Halloween night is about to get EXPLICIT!David Smith, better known as ‪@Smittyonskates‬ joins the SK8LIKEYOU Podcast to talk about a one-of-a-kind Halloween skate party that's bringing something completely different to the rink!Smitty's Explicit Roller Disco is taking over Castle Skateland in Loveland, Ohio, and the name says it all! This isn't your typical Halloween skate session. It's an unapologetically ADULT skating experience that combines roller skating, live music, and an atmosphere that's definitely not for the kids!Smitty is calling it a "ROLLING CONCERT," and he's taking that concept literally! Local recording artist ‪@Obc_tballer‬ will perform LIVE on a stage positioned right in the middle of the skating floor, with additional artists still to be announced!In this episode, we get into the vision behind the event, what makes it different from traditional skate parties, and why Smitty is bringing this unique experience to the skating community.EVENT DETAILSSmitty's Explicit Roller DiscoSaturday, October 31, 2026Castle Skateland | Loveland, OhioDoors Open: 10:30 PMLive Performance: T-Baller + More Artists TBAVIP Passes AvailableHalloween night. Explicit music. Live performances. A rolling concert unlike anything you've experienced at the rink!This is SK8LIKEYOU Podcast Episode 141!#SK8LIKEYOU #SK8LIKEYOUPodcast #SmittyOnSkates #ExplicitRollerDisco #RollerSkating #SkateCulture #RollerDisco #CastleSkateland #HalloweenSkateParty #SkateLife #RollingConcert #AdultSkateNight #SkateCommunity

Two days. One rink. Generations of skaters. And the kind of energy you cannot fake.SK8LIKE NO BRAKES was not just an event. It was history, community, style and personality colliding on the same floor.This episode of the SK8LIKEYOU Podcast takes you straight inside the weekend with interviews, reactions and highlights recorded during and immediately after the event.You will hear from author Jack Dieteman, Morgan Weske of DanceSkate, Rob McGSkates, Lacey Skates, Juicy, Jackie Cusmano and more as we capture what was happening in real time.The music. The workshops. The history. The personalities. The conversations happening between sessions. The reactions after it was all over.This was old school and new school sharing the same floor. Different styles, different generations and different stories all connected by the same thing.Skating.Some interviews happened while the event was still moving around us. Others happened after the final song, when everyone finally had a chance to look back at what we had just experienced.This episode is SK8LIKE NO BRAKES as it happened. The people who built it. The people pushing it forward. And a weekend built around exactly what we believe in. Passion not Popularity. Community Over Style.Honor the Past. SK8 the Present. Give to the Future.#SK8LIKEYOUPodcast #SK8LIKENOBRAKES #SK8LIKEYOU #RollerSkating #RollerSkatingCommunity #SkateCulture #SkateLife #SkateCommunity #RollerSkaters #SkatePodcast #SkateEvent #SkateHistory #SkateFamily #DanceSkate #ShuffleSkating #RinkLife #RinkCulture #SkateInterviews #SkatingStories #PassionNotPopularity #CommunityOverStyle #HonorThePast #Sk8ThePresent #GiveToTheFuture

