Modern Love: Roller Boogie Days
By Olivia O’Keefe
In quarantine, did you find yourself feeling bored and in search for a new hobby? Did the urge to find something to pursue in your everyday life became a mission rather than a chore? Well, there is a fun alternative to sitting around and pondering the pandemic. Roller skating. Indoor. Outdoor. You can do it with friends or by yourself as well as a sport to just pass time.
A 2020 BuzzFeed News report stated that, according to Google Trends, there had been a recent rise in searches using the words “roller skates” ever since the beginning of the worldwide shutdown.
Roller skating was invented in 1743 and quickly became tied to Black social movements. In the early ’90’s, roller skating became a fun activity for a night out. The biggest resurgence in America was in the ’70s when disco also became very popular. The two activities were combined to make the ideal activity: roller disco.
We can also see the 2000-retro vibe of roller skating in movies like “Whip It starring Elliot Page. Although the film does not represent the ’70s disco scene, it represents the late 2000s derby skating scene — showing the cultural significance of skating in the early 2000s.
Roller skating did not become super prominent until the global Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. With people stuck in quarantine, there was nothing for them to do until the influences of social media and everyone’s personal quest for entertainment. Although no one could go out to the rinks, outdoor roller skating took over since the lock down took place in the spring and summer months.
Influencers like Ana Coto gained millions of viewers as well as 2 million likes (and counting) during Covid-19 lockdown. Her viral video sparked the interest of many young TikTok users, which resulted in them online shopping for roller skates. Her most famous video showed her skating down a long side street backwards to the song “Jenny on the Block” by Jennifer Lopez. What brought viewers in was her gracefulness when it came to skating. It is clear to any viewer than Coto has so much fun skating, and this is what inspired other to try it out for themselves. Since nobody could roller disco the way that they would have in the ’70s, fans like Coto made street skating just as popular and fun.
Moxi Skates owner, Michelle Steilen, claims that the company’s sales improved 12 times their usual numbers throughout the worldwide shutdown in 2020. Steilen claims to have doubled her staff in order to keep up with such high demand during this time. Pete Russell, owner of the store Sk8 Fanatics, also notes that stores sales went up approximately $10,000 in one month during the pandemic.
Alexandra Comas, a 21-year-old Cranford, N.J. resident, was heavily influenced by the lack of activity during the pandemic. Comas never roller skated before, but she said it took her a month to able to pick up skating.
“I practiced every day for that period of time. There was not much else to do and I liked the challenge,” she said.
What gave her the idea to start skating? “Social media did it for me,” she said.
Comas adds that she never would have started skating if the pandemic hadn’t happened. It would not have fit into her usual busy schedule, but it ended up introducing her to a new way to stay fit and have fun.
Fellow Cranford resident, Susan O’Keefe, regained her love for skating during the quarantine after her daughter inspired her to get back into it so they could skate together.
“I used to roller-skate for fun a lot as a kid, and then I used to roller skate around Central Park when I lived in New York,” said O’Keefe, 54. “I didn’t do it much after I had kids. I am happy to have had the time to re-explore one of my favorite hobbies”
Instead of getting together with friends at the roller disco, skaters now head to the sunny abandoned streets. As drastically different as the roller skating scene in the ’90s and the 2000s were, we can still take aspects of those times and make them new.
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Broadway’s New Great Star
By Rylie Klain
In the hit series, “Glee,” Lea Michele played the iconic character Rachel Berry who dreamed of playing Fanny Brice on Broadway. Now, she is living this moment – full circle. But it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for the multi time award-winning actress, who has recently come under fire for mistreating her castmates. Will Michele be able to increase the capacity of this sinking ship of a revival before its doors close for good or will she lead it further away from the sun, closing it earlier than expected?
“Funny Girl” opened on Broadway in 1964 starring Barbara Streisand as Fanny Brice. Back in 1963, producer Ray Stark announced that Streisand, “a 21-year-old night club singer,” would portray Brice in the musical and she became a sensation nearly overnight and led to the popularity of songs such as ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade’ and ‘I’m The Greatest Star.’ The show was a huge hit with critics and audiences, running for 1,348 performances. Although a hit, it had unfortunately come out two months after Hello Dolly! and was snubbed at the Tony Awards with 8 nominations and zero wins. Streisand later reprised the role in the 1968 film of the same name.
More than 40 years later, the role of Fanny Brice took the world by storm again in an interesting plot point in the television series “Glee.” The hit show centers around a performance club called the New Directions that competes as a show choir throughout the series. One of the main characters, Rachel Berry, is an extremely talented singer played by Lea Michele, then 23, who dreamed of playing Fanny Brice on Broadway. “All I’ve ever wanted is to come home and have everyone know my name and now they do,” explained Lea Michele’s character Rachel Berry. In season 4, Michelle’s character achieves this dream in the show’s fictional Broadway revival.
With capacity and ticket sales dwindling for the 2022 Broadway revival, it was announced that Michele would be taking over the role of Fanny Brice in September 2022, fulfilling her “Glee” character’s dream in real life.
You’d think fans would have been ecstatic that this famed star would be returned to Broadway, but there were lots of mixed reactions. Back in 2020, Samantha Ware, one of Michele’s former Glee co-stars, took to twitter accusing her of treating her castmates horribly while on set. While Michelle’s name may be controversial in the media these days, I wondered if this would affect ticket sales.
