 (07:50):
He's trying to get his daughter into it.
His son's too young yet.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Yeah, it started him young, but I have a hard time
getting my kids to go skating,sometimes too, even though my
son worked at the roller rinkfor a while, a while sometimes
too.
So even though my son worked atthe roller rink for a while.
So so, but so do you still owna pair of skates?
Do you ever try it every oncein a while with the vertigo or I
tried it probably about six,eight months ago.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It was like I'd never been on skates before.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Okay, and is like your vertigo, like a constant
thing, or is it?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I'm okay sitting down , I can drive.
Okay, I can walk, but if, afterI start walking for a long
period of time, I start to getdizzy, okay so, and do they know
what's causing it?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
is it just like equilibrium in your ear?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
I don't know.
It thinks many years.
I think it's there.
I think it's that I tried acouple medicines and nothing
works.
It's like okay, whatever yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
So that's just like a pain when you're trying to
recover from some and it'staking you away.
I mean, like were you prettypassionate about skating, oh
yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Three or four times a week.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Oh nice.
And then, of course, that'staken away from you.
So have you like gone to achiropractor or anything?
No, I don't.
To me they're like a stopgapmeasure, because all they do is
they adjust you and then youslip back into where you were
before, yeah, unless you have areally good massage therapist
(09:16):
that can like realign yourmuscles.
So yeah, because I mean Isuffer from heart disease and it
seems like every time I startto make progress, something
happens and I get knocked down.
So I've gotten more of thenatural route of stuff now and
it seems to be working a lotbetter for me.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, I understand that I had a heart attack two
years ago and it bypassed lastyear.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Oh, not fun.
And so do they have you like ona bunch of meds and everything.
Yeah, like about 14 differentmeds.
Oh geez, I was on nine and gotcut down to three different meds
.
Oh geez, I was on nine and gotcut down to three.
So so, but we can talk aboutthat later, especially all the
natural stuff, but, um, yeah, sohow was that whole experience
(09:57):
did that like?
Did the vertigo start after theheart attack?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
or no.
It started before that.
I was in q west one weekendwith my uh girlfriend and I got
sick there and came back with itand I just never left.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Okay, that's interesting.
Yeah, it's just one of thoseweird things, huh yeah.
So even like when you put theskates back on, you can only go
for a little bit and then youget dizzy.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
No, I can't.
It's like I've never skatedbefore.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Oh, it's like just totally like in my job.
I was able to do spins andturns and backwards skate and
everything, and I can't do thatso that's got to be extremely
frustrating, yes, especiallywhen you work at the roller rink
and get to see yeah that's likethe definition of insanity
right there exactly.
But so now, with your whole dj,and is it just the roller rink,
(10:53):
or do you get out and doparties still, or?
I do parties every now and then,but mostly it's uh, the world
rank nice, so I'm gonna ask youwhat kind of skates you skated
on when you did so.
Like what?
What's your?
What's your setup?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
I have a pair of uh Douglas Schneider, uh, super
deluxe with a gold, uh, gold,gold, uh, right now, gold, Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
And then bearing set up and Okay, and wheels.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Uh, I don't remember my last pair of wheels.
Okay, and wheels.
I don't remember my last pairof wheels.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Okay.
So now if someone wanted tobecome a skating DJ, what advice
do you have towards them?
I know earlier you said knowyour crowd, but I know not all
music works with skating.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
No not at all.
I mean, sometimes you can makeyour work, but nowadays, with
STEM and stuff like that, youcan make a lot of music work
that you didn't work before.
You've got to know the music.
The newer music, in my opinion,doesn't work as well for
skating.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Why is that?
Why do you think?
To me it has no heart.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Okay, you know, it's all opportunity that there's no
talent there, you know, andthere are very few of them that
actually have the talent to doit, like bro mars.
He's one of the ones that hismusic is like back in the day.
Yeah, and I play his music allthe time.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
What are some of the other artists that you think are
capable nowadays, that actuallyhave talent?
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Because I agree with you with a lot of the auto-tune
Okay.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Charlie Puth and maybe one or two others.
I can't remember them right now.