From Lacey: When Mark asked me to interview him, I told him I would…but only if he was willing to be completely vulnerable and transparent.He was almost shocked that I even asked. In his mind, he had already been incredibly vulnerable through SkateLikeYou.Just wait…because he went even deeper.We laughed. We cried. We both got emotional. Mark opened up about some really difficult parts of his life and, with very few exceptions, almost everything was on the table.We talked for 2 hours and 45 minutes and honestly could’ve kept going. His life is WILD, his stories are so inspirational and there were so many moments where I was thinking, “Wait…WHAT?!” 😂But more than anything, these stories are incredibly inspiring. The things he’s lived through, the choices he’s made, the lessons he’s learned and the way he’s kept moving forward…I truly believe there are pieces of this conversation that could change someone’s life.This isn’t just the story of SkateLikeYou. It’s the story of the life that led to it…the experiences, struggles, not-so-great choices, and moments that shaped the person behind the podcast.If you think you know Mark from watching SkateLikeYou, you may be surprised by what you hear.This one is personal, vulnerable, and DEEP. There were moments when he left me completely speechless…and that is not easy to do. 😂You’ll have to tune in for the rest. ❤️From Mark, Host of the Sk8LikeYou Podcast:I’ve spent nearly 140 episodes sitting on one side of the microphones, asking the questions and giving other people the space to tell their stories. This time, Lacey sat in my chair and I sat in the guest’s.And it was surreal.In a strange way, it felt a lot like recording the very first episode of SK8LIKEYOU. When we finished, I had that same immediate panic. Did I say too much? Did I give too much of myself? Should I have held something back?But I stayed steadfast to the same rule I’ve had from the beginning: just say it all naturally and decide later.We talked about growing up in the rink, why that place became so much more than somewhere I went skating, what happened when skating disappeared from my life and eventually finding my way back. We talked about some of the lowest points, rebuilding my life, finding my confidence again and how all of that ultimately became part of the reason SK8LIKEYOU exists.There were things I expected Lacey to ask. There were things I didn’t. And there were answers that came out differently than they probably would have if I had time to prepare.That’s exactly why I didn’t want to prepare.What hit me immediately after we stopped recording was that the anxiety I was feeling was actually proof of something that has mattered to me from the very first episode to now.I will never expect anything from a guest that I’m not willing to do myself.If I’m asking somebody to trust me enough to be vulnerable, tell the uncomfortable parts, forget the microphones are there and just have an honest conversation, then I have to be willing to sit in that chair and do exactly the same thing.So I did. For one episode, I gave up my chair. Lacey asked the questions. I just said it all.#SK8LIKEYOU #RollerSkating #RollerSkatingPodcast #SkateCulture #SkateCommunity #SkateLife #RollerSkaters #SkateFamily #SkatingStories #SkatePodcast #PodcastInterview #HostInterview #LifePodcast #SkateYourWay #PassionNotPopularity #CommunityOverStyle

Sometimes we make skate gear way more complicated than it needs to be.I sat down with Jamie Ogle from Lone Star Skate Designs to talk about the Peter Peng wheels I’ve been skating, the set he donated for the SK8LIKE NO BRAKES giveaway, and why I’ve been so impressed by what these wheels offer for the money.Jamie knows his gear. We get into the differences between the 65s and 70s, durometer, weight, grooves, hubs, different setups and why properly prepping a wheel can completely change how it feels on the floor.But the bigger conversation for me is about value.Not everybody can or wants to spend $400 or $500 on a set of wheels. That doesn’t mean you can’t have something that looks good, rolls good, grips good and gives you confidence when you step onto the floor.I’ve actually skated these wheels. I’ve put them through what I do on the floor, and I liked them enough that I’m taking one set to SK8LIKE NO BRAKES and trusting them for the entire weekend.That probably says more than any review I could give.We also talk about the special set Jamie donated for this weekend’s giveaway, why he personally works on the grooves before they go out, and what someone can expect if they decide to give Peter Peng wheels a shot.And whoever walks away with that purple and black set at SK8LIKE NO BRAKES?I want you to put them on your skates and skate them.Then come tell me what YOU think.Because at the end of the day, that’s what matters.#SK8LIKEYOU #RollerSkating #RollerSkates #SkateGear #SkateWheels #PeterPengWheels #JamieOgle #LoneStarSkateDesigns #RollerSkateWheels #SkateSetup #SkateLife #SkateCommunity #SK8LIKENOBRAKES #ShuffleSkating #RinkSkating

Check out what Ron Murray of Custom Skate Cushions has for ya! Ron is a constant contributor to the skate community by not only offering quality craftsmanship with everything he does, but also by his willingness to give freely to the community he loves. This episode is a prime example. Check out what Ron is donating for one lucky person attending SK8LIKE NO BRAKES 2027!

What does it actually take to bring a roller rink back to a community that has gone years without one?

In this episode of the SK8LIKEYOU Podcast, I sit down with Eric Hanspard, the man behind Skate America Roller Rink and his mission to bring a new skating facility to Hammond, Indiana.

Eric may be relatively new to skating, but he brings decades of business experience to a project he has now spent years trying to make a reality. We talk about financing, fundraising, working with local government, finding the right property, applying for grants and some of the resistance he has encountered along the way.

But Eric’s vision goes far beyond opening another place to skate.

He wants Skate America Roller Rink to become part of the community through youth programs, education, senior fitness programs, field trips, partnerships with schools and organizations, and a commitment to diversity in both music and skating styles.

We also have a bigger conversation about what communities lose when roller rinks disappear. These buildings are more than skating floors. They are places where generations connect, young people find mentors, cultures interact and traditions get passed forward.

Eric has heard no plenty of times.

He is still going.

And sometimes keeping skate culture alive starts with somebody deciding that if their community does not have a rink, they are going to try to build one.

