JB skating is the heartbeat of roller skating culture in Chicago. Born in rinks in and around the city, the smooth glides and turns are tied to the legacy of James Brown’s music and Black Chicagoland’s unique interpretation of the skate-dance.
Originally called “James Brown skating,” today the style is known simply as JB skating. The nickname evolved over the four decade span of the art form, which has been on display from the 1970s on up at local rinks including Glenwood Roller Rink, Lynwood Roller Rink, Markham Roller Rink and The Rink on 87th. The world got to experience some of the art form with the 2023 Super Bowl, where Usher brought the smooth moves to an elevated rink on the field — proof that skating transcended the rink, becoming an expression of artistry, skill and cultural pride.
“A lot of people mix us up with ice skating because of our movements and how similar they are,” said JB skating coach Patrick Turner. “But some of our movements — like four corners, short step, long step, long wheel — those are moves created by someone from Chicago.”
The style first appeared in 1971, when Brown’s funk-heavy tracks inspired roller skaters to move in ways that mirrored the singer’s legendary sliding footwork. Those effortless glides are synced to the rhythm of Brown’s signature beats with quick footwork, spins and sharp steps that seamlessly flow together, as skaters use their entire body to express the music through an expression of both speed and grace.
By the 1980s, as soul and R&B evolved within Brown’s music, so did the skate style.
“You got old skaters, middle skaters and the new generation,” Turner said. “The old school skaters didn’t have as many moves as we do now, but they had the swag and smoothness like butter. Middle school skaters introduced routines, skating in groups and in sync. New school skaters do the core moves but incorporate stunts like cartwheels.”
Today, local DJs like Rambo, T-Rell and Money Mike have been known to remix Brown’s signature tracks specifically for JB skating to keep his influence at the root of the style.
“In Chicago, we have music that just moves you a certain way,” said Theresa Ferrell, the former owner of Rich City Skate — a Richton Park roller rink — and a member of the JB skating scene since the 1970s. “I’ve been in other rinks and other cities with the same music, and it just doesn’t move them like it moves us.”
For Ferrell, JB skating is ingrained in the city’s cultural landscape and she considers it a “real art.”
“I learned how to JB skate around 1974, and there’s probably not a rink in the city of Chicago that I haven’t skated in or didn’t skate in at some point,” Ferrell said. “My parents were also roller skaters, so there were a few things in our house that were deemed mandatory … and one of them was roller skating.”
Ferrell saw progression of the skate itself evolve with the style as JB skaters learned what they needed to glide more fluidly in real time.
“Most people started out wearing white or brown skates, and then gradually graduated to black skates and wheels that offered more grip,” she said. “Most JB skaters need flexibility in their boots, while artistic skaters need more ankle support. You need that tight support around your ankles because it offers more flexibility to ride the wave and perform moves.”
Ferrell was part of the Rich City Skate ownership in the early 2000s, which is known for revitalizing what used to be Olympic Skate World.
She and other relatives took over the ownership unit in 2006 and remained in charge for ten years. There, she taught many students how to JB skate — including her son and award-winning NPR City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran, who said his understanding of JB skating grew when working at Rich City Skate as a teenager.
“As a kid, I knew my parents were good at skating, but I didn’t realize they were great,” Cochran said. “People always asked, ‘Do y’all skate like the people from ‘Roll Bounce’?’And we’d always answer, ‘We skate better than them.’”
Cochran described JB skating as “smooth, sophisticated and deeply tied to the history of Chicago’s music scene,” since it is a technical skill rooted in the rhythm of the music.
“It felt like other cities were known for a particular move, but Chicago was known for a style,” Cochran said. “It’s not to say other cities can’t balance, do acrobatics or have a really elemental understanding of their space on the floor and their use of wheels, but I just felt like because of Chicago’s history with smooth jazz, smooth gospel, R&B and stepping, we’ve just always been cooler, smoother dancers, which translates to skating in a way that I don’t think any other city replicates.”
Turner, who teaches everything from basic to advanced moves through his social platforms under the name @yogirl_favsk8coach, believes in the generational power of JB skating across Chicago. With his parents having met at a roller skating rink, Turner says it has “always been in his blood to skate.”
“Skating kept us out of a lot of bullsh*t,” Turner said. “But now we’re all teachers, doctors, nurses and lawyers. We take care of each other and hold each other accountable.”
He connects with skaters of all ages and continues to foster the community that keeps JB skating alive. His work extends beyond teaching the moves in organizing events like Rising Stars Skate Jam, where skaters have the chance to showcase their talent and win prizes.
Although JB skating remains deeply rooted in local communities and rinks, in 2024, Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show featured JB skating, blending R&B and skate culture for millions to see.
Sydney Blaylock, a Chicago native, was one of the skaters on that stage. For Blaylock, JB skating helped shape her identity as a performer.
“I always knew I wanted to be a sexy skater and the girl who could skate as hard as the guys,” Blaylock said. “For me to have been able to freely express my femininity through the style and to have taken it to the halftime show stage, it was an honor to represent JB skate culture there.”
After the Super Bowl, Blaylock joined Usher’s U.S. Past, Present, Future tour, contributing to a major milestone in JB skating history and showcasing the style to even larger audiences. The tour came through Chicago last year.
“I feel like the style has evolved as more people know it on the national scene,” Blaylock said. “Before, if you JB skated, you were from Chicago, and people didn’t always like JB in the beginning. It had to grow on people, and now everyone wants to learn how to JB skate.”
Blaylock, like Turner, teaches JB skating locally.
“The misconception is that skating is just nostalgic,” she said. “But it never went anywhere.”
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