I don't play a lot of thecurrent stuff.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Okay, yeah, and that's why I like rock, because
that's one of those things whenyou go see them in concert, you
know if they're auto-tuned ornot.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Right.
Even nowadays, rock bandsaren't what they used to be.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yeah, no, there's a few good ones.
I mean, actually, there's quitea few good ones that I used to
do, and then I'm out in Denver,so we got like a really good
local scene here.
Oh cool, just have you been outto Denver at all?
No, we've got, I think, fiveroller rinks within a 30-minute
drive of me right now.
(13:26):
Wow five roller rinks within a30 minute drive of me right now.
Wow so.
And then we have at least sixnights of adult nights that I
know.
The one place that did it onMonday nights isn't doing it,
but you can find whatever youwant.
Usually Sunday nights is thesuper busy night in Aurora.
That's where you get a lot ofthe shuffle and jam skaters, and
then our Vada.
That's where we get a lot ofthe shuffle and jam skaters, and
(13:48):
then our vada.
That's where we have our retronight.
So all the stuff that was brandnew when I started skating they
play there.
Nostalgia, except I just don'thave the mullet.
So exactly.
So now do you plan on like,just keep going?
Is like the dj in yourfull-time job now?
No, I'll try a full-time job.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
It never will be.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Okay, and do you keep planning on staying there for a
while?
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Nice as long as I can physically.
That works.
Do you get big crowds At?
Speaker 3 (14:22):
the one difference I do.
I average about 150 to 200.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
That's actually pretty good, because here we get
excited when we have like 75people, so so is the skating
scene pretty good in in florida.
It it got better after covid,okay, and did you see, were you
guys open during covid or wereyou like one of the few?
Okay, so did you see like abetter resurgence?
(14:47):
Cause I noticed a hugeresurgence of skating during
COVID just because of the factthat you couldn't go to the gym
and people needed something todo so it was what All outside.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
So we wanted to get out.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
And then, as soon as everything opened back up,
everybody went back indoors.
Actually, we still got a lot ofskaters that actually still do
it outside.
So, um, what is like advicethat you have for someone that
wants to become a skating dj um,know what you want to do.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
If you want to be a roller rink DJ, pursue that, be
a roller rink DJ.
If you want to be a club DJ, bea club DJ.
I mean, they're different, butthey're not that much different.
Okay, it's just that your styleof music is going to be
different.
Yeah, if you're in a club or ifyou're in a roller rink, okay,
okay, yeah exactly what you wantto do there you go.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
That's always an important thing to to look at.
So now, who was your influencewith skating and who was your
influence with DJing?
Speaker 3 (16:02):
influence with skating was with friends DJing I
can't really say.
I know later on DJ Jamson.
He was a very good friend ofmine.
He had me in the business.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
If it wasn't for him I was going to cock out and be
totally done, and is that justbecause of it being the same all
the time?
Speaker 3 (16:26):
No, I was older.
This was about six years ago.
I was older.
Guys had to haul the equipmentaround, stuff like that.
It was losing my, I guess mythrow up, kind of like losing
the passion.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
It just wasn't there anymore.
So, and now it's especiallywith you starting from vinyl,
from carrying all the cases ofyour music into bringing your
laptop in with all the music onit.
So I mean you've even seen thewhole transition through all
that.
So did you go from like vinylto cassette, to CD, now to
completely digital?
Speaker 3 (17:02):
I went from vinyl to cassette.
I skipped CD, okay, and thenwent straight to digital Okay.
And then learning curve wastremendous.
I mean, the ripping part of theCDs was easy, yeah.
The burping part of the CDs waseasy, yeah.
But using the software and howit translated into your pitch
and you know your beat matchingand stuff like that at the time,
(17:25):
you know, was hard to figureout.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Now that you've got it down, does it make it a lot
easier to match stuff up?
Oh yeah, it's much easier, so alot better than the olden days.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
The olden days it was an art, because you had to know
your craft and you had to knowyou know.
Ok, how far might you just geton a song to match it with the
other one?
Yeah, Now it's just you look atthe number and it's you just to
the one next to it, and that'sit.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
So it kind of takes that skill out of it now.
Yeah, so now I was skatingSaturday night and the manager
was DJing.
