Underground & Untapped: Branding’s Last Cultural Frontier

I see a “new world” in branding. One that offers an untapped market with deep, ever-expanding value. A rich underground culture, global in scope and inseparable from music and fashion. It’s hidden in plain sight, and the timing for its discovery has never been better.

This isn’t the first time an underground culture was ripe for branding. Remember when skateboarding, hip hop, electronic music, and DJ culture were raw and niche? Just as those became billion-dollar industries, so will this.

So what is this hidden gem? If you live outside the roots of Black culture, you may not realize that roller-skating is a longstanding element of that culture dating back to the civil rights movement. A vibrant, authentic, mostly adult experience that has been hidden from popular culture for decades.

And while mainstream roller-skating has enjoyed a resurgence during the pandemic, that is a trend, and those who are only branding that trend are missing the forest for the trees. Black roller-skating culture offers an unprecedented opportunity for brands to achieve deep, widespread loyalty among a steadily growing demographic.

When you think about roller-skating, you may imagine a venue for children and teens, a family recreation space. But the Black roller-skating experience has the energy and essence of Studio 54 and Paradise Garage. It’s a highly evolved, fiercely loyal community with sophisticated skate styles and DJ culture that have evolved over decades alongside music and fashion.

Black roller-skating is a hybrid of dance and athletics, a stage for new music, a runway for new fashion, and an amplifier for new culture. In fact, the hip hop you enjoy today was born in Black roller-skating rinks, where today’s hip hop legends like Run DMC, LL Cool J, N.W.A., Salt-N-Pepa, and many more once performed live as new artists on the scene. These rinks were (and are today) serious, influential nightlife experiences.

There are large and loyal communities of Black roller-skaters, young and old, in every major U.S. city and in many smaller ones. Because adult skate venues today are scarce, Black roller-skaters often commute long distances to experience a vibe. The decline of rinks and the devotion of skaters is well-documented in two 2018 skate documentaries: John Legend’s United Skates and Carhartt WIP’s coverage of Moodymann’s Detroit Soul Skate.

The marketing opportunities across Black roller-skating culture are on the level of Nike’s athletics, Supreme, Coca-Cola, Gap, and beyond. And where the “bones” of a culture like skateboarding have always remained essentially the same, Black roller-skating evolves with the music and fashion that feed it, always generating new, vibrant, and authentic opportunities for storytelling across lifestyle, community, and nightlife.

Roller-skating in general is hungry for innovation and modernization. Two legendary rinks: Brooklyn’s Empire and LA’s Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace are set to return soon and will write a new chapter that redefines nightlife and entertainment for rising generations. Who among us will be visionary enough to brand it?

This is a key moment for entirely new landscapes of commerce from outdoor/ indoor activations, street to activewear, brand collaborations, hospitality, interactive media, music, metaverse, experiential, gaming, and competitive to future Olympic sport. Yes, there is an active, serious, well-organized group of competitive Black roller-skaters who are working their way to the Olympics.

What really makes this opportunity rich is that it is not only profitable but represents a significant social impact in Black communities, where most rinks have disappeared and entertainment and recreational options are virtually nonexistent.

Sponsorship of the Black skate experience nurtures pervasive consumer affinity and loyalty across several generations while supporting platforms for jobs, empowerment, outreach, health, community, and new media. Key investment and partnerships where most cities need outlets and public physical space will see a 360° platform for the new, next, and tomorrow in culture.

This is a call to be daring, for brands to explore the undiscovered country and pioneer a new world.

LEARN MORE:

Electronic Beats (2021): Roller Skating, Civil Rights, and the Wheels Behind Dance Music

The Daily Beast (2021): The Rich History of Black Roller Skating Rinks

The New York Times (2021): Bill Butler (from Empire) feature

The Undefeated (2021): The Black Gaze

Refinery29 (2021): How Black & Brown Women Are Reclaiming Roller Skating Culture

Hypebeast (2020): Carhartt WIP's 2018 Roller Skating Documentary 'Soul Skate'

Mashable (2020): The whitewashing of roller skating's online revival

Vice (2019): The Overlooked History of African American Skate Culture

Vanity Fair (2019): John Legend, Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa—They All Play a Part

Resident Advisor (2019): Soul on wheels: How music for the roller rink impacted the club

Groovy History (2019): How Black Roller Skaters Helped Make The Rink A Place For Grownups

NJ.com (2019): Inside The Rink, the iconic roller skating hot spot that ruled North Jersey in the ’80s and ’90s

The New York Times (2018): And the Beat Goes On

The New York Times (2018): A Rallying Cry for Black Roller Skating Culture (United Skates’ Review)

Variety (2018): John Legend, Cheryl ‘Salt’ James, Bring Black Roller Skating Culture to the Spotlight

HBO (2018): United Skates Documentary

Medium (2017): Hip-Hop's Forgotten Stage

Vice (2017): Latasha's 'Teen Nite at Empire' Preserves a Fading Brooklyn

LA Times (2017): Rapper Nipsey Hussle helps beloved Mid-City roller rink

The New York Times (2017): Brooklyn Skate Club Regulars Dance Their Wheels Off

The New York Times (2015): The Roller Rink Origins of N.W.A.

Brownstoner (2014): Past and Present: The Empire Rollerdrome

The New York Times (2007): The Last Lace-Up

New York Magazine (2007): The Last Go-Round

The Village Voice (2000): “Age of Empire”