Here’s a list of roller skater owned small businesses in Europe. If you want to support small brands, projects or shops run and created by roller skaters, just scroll through our article. If you can’t find your business, shoot us a message and we add you!
Bars Apparel, Germany
Fair, urban street wear comes from the BARS (top image) crew from Saarbrücken (Germany). Nicola and her partners started their brand back in 2016. Their textiles are fair traded and they keep the production process as sustainable as possible. If you want help a skater run fashion brand to grow, have a look at their shop.
RadGal, Bulgaria
RadGal is the brand and online shop of skate addict Fani Vankova from Bulgaria. Fani designs skater socks, skate leashes, shirts and accessories.
Spell Caster Sliders, Berlin
Jana from Berlin is the creator and maker of some of the coolest DIY sliders. She makes her Spell Caster sliders out of recycled skateboards, giving them a unique look. Drop her a DM if you want a custom set.
One of the smartest inventions comes from France. Flaneurz has been developed since 2014 by passionate skaters who created a technique to transform your favorte sneakers into detachable roller skates. In 2021, they followed up with their miore affordable brand Slades – the first shoe designed with the mechanical system integrated in its sole.
Zines & Magazines
Not everyone knows it but skating in Prague, Czech Republic, can be really awesome! However, during Covid it was hard to find places to skate and hard to meet. So Alyssa Dillard and the Prague skater channeled their love of skating in a new way. They created Slutky Mameni! Check it out!
Concept and direction: Alyssa Dillard @fletcherthegreat, design and printing: Jana Jarošová @Janajaro_, photography: @vertikala_studio Skaters: @cosmicpayback @michaelahlafsonkova @mad_methodmatt @fletcherthegreat @janajaro_ Ekati @jin.rollerskates @annabeaskater @lenkamie
Since 2022 Germany has a magazine about all things roller skate. “Das Rollschuh Magazin” is covering all niches of roller skating. Roller Derby, Artistic Skating, Park Skating, Roller Hockey, you name it. It is a print only magazine which the creator and editor Choni Flöter and their team (who all have a roller derby background) publish quarterly. The language is German. You can get a copy here: https://rollschuhmagazin.de
Art, Art, Art
We might be biased but two very talented artists, whose illustrations you might have seen in our previous yearbooks are Puck Paasen aka @patjakker and Anna Roschker aka Anndrawsthings.
Puck hails from Breda, Netherlands. This skater/artist has a hilarious humor which is reflected throughout her comics. Follow her on Instagram for a weekly laugh, collabs and apparel and prints she sometimes offers.
Anna, who most know through her alias Anndrawsthings on Instagram, has a colorful, feminist approach in her drawings and illustrations. From time to time she drops apparel, prints and comic books. Keep an eye on her Instagram and Website.
Shops
Roller Skate Europe in Switzerland is run by Nami “Tsunami” Kressebuch. The Switzerland-based skater has been travelling through Europe with her partner Marc for many years. They are a true skate family with their dog Snoopy (we love him to death) and their two sons. They are not in the EU what makes imports difficult and expensive. So for Swiss skaters it’s become an important place to get their hands on many big names like Brunny, Moxi, Chaya, Riedell, CIB and Antik, WIFA, Discotech, Radgal or Persistir (and DogDays).
In Eindhoven (NL) you find Marjolein aka Mayo who runs Space Skates. Mayo has a lot of experience as a shop owner. She used to co-own Turn Left Roller Derby Shop with her friend Emma from 2012 until 2018. After a little break she decided to dive into the deep end and start a new shop. Among the common brands it is one of the few (if not the only) places where you can buy Chuffed Skates.
In summer of 2021, Irene Dose aka @doom_skates gave birth to her latest and probably biggest project, The Coven. The Triest (Italy) based skate shop is by far more than just a shop. It is more a roller-skate-collective. Irene made it her mission to grow the scene in Italy. If you want to learn more just read our full article about the Coven.
Making skate dreams reality is Maddie from Rollaboots. It is a skater owned and operated shop in Bournemouth, England. Aside from DIY custom builds, Rollaboots carries brands such as Better bearings, Moxi, Gumball, Riedell, CIB Crew, S1 Helmets & their own apparel and accessories.
Sucker Punch Skate Shop is probably Europe’s longest running derby owned & operated Roller Derby Shop in Gent (Belgium). They have an online and physicsal shop, many years of experience and are well stocked on most brands you might look for.
Rollschuhe.de from Stuttgart is run by some downhill OG skaters who have been hitting the streets since the 1980s. While the online store has just basic more affordable brands their real specialty are DIY builds. With decades of experience they will build you a roller skate out of any shoe. Their own models are based on Swiss made Starway sneakers which are manufactured for the purpose of being turned into quad skates!
Joolz created her roller skate shop “Burdy’s Quad Shop” in September 2022, in Bordeaux, France. She’s been playing roller derby since 2014 and heading to skate parks since 2020. Joolz always dreamed to have her own shop where people can try skates on, seek advice, and meet other skaters. For now, it’s an online shop and customers can set up a free “clic and collect” at her husband’ tattoo shop in downtown Bordeaux. But Joolz is already looking for a physical shop to start a next chapter.
More Shops
Germany
Roller Derby House, Hochheim
Netherlands
Ginger Skates, Amsterdam
Norway
Deng, Oslo
UK
Double Threat Skates, London
Roller Girl Gang, Leeds