So what do you have to say tosomeone that does not know who
the Beastie Boys are?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Don't DJ.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Because it was like I asked for like a Beastie Boys
song and she's like who?
And I'm like you're kidding,right, like even all my kids and
the younger people know she's,she just turned 25 today, but
you gotta know who the beastieboys are.
They're like, yeah, definitely.
So what?
What are some now that webrought them up?
So what are your some of yourfavorite beastie boy songs to
(18:32):
play when, when you're djing?
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I like Brass Monkey.
Okay, you gotta fight for yourright.
I really don't play a lot of BCBoyz.
I mean I like them, but Ireally don't play a lot of them,
yeah, but they definitely fitin with skating.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Oh yeah, since they actually started, I'm actually
trying to get them on the show,because they actually started as
skateboarders in a punk band.
Oh, I didn't know that Cool theshow, because they actually
started as skateboarders and apunk band, so it'd be kind of a
cool transition.
So now, what are your futureplans?
And like, how can my listenersfind out where you're at and
(19:10):
follow you?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
They can follow me on Facebook.
Okay, and I'm on Facebook.
There you go so well.
Okay, my name is DJ Speedy andI'm on Facebook.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
There you go so well.
I appreciate you coming on andenlightening us a little bit
about.
So thank you very much, sir.
You're welcome you.
Thank you, thank you.
Hey there, welcome to how Do you Skate, the ultimate
destination for all skatingenthusiasts.
We cater to everyone, frombeginners to pros.
Whether you love inline and iceskating or prefer quads and
skateboarding, we have it allcovered, and we bring you
exclusive interviews withprofessionals, talented amateurs
(00:31):
and influencers in the industry.
So sit back, relax and getready for an exciting journey
into the world of skating.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Welcome to this week's episode of how Do you
Skate.
I'm your host, sean Egan, andmy guest today is Steve Gonzalez
, who is also a skating DJ.
So excited to have finally a DJon board.
So welcome to the show.
Thank you very much Glad to behere.
So when did your whole skatingstart?
How old were you?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I started skating when I was about 15, about 1979
okay, so nice and early.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I was a little younger then, but well, actually
actually you know.
But so now you've been skatingsince 1979, so obviously you've
seen quite the transition in theskating culture from 79 to now.
So anything exciting about thetransition that you've seen,
(01:30):
it's more well you froze up anddown here in Florida there's a
freestyle and the bass music.
Okay, so now, when did youstart DJing and how did you
transition into skating DJ?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
I started DJing in 1982.
Okay, on vinyl.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
The good old days, yes, the good old days.
Now did you scratch too, orjust no, it wasn't that
challenging, didn't get that farinto it.
So what made you transitionfrom?
So you, obviously you startedwith like parties and stuff and
then transition actually Iturned a party that started uh
doing house parties, okay.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
And then, uh, I started uh working on a local
skating rink, which was lorraineskate world in lorraine ohio,
okay, and uh, which was LorainiSkate World in Lorain, ohio,
okay, and that's just for me.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So what is the difference between, like, a
normal DJ and a skating DJ?
Because it's something that alot of people see, so just
curious about it.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
The difference is how you treat the crowd.
You have to your crowd.
You have to know the music.
Okay, obviously you're notgoing to play a slow song when
you should be playing somethingthat's faster.
You know so it's.
You have to know the crowd andthen build music nice.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
And now with that is it like certain kinds of music
that work better than others,because I like rock and I like
to skate fast.
So it kind of goes hand in handwhen, at least back in the day
when we have fast skate, we'dhave a listen to the music and
play some metallica, so what?
(03:20):
Is some of your favoriteartists that you play that as
far as that goes.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I play a lot of funk.
I play like Zap Death Band.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Okay, corner Game.
And so now with that wholething, it's like do you have
like a lot of jam skaters orshuffle skaters or what's like
the the main style?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
So now, are you okay?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Are you a shuffle skater yourself?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
No, I had to stop skating in 2019 because I
developed vertigo.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Oh, okay, so, and pretty serious vertigo.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Not that I couldn't skate.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Okay, so I suffer from that occasionally, that
occasionally so, but it hasn'tstopped me, I'll just take the
dive.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
so but do you miss a lot?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
I'm going to all be taking that so now, with that,
what's kind of some of thetrends that you find with
skating, because I know out herelike we have dj dough boy and
then like they do like a lot ofthe big parties, do you partake
in a lot of the the big partiesfor skating or?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
I do a local party here that I'm part of.
