Apolo Ohno on LandRoller skates: Big wheel loves his big wheels
Radical. Innovative. Revolutionary. An apt description of local Olympian Apolo Ohno, but also of his new favorite mode of transportation off the ice: LandRoller skates.
The peculiar design was first seen in the Jackie Chan film "Around the World in 80 Days" — an "antiqued" version was designed by British comedian/actor Steve Coogan's wacky inventor character.
When Ohno first saw the skates himself, he says, he decreed, "They're sick!" And he meant that in the nicest way. Ohno was so smitten with the revolutionary skates that he signed on to endorse them.
"I hooked up with the company so I could take a closer look, because they weren't on the market at that time," Ohno said in an interview. That put Ohno ahead of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon, who received the skates as part of an Oscar-winning goodie bag. (The $249.99 skates are available online at www.landroller.com).
Ten years in development, the skates feature large-diameter wheels (5.7-inch front and 7-inch rear) in a patented "angled wheel technology," which allows skaters to tackle previously untapped (translate: rough) skating surfaces. Advantages, say reps, include improved maneuverability, smooth ride and increased glide time. And the unusual design is sure to turn heads.
"Quite simply, large wheels roll over bad surfaces better than smaller wheels," says LandRoller developer/designer Bert Lovitt, "so LandRollers allow skate enthusiasts, and even beginners, who never had the perfect conditions to skate on, to break out onto beautiful roads and paths, until now off limits to skates."
And, he adds, "they are just a joy to skate in — incredibly comfortable and stable."
Ohno, for one, agrees.
"I'll skate Green Lake, just around the block, and I'll throw them on to seriously just run errands that are close by my dad's house. Short trips are always nice on LandRollers. The streets around there are pretty beat up, so the larger wheels on the LandRoller handle it. I really wouldn't have thought to skate [the area] if not for them. They're so smooth, even over really bad surfaces."
Ohno's champion skating career actually began off the ice, as an in-line skater, where he won several championships. So when he says the crazy-looking skates really are fun, apparently you should believe him.
"Around Seattle, there are so many quiet roads and rural areas where I find myself jumping out of the car and going for a skate — regardless of what the road looks like."
And, yes, they're cute: "Trust me, when you wear these skates you tend to get noticed. It's like having a cute puppy, because they are so cool looking."
N.F. Mendoza is a writer based in Los Angeles who occasionally contributes to The Seattle Times.
