David Lee, Narrandera Argus
A once popular pastime that possessed a great deal of culture and funk has once again rolled its way into the hearts of the Narrandera community, with local resident Briana Bryon kickstarting Glow Roller Disco.
Beginning the business less than two months ago, Briana was not surprised by how popular her venture has become in such a short period, which offers one-on-one basic coaching, birthday parties and school holiday sessions.
Briana said, “I noticed that there were roller discos in Wagga. A group came and did a fundraising event and it was huge.
“I’ve grown up my entire life waiting for roller skating to come back into fashion. In fact, I used to live at the roller skating rink in Narrandera when I was a kid. It’s something that all ages can enjoy.
“Roller skating has a culture behind it. You have the funky roller skates and outfits to match.
“There are so many parents that come with their children and often say that they haven’t skated in 40 years and are very excited. They put on the skates and it’s like they have never stopped. The culture is still there.
“Roller skating is a experience where people can be who they really are, or who they’ve always wanted to be.
“The most rewarding thing is seeing kids put the skates on for the first time and you can see the fear in their little faces, but half an hour later, you can’t get their skates off of them. More often than not they are the last to leave at the end of the night.
“We like to be a part of festivals of all sorts. We have also been doing a lot of private roller discos too and we do birthday parties, which are proving to be quite popular.
“We’ve done a 50th birthday party. The people at this party grew up in the rinks as kids and it was amazing to see they still had their skating skills. They were skating like pros right off the bat.
“Even though we travel for roller discos and events, we are a Narrandera business and we are here for the town,” Briana said.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 8 September 2022.