Other than that, I don't go outof state, okay.
Not that I don't want to, Ijust never been asked to okay
you'll get there, don't worry,we'll get you there.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
So, but with the whole entire, since you started
what 82 you said with the rollerrink and have you been?
And then, like dh, about 92 andI just walked away from it all
oh, in 92 you did yeah, and thendid you come back to it yeah
came back to it in 2011?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
okay, and what was the cause of the walk away and I
got tired of the regrets justdoing the same stupid things I
did a week.
You don't look out, there's awhole bunch of dude yeah, did
they give you like creativefreedom back then?
Yes or no?
No, but it didn't matter.
They still the same stupidstuff we can only got.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I just get tired of it, yeah, so now when you came
back to it, was it a lot.
Is it still the same everyweekend, weekend out, or do you
have?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
it's still the same, but I have more patients now
okay, that definitely helps.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, and do you do mostly like adult skates or are
you working?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
so I do uh adult skates and I do uh once a month
at a local rink up in uhinverness okay, and have you
been at the same rink for thewhole time?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
and I've been at united skates for about 14 years
, okay, and how's that going?
Pretty good.
So can you tell us about therink?
Like, what kind of is it likewood floor?
It's wood floor.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
It's a rotunda floor.
It's not that big, but none ofthe rinks down here in Florida
are that big.
Okay, all the bigger rinks areup north.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Okay, and what part of Florida are you in?
Tampa, tampa, okay, yeah, andyou guys get hit by hurricanes
there, right, yes, okay.
So does that like really screwthings up?
Does the rink get some seriousdamage when those come through?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Actually it's pretty well.
It's got some minor damage, butnothing that closes down.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
So now, when you started skating, was it like you
just went to the roller rinkand started skating, or did your
family?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
I started skating because my friends in the
neighborhood started skating,okay, and we were all, all
together.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Okay, and was it?
Let's see how would I say it,because I know, when my first
pair of skates, I had theadjustable with the metal wheels
.
Or were you classy enough tostart off with nice skates?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
No, I started all with the brownies.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Okay, cool, so, and then so you skated.
Did you skate all the way up to92 and then walk away from
skating also?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yeah, I walked away from all of it.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Okay, and not even like recreational skating from
time to time.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
The only time I went was when I took my daughter and
son.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Okay, and are they pretty?
Are they pretty, still intoskating?
Or my daughter is.
But my son is Okay, and is hein line or no, he's just quads.
Okay, jam skater too.
Or yeah, jam skater, nice, doeshe do any competitions.
Or no, no, nice, does he do anycompetitions?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
No, he does it in Michigan with his family.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Okay, is he getting his kids into skating?
Speaker 3 (07:50):
He's trying to get his daughter into it.
His son's too young yet.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Yeah, it started him young, but I have a hard time
getting my kids to go skating,sometimes too, even though my
son worked at the roller rinkfor a while, a while sometimes
too.
So even though my son worked atthe roller rink for a while.
So so, but so do you still owna pair of skates?
Do you ever try it every oncein a while with the vertigo or I
tried it probably about six,eight months ago.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It was like I'd never been on skates before.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Okay, and is like your vertigo, like a constant
thing, or is it?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I'm okay sitting down , I can drive.
Okay, I can walk, but if, afterI start walking for a long
period of time, I start to getdizzy, okay so, and do they know
what's causing it?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
is it just like equilibrium in your ear?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
I don't know.
It thinks many years.
I think it's there.
I think it's that I tried acouple medicines and nothing
works.
It's like okay, whatever yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
So that's just like a pain when you're trying to
recover from some and it'staking you away.
I mean, like were you prettypassionate about skating, oh
yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Three or four times a week.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Oh nice.
And then, of course, that'staken away from you.
So have you like gone to achiropractor or anything?
No, I don't.
To me they're like a stopgapmeasure, because all they do is
they adjust you and then youslip back into where you were
before, yeah, unless you have areally good massage therapist
(09:16):
that can like realign yourmuscles.