“I think it’s pretty ironic how things turned out and that she got the role as she did in the show,” said Ramapo College sophomore Filothei Papas. “I definitely believe that she is talented enough to have the role, but based on her attitude and how she acts toward the people she works with, she does not fully deserve it.”
As an avid theatergoer myself, I was conflicted on how I felt because I knew all about the accusations made against Michele and although talented, the part could have easily been given to someone equally talented with a better public image. Nonetheless, Michele debuted as Brice on Sept. 6, 2022.
During her first week, capacity jumped from 79% to nearly 96%. Ever since Michele joined the cast, capacity has not gone below 93%. In addition, Michele’s average ticket price during her 21 weeks thus far is about $182.86. This means that the production is gaining just over $52 more per ticket with Michele’s addition to the cast.
With Michele’s addition to the cast, this one-hit wonder of a show is now making a comeback. What was once in danger of closure is now flourishing and grossing with over $1.8 million dollars each week. Whether this is just a short stunt casting or something more permanent, only time will tell. But in the wise words of Rachel Berry, “Whether it’s a heart attack or heartbreak, just like Broadway, the show must go on.”
The Air Jordan Phenomenon: Sneakerheads Unite and Embrace the ‘Air’ Lifestyle
By Gabriella Fonseca
In 1984, Nike’s goal was to guarantee that they would have a profit margin of $3 million dollars of Air Jordan sales over four years. Now, Air Jordan generates that much for Nike every five hours, making Nike more than $5 billion dollars a year.
NBA superstar Michael Jordan put Nike on the map, creating an everlasting legacy for himself and the brand. Celebrities Will Smith, Chris Rock and Spike Lee rocked these new shoes when they first launched, and now new icons such as Michael B. Jordan, Drake and J.Cole are keeping the iconic influence going.
According to, sports related blog, Marca.com, “Nike generates a total of $15 million in Jordan Brand sales every single day.” The Air Jordan phenomenon has also created a booming sneaker market industry and established a lasting fashion statement nearly 40 years later.
“Obviously, it was other shoes back then, but Air Jordans was it, if you had a couple pairs you could call yourself a sneakerhead” said Wency Belhomme, a local sneakerhead/collector, A “sneakerhead,” according to Oxford Languages, is “a sneaker enthusiast.” And this, according to theboar.com, heavily influences “resell culture” which according to the Warwick student newspaper, theboar.com “buying and reselling items – especially in bulk quantities – for a profit.”
Influencers like Sherlina (@Sherlinanym on instagram) have dedicated their life to the sneakerhead life. Sherlina gained a huge following on Instagram when she started posting manicured nails with Jordans alongside her outfits that went with them. Her following grew because of her niche for styling alongside consumers familiarity with the Nike brand. Now, she has over a million followers and over one hundred pairs of sneakers to show her appreciation for the sneakerhead community.
According to the Chicago Tribune, “The company sold $100 million in Air Jordan shoes and apparel in 1986, and profits soared to $59 million from only $10 million the previous year. Total sales went from $946 million in 1985 to almost $1.1 billion in 1986.” They noticed a bit of a plummet come 1987 when look-alikes and dupes came soaring all over, until they added more unique qualities to an already unique product that made it almost impossible to replicate.
Was there really ever a “sneaker culture” before Jordans? Populations knew about brands that we still know and love today like Converse and Adidas; but they weren’t exactly “collector” items. NBA journalist Roberts ‘Scoop’ Jackson states, “Some people will emphasize the fact that without Jordan’s brand, there would not be such a thing called retro. That it is in and of itself a sneaker lifestyle lane created solely by his shoes.” When Michael Jordan released the shoe, it was one of the biggest uproars. One of, if not the top, NBA superstar releasing a shoe with the underdog company that then created controversy within the NBA became the start of the Air Jordan legacy we love today.
Not all Air Jordans are equal. The OG Jordans, the originals keep Nike and Mike on the map. A flat, hightop shoe that has a criss cross lace up and a tri-color was designed with a big Nike swoosh on the sides. The Jordans that Michael released when many of the kids buying them today were not even a thought. The best selling Jordans are always the OG colorways, and if you can obtain a pair from the original drop they’re almost worth as much as gold. The original drop Air Jordans can resell for as high as $50,000, the original pairs have also only been released back in the 90’s. These are shoes that back then people wore, gave away, or forgot about because they never realized the value of the sneaker until the hype of today. It goes back to the essence of exclusivity, people are infatuated with the iconic shoe, but also how rare it is for one to obtain a pair. While it is hard to find, it is not impossible, the easiest place to find the sneakers are online. They have websites like stockx, goat and even ebay where resellers go and place their shoes up for bid. While this is the easiest option, cost becomes a bit of an issue with these sites. As consumers you have to remember, verification fees, shipping, upselling and more when going to these resell sites.
Some collectors have found resell culture to be a bit frustrating. Steven states, “See that’s where things get tricky right, everyone wants to be a reseller now and everyone wants to be a sneaker head and it’s really annoying. I resell sneakers with my brother for some extra money, however, when I started I already had a whole collection of kicks.” This new sense of popularity has been extremely frustrating for those who have been in the sneaker community for a long time. “I was already in the community and other people were just starting to join because of the hype not because of the actual joy,” he continues. For many sneakerheads, it is more than just enjoying the sneaker. Some sneakerheads have created a whole lifestyle around these sneakers, and with this new love for them through wider audiences it has created difficulties to obtain.
The April release of the movie “Air,” with celebrities, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker talking about the popularity of Air Jordans. “Air” follows the story of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball: Michael Jordan.