During my visit to Detroit, I met Michael as I was leaving the Detroit Roller Wheels skate session. As I walked through the car park, Micheal was hanging out with friends, and began chatting to me as I passed. I found him to be a very warm and friendly character.
As the conversation flowed between us, I thought it a good opportunity to interview Michael to explore his perspective on Detroit Skating Culture. He was happy to oblige.
"I come to the skating rink first to skate, create, and then I socialise second - I make like-minded friends."
~Michael Newson
7 Questions
Q.1: How did life as a skater begin for you?
"Well, my mother been skating all my life, and I remember when she used to go skating.
So finally once I got to start skating, I was just coming chasing the girls and stuff. But I stopped doing it as I got older, but I went to a skating rink with her one time. And this female there saw that I had potential.
I was around Roller Wheels. So, you know, she wanted to teach me. And I was like, thought it was kind of funny because female teaching me.
You know, but I went on ahead and I was like, okay, because she was pretty. I really started learning moves."
Q.2: Did you start in Detroit?
"She was from New York. Yeah, that part. [This was] in Atlanta.
In Atlanta, you know, they had those skate parties. My mother lived in Atlanta.
You know, being in Atlanta, they got all type of skaters."
Q.3: You don't seem to be following any particular style? How come you didn't follow the trend here?
"Because I'm just myself and I learned from the lady that taught me that skating is creative. So when you get caught off of being like, just Detroit, there's no creativity beyond that because it's just always Detroit here.
It's actually politics.
So, you know, I got a freedom, but I get moves from everybody. And then just blend them on in. You know what I mean?"
Q.4: How would you describe the way you skate?
"Well, a lot of... I resonate with a lot of the females. So when a man resonates with the female, you know, it's about me being smooth. You know what I'm saying? I'm talking about deliberately smooth.
It calms down their nervous system. So, you know, I'm a creative skater, a soulful skater. That part.
But I can get gangster because I'm from Detroit. Don't give me mixed up on that."
Q.5: So what is it about skating that keeps you in the game?
"Peace.
I don't come to the skating rink to find girlfriends. I come to the skating rink first to skate, create, nd then I socialise second. And then I make like-minded friends. And network and keep meeting people like that.
I skate for me. Yeah. Peace."
Q.6: If you look back at your skating experience, what do you think that its taught you over the years?
"I've been skating at least 30 years.
I learned discipline and I learned patience because to get some of these moves that I've never seen before, you know. I didn't have the confidence to do it, so you got to have patience with yourself. And then that developed confidence to where I'm able to give it back to the youth or give it to somebody else.
You know what I mean? It's not coming from me. All my moves I do, I learn from other people. So when they say they want to learn from me, you're actually learning from my teacher.
I run group classes.I do private classes. You know what I'm saying?
I teach basics first. But the style that I teach is the downbeat.
Here in Detroit, we lift our leg up on the upbeat. And the way I learned is to do it down.
And this is a different dynamic. Because if you're doing it on the downbeat, you actually say you don't fall as much.
Because you lean over. But when you're doing it up on the up beat, if you're doing something like this, you got more opportunity to fall."
Q.7: What would you say about Detroit's skating culture?
"To be perfectly honest with you is basically politics in here.
This is a working class city. You know, people once they finish working on the weekend, they just want to come out and do a collective thing that they all can learn and do it over and over and over with the same music. Versus me going to Atlanta and it's all different types of skaters and all up and down beats. That's what I want to try to bring here.
The youth is about to take it over and do what they doing. They getting away from all of that. Yeah, that's what I want to see there.
And I'm very honoured that you...A beautiful lady, You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you're the first person... Black goddess that I've talked to from the UK.
➡️ Listen via YouTube
➡️ Previous interview: 7 Questions With Shawnee Shawn
➡️ Listen to the 7 Q's series on Spotify or Apple Podcast
Kelly
Cranial Osteopath | Wellbeing Coach | Roller Skate Instructor
Skate Base London
🗯️ What have you learned from Malik's story? Share them in the comments below or, leave us a lil emoji response.