So yeah, because I mean Isuffer from heart disease and it
seems like every time I startto make progress, something
happens and I get knocked down.
So I've gotten more of thenatural route of stuff now and
it seems to be working a lotbetter for me.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, I understand that I had a heart attack two
years ago and it bypassed lastyear.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Oh, not fun.
And so do they have you like ona bunch of meds and everything.
Yeah, like about 14 differentmeds.
Oh geez, I was on nine and gotcut down to three different meds
.
Oh geez, I was on nine and gotcut down to three.
So so, but we can talk aboutthat later, especially all the
natural stuff, but, um, yeah, sohow was that whole experience
(09:57):
did that like?
Did the vertigo start after theheart attack?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
or no.
It started before that.
I was in q west one weekendwith my uh girlfriend and I got
sick there and came back with itand I just never left.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Okay, that's interesting.
Yeah, it's just one of thoseweird things, huh yeah.
So even like when you put theskates back on, you can only go
for a little bit and then youget dizzy.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
No, I can't.
It's like I've never skatedbefore.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Oh, it's like just totally like in my job.
I was able to do spins andturns and backwards skate and
everything, and I can't do thatso that's got to be extremely
frustrating, yes, especiallywhen you work at the roller rink
and get to see yeah that's likethe definition of insanity
right there exactly.
But so now, with your whole dj,and is it just the roller rink,
(10:53):
or do you get out and doparties still, or?
I do parties every now and then,but mostly it's uh, the world
rank nice, so I'm gonna ask youwhat kind of skates you skated
on when you did so.
Like what?
What's your?
What's your setup?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
I have a pair of uh Douglas Schneider, uh, super
deluxe with a gold, uh, gold,gold, uh, right now, gold, Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
And then bearing set up and Okay, and wheels.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Uh, I don't remember my last pair of wheels.
Okay, and wheels.
I don't remember my last pairof wheels.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Okay.
So now if someone wanted tobecome a skating DJ, what advice
do you have towards them?
I know earlier you said knowyour crowd, but I know not all
music works with skating.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
No not at all.
I mean, sometimes you can makeyour work, but nowadays, with
STEM and stuff like that, youcan make a lot of music work
that you didn't work before.
You've got to know the music.
The newer music, in my opinion,doesn't work as well for
skating.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Why is that?
Why do you think?
To me it has no heart.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Okay, you know, it's all opportunity that there's no
talent there, you know, andthere are very few of them that
actually have the talent to doit, like bro mars.
He's one of the ones that hismusic is like back in the day.
Yeah, and I play his music allthe time.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
What are some of the other artists that you think are
capable nowadays, that actuallyhave talent?
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Because I agree with you with a lot of the auto-tune
Okay.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Charlie Puth and maybe one or two others.
I can't remember them right now.
I don't play a lot of thecurrent stuff.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Okay, yeah, and that's why I like rock, because
that's one of those things whenyou go see them in concert, you
know if they're auto-tuned ornot.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Right.
Even nowadays, rock bandsaren't what they used to be.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yeah, no, there's a few good ones.
I mean, actually, there's quitea few good ones that I used to
do, and then I'm out in Denver,so we got like a really good
local scene here.
Oh cool, just have you been outto Denver at all?
No, we've got, I think, fiveroller rinks within a 30-minute
drive of me right now.
(13:26):
Wow five roller rinks within a30 minute drive of me right now.
Wow so.
And then we have at least sixnights of adult nights that I
know.
The one place that did it onMonday nights isn't doing it,
but you can find whatever youwant.
Usually Sunday nights is thesuper busy night in Aurora.
That's where you get a lot ofthe shuffle and jam skaters, and
then our Vada.
That's where we get a lot ofthe shuffle and jam skaters, and
(13:48):
then our vada.
That's where we have our retronight.
So all the stuff that was brandnew when I started skating they
play there.
Nostalgia, except I just don'thave the mullet.
So exactly.
So now do you plan on like,just keep going?
Is like the dj in yourfull-time job now?
No, I'll try a full-time job.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
It never will be.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Okay, and do you keep planning on staying there for a
while?
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Nice as long as I can physically.
That works.
