Ohio Catches the Detroit/Flint Open House Fever . .
Does Anyone have a Cure?

I remember the first time I saw Open House. It was about two years ago in Flint at the Flint Roller Skating Association party. The DJ called Open House and me being the skater I am, was not ready to stop skating. I was ready to go and join them but common sense said, hold up, let's see what this is about first. So I stood on the outside of the floor at the entrance so I could get some good pictures.

In hindsight, I would have to say "Thank goodness I listened to that little voice in my head because I would have gotten ran over!" I immediately became an admirer of this uniquely different skating style and ultimately, the Open House fever crossed the Michigan/Ohio border and lit the floors of the Ohio rinks. I don't think I will be trying it anytime soon, I want to get the right kind of medical insurance first.

We have several skaters here who have invested in a set of Fomacs and have been practicing. So Flint and Detroit, tell us what you think. Fireman Ted aka "Just Five Two" and "Salim the Dream" sliding into the walls in Cincinnati along with Rob "Showtime" Hunter. Now if you remember, Big Bob fussed at Rob in Charlotte for hitting the DJ booth during the Open House set. "Now Rob, you are a DJ, you know better than that", Big Bob exclaimed. So far, I think Rob has a pretty good grasp of it but then we have . . . .Drizzy.

If you remember the Rolling in the Carolina's recap you know we come to call it "Bowling Drizzy". Well, he hasn't quit yet. Rolling on extremely loose trucks and wooden wheels, Drizzy is going to keep trying and trying until he either has it down or is lying up in a hospital in traction with a full body cast where all you can see is his hair flowing from the top of the wrap.

So when you go to the next skating event, watch for the tracks and smell the Fomacs because if Michigan is in the house, I'm sure they will be showing out along with their Ohio cousins.

Written by: Desi

Tips from an Open House Roller
Flint Native - David Cross

Serious skaters in Flint and Detroit wear Premier FoMacs and Freestyle FoMacs. Most folks think that these are wooden wheels, but in fact they are a Dual Hardness Urethane wheel with a harder outside edge (Premier FoMac) and a quality Vanathane material, providing a Classic Roll, Black Only (Freestyle Fo-Macs) as shown.

FoMacs are designed for artistic skating. They are very slippery which allows for freedom of movement. This is necessary in order to accomplish various moves of difficulty such as side splits, drops, pivots and reverses, half turns, pontiacs and of course slides (and there are many to choose from!) with smoothness and agility. We also skate in very high quality skates. Our primary choice is the Snyder Elite 297 Riedell boot with sheepskin padding, Snyder Super Deluxe, Snyder Advantage, or Snyder Imperial plate with BSB Swiss bearings and a large adjustable stopper.

I've been in the Atlanta area for 15 years now and we from Michigan that reside here have since converted a large number of southern skaters over to Fo-Macs and the Michigan skating style, and the trend continues. They mostly ask how do you skate and make it look so easy and please show me this sliding thing that you do so well and what kind of wooden wheels are those that you're wearing... We take our skating very seriously and desire a smooth roll along with a high adrenalin skating experience. We like the music at a very high tempo, and we desire to feel the energy crackling through the rink and prefer real old school music from back in the old days, not hip hop music that some think to be old school. We are about more than open house though as we can be seen accomplishing difficult, high impact moves in synchronization of two's and three's throughout the evening when the opportunity is available. Safety always comes first. Just because you can slide, doesn't mean that you always should at that moment. Open House (high energy sliding) is just another way to let it all hang out after a night of good skating. It's not the wheels that you smell during Open House, it's the floor as the wood is starting to acknowledge our intentions!

We come, we rock HARD, we love, we open house and we go home.

Written by: David Cross