The Gen X Skater: Episode 3 ~ [French Sensation] Big Jim

Roller skate instructor at Skate Base London and blogger of The Gen X Skater. Kelly interviews skaters and skate influencers within the London urban skate scene.

Meet Big Jim.

Big Jim has been my favourite French rhythm skater and is in my top 3 skaters since I first discovered him on Insta around 3 years ago.

What do I love about Big Jim? It’s the freshness he brings to the traditional rhythm skating moves we all know and strive to master! Not only does Big Jim have a firm grip on the big moves, he is able to express them in his own way. He brings hip hop swag and high level skate moves with slow mo control — in ways that are uniquely Jim's. Jim has mastered taking his flow low, and slow. Yep, groundwork is a regular feature of his unmistakable style. Jim certainly appears to be compelled to create and skate in his own unique way.

When I first saw Jim, he was posting a series of skate clips, delivered with a slow mo style, on small surfaces — skating on small flexible acrylic tiles in his living room [often with his beautiful black cat perched on his shoulder, or chilling in the background], and eventually progressing to performing his skate moves ontop of boulders, brick walls, concrete podiums — anything he happened upon in his explorations in and around Paris.

His approach to skating was fresh back then, and now some years down the line, he’s still giving us the freshest of interpretations through his skating art. If I saw a silhouette of Jim skating — even for 30 seconds — I’d know it was him! There aren’t too many skaters who could pass that particular litmus test! And that’s why, for me, Big Jim is 'that guy', whose fresh approach to the art of skating never fails to impress, and influence my own skating goals. I love him for that — I don't feel I’m alone in this! I've met Jim a few times now [during the European Skate Festivals] and I can honestly tell you that he is one of the most humble, REAL, and creative skaters you could hope to meet.

We UK skaters really rate his style, so it wasn't a surprise to see Jim embark on his first UK tour in 2025, teaching his refreshing skating style, and drills that come together like poetry.

"...since I began, I saw the video of Soul Skate, my goal is to go to Soul Skate in the USA and skate the middle. It was my main goal since I began. I am a big, big fan of US rink culture. All my inspiration comes from the United States."
~Big Jim