Does GoPro think rollerblading is cool?

Chances are you heard or saw that earlier this week GoPro shared a rollerblading edit on their Facebook page.

Which is great — they’ve got like 7 million ‘Likes’ and lord knows blading needs more exposure.

But the thing is, they didn’t just give a description and post the edit. They added some editorial, and that kinda tainted what most bladers saw as otherwise goodwill towards the boots.

Here’s a couple example blurbs from other posts on the GoPro FB Page:

“Wingsuit daredevil Robert “Scotty-Bob” Morgan shares a terrifying view of the Beehive Line in Utah.”

(234 Shares / 2,134 Likes)

“Thomas Leeb perform an acoustic rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” like you’ve never heard (or seen) before.”

(984 Shares / 2,617 Likes)

“Allen Tarver soars high above Mount Nebo State Park in Jordan.”

(150 Shares / 8,958 Likes)

But here’s what they said about the blade edit:

“Yeah, it’s rollerblading. But we think it’s cool.”

(109 Shares / 1,155 Likes)

If that’s not an underhanded statement, then we’re not sure what is.

Why care? Well, there’s those 7 million GoPro FB ‘Likes’, which is a lot of influence wielded over the public, and look at how the Likes/Shares for the blade edit stack up against the others.

Less ‘Likes’ and less ‘Shares’.

Coincidence? Probably not. And of course the online blade defenders came out in force, among them esteemed leaders such as CJ Wellsmore — who offered a cool and levelheaded perspective to anyone that was losing their shit.

But we decided to dig a little deeper into the post and edit, so Chris Duke hit up Daniel Jacobs, the edit’s creator, to learn more about how this all came to pass. Read the interview below, but check out the edit first:

First, do you have a website. Second, tell me about yourself, and what it is your prefer to film.

I have my YouTube channel–trying to get subscribers, but it’s tough!

I film anything really. I’d like to shoot action sports, but the trouble is I don’t know many people with the skills, if you catch my drift. This is the third video of mine that GoPro have shared over this past year.

I think maybe they share them because it’s not epic footage, but it’s put together well and it shows footage that could be captured by the “normal” (non-athlete) person. Some comments I get say things like “pretty ordinary footage but I still watched it to the end.” That’s why I’m on the lookout to film some very talented people so I can create a really kick-ass edit!

So it was more for me to practice my filming/editing skills, as it’s a hobby of mine. I submitted the video to GoPro like many thousands of people do. I never really expected it to be shared by them!

How did you come to film these rollerbladers?

I’m always on the lookout to film stuff of people doing things they enjoy… I noticed a friend on Facebook saying he was into rollerblading so I made contact, asking if he minded me filming him skate. I hadn’t spoke to him in 10 years or so, but he was well up for it.

Were you familiar with the tension between the rollerblading community and other action sports before making this video?

I have to say no, not at all. Mind you, saying that, I suppose one inkling was when one of the guys made a remark about rollerbladers not having many friends at the skate park, but to be honest I thought he was joking.

It’s a shame though because, from what I saw, they were having a great laugh and it looks like great fun, so why should anyone have an issue with it? Surely the more variation at a skatepark the better? What’s the reason for the tension, etc. then?

What kind of equipment did you use?

In this edit I used the Hague Steadicam, a monopod, and the head strap mount (used that for the boot too).

Well thanks for speaking with us, Dan. Good luck getting subscribers on that channel and keep on filming what you like.

Interview by Dookie

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