#SK8LIKEYOU #RollerSkating #RollerRink #SkateAmericaRollerRink #SkateCulture #SkateCommunity #HammondIndiana #NorthwestIndiana #IndianaSkating #SkateLife #RollerSkaters #SupportRollerSkating #SkatingCommunity #KeepRinksAlive #RollerSkatingCulture

In Episode 135 of the SK8LIKEYOU Podcast, I sit down with Jack Dieteman, author of the new book As the Wheels Turn: Skating, Dating, and Long Distance Love.

What started with two shoeboxes full of decades old letters eventually became a deeply personal coming of age story built around roller skating, first love, long distance relationships, music, and growing up in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jack takes me through how those letters helped him reconstruct a period of his life that never really left him, and how sharing a few stories with a small Facebook group unexpectedly put him on the path toward becoming a published author.

We go back to Jack's first time on skates in Minnesota in 1979, when he could barely make his way around the rink, and then to the opening of a brand new rink near his New Jersey home just months later. That rink quickly became his world. We talk about the hundreds of teenagers who packed the building, becoming a rink rat, finding confidence, standing out in a crowd, dating at the rink, and how that environment helped shape the person he was becoming.

But this conversation goes much deeper than remembering the good old days.

Jack and I talk about the difference between nostalgia and actually examining who you were at a particular moment in your life. We get into memory, perception, the internal dialogue we carry with us, and why some experiences from our teenage years remain incredibly vivid decades later. Jack calls the letters he saved not simply nostalgia, but "proof," physical evidence of relationships and emotions that existed long before texts, DMs and social media.

We also talk about the honesty required to tell your own story. Jack made a commitment not to sugarcoat his behavior, even when that meant putting himself in a bad light, while also making sure the women from his past were treated honestly and fairly. That honesty is a big part of what made the book connect with me. The skating is there, but so are the insecurity, excitement, rejection, relationships, mistakes and constant inner questioning that make the story relatable even if you have never put on a pair of skates.

Jack also shares what it was like returning to roller skating decades later and discovering just how much the culture had changed. We compare the rink world he remembers with today's interconnected skate community, adult sessions, traveling skate events, social media, phones on the floor and even silent skate sessions.

And of course, we talk about the music. More than 150 songs are referenced throughout the book, creating a soundtrack that runs alongside Jack's story and the era that produced it.

As the Wheels Turn: Skating, Dating, and Long Distance Love is published by Koehler Books and releases September 22. Jack also talks about his upcoming book signings and what he ultimately hopes happens with the book. It isn't simply about selling copies. He hopes people finish it remembering not only where they were back then, but who they were.

This one is about skating, but it is also about first love, memory, identity, growing up and looking back at the experiences that quietly helped make us who we are.

Skater or not, Jack has a story worth hearing.

#SK8LIKEYOU #SK8LIKEYOUPodcast #RollerSkating #RollerSkatingHistory #SkateHistory #SkateCulture #SkateLife #RinkLife #RinkRat #RollerRink #SkatingStories #AsTheWheelsTurn #JackDieteman #KoehlerBooks #ComingOfAge #FirstLove #LongDistanceLove #1970s #1980s #SkateMemories #RollerSkatingCommunity #SkateCommunity #SkatingPodcast #Podcast #RollerSkaters

What happens when a skating rink becomes something much bigger than a place to skate?On Episode 134, I sit down with Rhonda and returning guest Bionic Billy, who are both at the Skate Haus in St. Charles, Missouri, to talk about the mission behind Giant Rocket’s Foundation.The story behind Giant Rocket’s Foundation is deeply personal. After Rhonda’s son Rocket was diagnosed with autism in 2025, the mission of the Skate Haus changed. What began as an adult skating lounge evolved into a sensory focused space dedicated to serving autistic and neurodivergent children and adults through skating, STEM, gardening, music, arts and programs designed to build confidence, social skills and independence.And nobody ages out.‪@TheSkateHaus‬

#SK8LIKEYOU #SK8LIKEYOUPodcast #BionicBilly #GiantRocketsFoundation #RocketSkateLab #RollerSkating #RollerSkatingCommunity #SkateCommunity #SkateCulture #StLouisSkating #AutismAcceptance #AutismAwareness #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent #SensoryInclusive #AdaptiveSkating #InclusiveSkating #SkatingForEveryone #CommunityThroughSkating #SkateInstructor #RollerSkaters #SkateLife #SkatingChangesLives