Do you get big crowds At?
Speaker 3 (14:22):
the one difference I do.
I average about 150 to 200.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
That's actually pretty good, because here we get
excited when we have like 75people, so so is the skating
scene pretty good in in florida.
It it got better after covid,okay, and did you see, were you
guys open during covid or wereyou like one of the few?
Okay, so did you see like abetter resurgence?
(14:47):
Cause I noticed a hugeresurgence of skating during
COVID just because of the factthat you couldn't go to the gym
and people needed something todo so it was what All outside.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
So we wanted to get out.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
And then, as soon as everything opened back up,
everybody went back indoors.
Actually, we still got a lot ofskaters that actually still do
it outside.
So, um, what is like advicethat you have for someone that
wants to become a skating dj um,know what you want to do.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
If you want to be a roller rink DJ, pursue that, be
a roller rink DJ.
If you want to be a club DJ, bea club DJ.
I mean, they're different, butthey're not that much different.
Okay, it's just that your styleof music is going to be
different.
Yeah, if you're in a club or ifyou're in a roller rink, okay,
okay, yeah exactly what you wantto do there you go.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
That's always an important thing to to look at.
So now, who was your influencewith skating and who was your
influence with DJing?
Speaker 3 (16:02):
influence with skating was with friends DJing I
can't really say.
I know later on DJ Jamson.
He was a very good friend ofmine.
He had me in the business.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
If it wasn't for him I was going to cock out and be
totally done, and is that justbecause of it being the same all
the time?
Speaker 3 (16:26):
No, I was older.
This was about six years ago.
I was older.
Guys had to haul the equipmentaround, stuff like that.
It was losing my, I guess mythrow up, kind of like losing
the passion.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
It just wasn't there anymore.
So, and now it's especiallywith you starting from vinyl,
from carrying all the cases ofyour music into bringing your
laptop in with all the music onit.
So I mean you've even seen thewhole transition through all
that.
So did you go from like vinylto cassette, to CD, now to
completely digital?
Speaker 3 (17:02):
I went from vinyl to cassette.
I skipped CD, okay, and thenwent straight to digital Okay.
And then learning curve wastremendous.
I mean, the ripping part of theCDs was easy, yeah.
The burping part of the CDs waseasy, yeah.
But using the software and howit translated into your pitch
and you know your beat matchingand stuff like that at the time,
(17:25):
you know, was hard to figureout.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Now that you've got it down, does it make it a lot
easier to match stuff up?
Oh yeah, it's much easier, so alot better than the olden days.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
The olden days it was an art, because you had to know
your craft and you had to knowyou know.
Ok, how far might you just geton a song to match it with the
other one?
Yeah, Now it's just you look atthe number and it's you just to
the one next to it, and that'sit.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
So it kind of takes that skill out of it now.
Yeah, so now I was skatingSaturday night and the manager
was DJing.
So what do you have to say tosomeone that does not know who
the Beastie Boys are?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Don't DJ.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Because it was like I asked for like a Beastie Boys
song and she's like who?
And I'm like you're kidding,right, like even all my kids and
the younger people know she's,she just turned 25 today, but
you gotta know who the beastieboys are.
They're like, yeah, definitely.
So what?
What are some now that webrought them up?
So what are your some of yourfavorite beastie boy songs to
(18:32):
play when, when you're djing?
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I like Brass Monkey.
Okay, you gotta fight for yourright.
I really don't play a lot of BCBoyz.
I mean I like them, but Ireally don't play a lot of them,
yeah, but they definitely fitin with skating.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Oh yeah, since they actually started, I'm actually
trying to get them on the show,because they actually started as
skateboarders in a punk band.
Oh, I didn't know that Cool theshow, because they actually
started as skateboarders and apunk band, so it'd be kind of a
cool transition.
So now, what are your futureplans?
And like, how can my listenersfind out where you're at and
(19:10):
follow you?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
They can follow me on Facebook.
Okay, and I'm on Facebook.
There you go so well.
Okay, my name is DJ Speedy andI'm on Facebook.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
There you go so well.
I appreciate you coming on andenlightening us a little bit
about.
So thank you very much, sir.
You're welcome you.
Thank you, thank you.
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