[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVwfnGePrqU&list=UUkop_sok3eslWob18iUPRtg&index=1&feature=plcp[/youtube]

It’s kind of like stepping back in time: The slick maple floors and spinning lights, the sounds of the “Hokey Pokey” and beginners’ rickety orange wheels slapping the solid burgundy carpet, and, what’s that smell? Redolent of antiquity, it’s the musty, nostalgic aroma of your adolescence. “It hasn’t changed since I was a kid,” patrons exclaim. That used to bother Chuck Connor. It actually takes much money and work to keep White Rock Skate Center looking and feeling exactly as it did in the ’70s. But now the statement, uttered by some 30- or 40-something daily, just makes him grin. Connor, who hasn’t missed a day of work in about 40 years, has made the place what it is. He is the Sultan of Skate, the Roller King, the Lord of the Rink, and he rules his kingdom with austerity and compassion.

This place hasn’t changed since I was a kid!
Yes, people say that to me every day, and it used to kind of upset me. I’d think, “Hey, I just paid so-and-so dollars to have new carpet or lighting installed!” I update every couple of years. But now I know, it is just the way they remember it from their childhood.

Sign up for our newsletter!

* indicates required