Adrenalin Winner Interviews

Player Mike Richardson and Patrice Koonce
Kansas City, MO
Adrenalin Award Winner for Best Slow Couple

MBR: Where are you originally from?
Mike: Kansas City, MO
Patrice: St. Louis, MO

MBR: How did the two of you start skating together?
Mike: Patrice and I have known each other for some time before I had started skating.
Patrice: We've been skating together for about five years.
Mike: We just stated skating together and we like each other's styles. She asked me to try some moves with her one night and ever since then, we have been skating together.

MBR: We all have reasons why we skate. Why do you skate? What motivates you to skate?
Mike: Skating is a stress reliever. It's a way to get away from all life's problems. Four hours to myself and it's all about me. The only problem is after the four hours are over, the problems are still there.
Patrice: Skating is my outlet. If I don't skate I die. I have a beauty shop and I listen to problems all day, so you KNOW!!!

MBR: When you first heard of the Adrenalin Awards, what were your thoughts? How did you feel about it?
Patrice: The name alone made me think "Hype", Let's do this!
Mike: It was about time that we had our own awards. It is long overdue. I was very ecstatic and happy that SkateGroove and Three-O-Two Entertainment would do such a thing.

MBR: Now that the first one has passed, do you feel the same better or worse?
Mike: I still feel the same about it and I hope it gets bigger as the years go by. MBR: How did you feel when you found out you were an Adrenalin Nominee?
Mike: I was taken by surprised and thankful that people thought I was good enough to be nominated. It was a lot of good people in both categories which I was nominated for.
Patrice: I thought it was great but I couldn't figure out why me?

MBR: Did you campaign to get people to vote for you or did you just sit back and let the voters make an unsolicited decision?
Mike and Patrice: We sat back and let people vote on their own accord.

MBR: Did you think you had a chance at winning? If not, who in your category did you think would win?
Mike: I was leaning more towards Best Male. I really didn't think I was going to win the Best Slow Couple. I thought the ones who would win were Tasha and Smooth.
Patrice: I was surprised

MBR: Have you won any trophies in skating competitions?
Mike: I have won about 20 - 25 trophies from past competitions including about 3 or 4 that Patrice and I have won together.

MBR: Is the Adrenalin Award any different from the others that you have won?
Mike: The Adrenalin Award is held at the highest because it is like our Grammy's and Emmys. It is not a competition and you are being voted on by your peers and it is everyone's opinions.

MBR: What do you think the Adrenalin Awards means to the roller skating community?
Mike: I would like to think that we have arrived but we still have some things to do before we can tap into the mainstream. It's the best of the best for the fact that it is a vote and open to anyone and everyone from California to New York and abroad. It doesn't mean that you are the best on a particular night, it is not something that people vote from something they saw 20 minutes ago, and it is based on a lasting impression that you have left on someone.
Patrice: To me it is like the main event of the year.

MBR: Do you have any comments or other information you would like to share?
Mike: I'd like to thank G-Man, Three-0-Two Entertainment and SkateGroove.com for putting this event together. It was truly a blessing. I want to thank Garry for taking care of me when I was stranded in Philly and Delaware during the blizzard and couldn't get home. I'd like to see more people there next year that did not come this year.
Patrice: I'm glad the date has been moved since the weather is a major factor that time of year, especially for people who fly.

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