One: 15 MINUTES with Randy Spizer (Interview)
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
There’s this guy I know who wears what most would call women’s pants. He also doesn’t shave much, sports a mullet and enjoys the color pink.
He gets away with all of this by calling himself an artist! Well, he’s always said, “Randy Spizer was the first true rollerblader.†Meaning that the other pros at the time, who were much older than Randy, came from other action-sport backgrounds.
Randy was a true roller, and the guy who wears girls’ pants was right! Randy skated and traveled all over the world, and he has inspired a planet just by being himself!
— Mike Opalek
“To me, Roadhouse is rollerblading. There is no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for him. I bought a red Yankees hat when I was 12 because I saw him wear one at a NISS contest. He was my hero.
A few years later he took me under his wing and I pretty much lived with him for a while. Skating with your hero on a regular basis can be a rather motivating situation to be in. He will always be one of my favorite people on the planet, and rollerblading is well off having had him lead the generation following him.
He still holds it down every time I see him blade, and I hope it’s not very long before I see it again!â€
— Chris Haffey / professional blader / Pasadena, Ca. [...]
Randy Spizer (Interview):
How old are you, and how did it all start?
I’m at the age of 28. I got my first pair of rollerblades two months before my 12th birthday. I had to beg my dad to buy me an early birthday present, some Zetra Blade 303s.
They came with a brake; I used a hacksaw to cut that off. Then they became street skates! [...]
