Many skaters have came and gone throughout the short history of our sport. Many talented people who have impacted blading immensely have came and went within a few short years, no longer to be seen again.

Only a handful have lasted the test of time and continue to progress skating to insane levels today.

Our newest pro rider for Create Originals is one of the most iconic pro’s that our industry has ever seen. Nobody has been skating as hard and as raw for as long as he has. He has an unmatchable track record throughout the years complete with legendary sections, interviews and contest placings.

This guy’s just one of the greatest and we couldn’t be happier to have him down. Ladies and gents, please welcome Brian Shima to the Create Originals pro team. - Billy O’Neill.

Video on Vimeo: PLAY - Visit Createoriginals.com.

The Bittercold Showdown 2011 is over, congrats to Julien Cudot (#1 Pro) & Dave Lang (#1 AM), full results below.

You can check raw footage of the Bittercold Showdown 2011 on: Vimeo.com/bcsd & Youtube.com/mrcollinmartin. Alex Kaytu filmed his BCSD run with a helmet cam, video on Youtube: PLAY.

BCSD Pro Finals: Unedited footage by Mr Collin Martin - PLAY: 01 | 02

Pro Results

1. Julien Cudot
2. Brian Aragon
3. Erik Bailey
4. Jeff Stockwell
5. Alex Broskow
6. Brandon Smith
7. Sean Kelso
8. John Bolino
9. Brian Shima
10. Roman Abrate

AM

1. Dave Lang
2. Tyler Hester
3. Michael Garlinghouse
4. Wake Schepman
5. Killa Kai
6. Blake Kelly
7. K2 Alex
8. Tim Franken
9. Joseph Torres
10. Thumper Nagasako

Up: Brian Shima and Mark Korte, back in the days. Below: quoting a mail from Mark Korte:

Hello Everyone!

I would like to inform you of some changes in my own personal life.

After getting back into the game, I have seen that I am basically too old for this stuff lol!

Having a family and a commitment to the US Military as well as my private life has shown me that I am going to have to go into a different direction than I have been, and Powerslide and myself will part ways, but as always with a good feeling, and good times.

I want to thank all of you for dealing with me, and I want to thank all of you for helping me put alot of programs together, and doing your best to make things better.

This will be my last week at Powerslide and I will be moving on and fulfilling a commitment I have to the US Army, and moving into a different lifecycle.

I would like to thank both Matthias Knoll and Stefan Gohl as well as everyone here at Powerslide who believed in me and thought it would be good for me to get back in the thick of it, even if it was for a short time… I will remember it well. - Mark Korte.

Features

• New Red Souls.
• Nimh Brian Shima V.2 NS Pro Complete Skate.
• Weight of single skate: 4 lbs. 6 oz. (Based on a size 9).
• New pre-grooved Nimh Soul System.
• Frames: G.C. Formula 1 Flat Black/Black.
• Outer Wheels: Nimh 58mm 90a Outer Wheels w/ ABEC 5 Bearings.
• Inner Wheels: G.C. 42mm Nylon Anti-rockers Black.
• Liners: Vicious high liners w/ new teri cloth padding and Velcro strap.
• Widened toe for toe relief in ALL sizes.
• Metal buckle.

Made in China. Thanks IrollNY & Tri-State Skate.

Ok, so here’s the official press release to address all of the rumors about the Create Originals pro team. When the three of us started Create, we had a vision for how we wanted to portray the company, team and image.

Our goal is to provide the best for the skate community in all aspects, not only with our product but with our team image and riders as well. Basically, we wanted to offer more than a new product, we wanted to give the skate community something to be excited about and proud of.

That being said, we at Create Originals are very proud to announce our TWO newest pro riders, Chris Farmer Alex Broskow. We’re excited to have them on board and you can expect to see a lot of cool things coming from Create Originals in 2010. Welcome to the team fellas! CO. - Billy O’Neill.

Video Down | Visit Createoriginals.com. 2010 Pro Team: Sean Kelso, Alex Broskow, Chris Farmer, John Bolino, Colin Kelso, Billy O’Neill.

Who is Mark Korte and what does he have to do with rollerblading?

I can basically answer that by saying… I am the USD Enforcer, one of the founders of the Stretch Crew, and a Powerslide veteran… since a lot of kids might not know what in the hell that means, I will break it down.

I came to be part of USD in the late part of ‘98, when the team was Arlo Eisenberg, Champion Baumstimler, Dustin Latimer, Jon Julio, and Josh Petty. At the time I was only hired by Powerslide to push papers, but that changed after a week or so.

To make a long story short, I had found my calling. I got to know all of the USD team (which was going through a transition period, much like we are now) and I ended up being the filter between the company and the team; I might even go as far as to say the glue, and at the same time I was the International Sales Manager at Powerslide.

So I was able to combine all of that into helping make USD (and The Conference Brands that followed) the hottest thing available. During this period, of which I am very proud to be a part of, we had the undisputed best team in Rolling, I built a worldwide flow team to rival all others at the time, and worked with distributors in over 40 countries building USD.

I was very adament about everything having structure, and working with the best team of rollers in the world has moulded my personality to this day, and I am grateful to each and every one who ever rolled for USD. […]

Full Interview on Oneblademag.com.
Originally posted on Believeinone.com | backup on Archive.org.