22 Nov 28th-Dec 4th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | was really hard for me to watch the retail aspect of it disappear because it was some- thing I’d worked so hard on,” Alexandria says. “(I) did the designs, and it kind of changed the dynamic of the way that the sisters were working together. It was defi- nitely for the better.” After the shift in focus, the Zoni Girls began doing pop-up events at the Arizona Center during First Fridays in downtown Phoenix. After one of these events, they were approached by the owners of the Arizona Center asking them if they wanted to rent a space in the center. Zoni Girls opened its location – a roller rink with a half-pipe – in the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix. On Feb. 1, Alexandria and her sisters picked up the keys to their new space in the Arizona Center. “The big struggle of having the pop-up was never having a home for Zoni,” Alexandria says. “We had so much stuff that was in warehouses and all over the place … it was ridiculous how every five to six months, we were growing so fast.” Since the opening of the Zoni Girls roller-rink venue on Aug. 17, Alexandria said the business has flourished, hosting themed roller skating nights at the rink, including an Arizona State University skating night. Mesa roller rink cashes in on renewed skating interest For USA’s Skateland in Mesa, an illustrious history and the fuel of nostalgia has kept it open for decades. General Manager Angela Webb says the history of the roller rink has helped keep it alive. “So many different generations have memories that are tied to the rink that they want to pass on,” Webb says. “(They want to) share in those moments and create new memories with the younger generations, (which) has really played a part in how skating has been able to be successful and be around for so long.” Webb began roller skating when she was 8 after she had her birthday party at a roller rink. She said she lost her love for roller skating around her teen years and early adulthood, but by her early 20s, she began skating again. “Once I got to my early 20s, I actually started playing roller derby, and that was how I came to work for this company because one of the rinks that we practiced at was actually the rink that I ended up working for,” Webb says. “That’s kind of how I got back into skating. But skating has been super important in my life.” The versatility of the sport, according to Webb, is why so many people continue to roller skate – now more than ever, in her opinion. “There’s so many different types of skates and styles of skating. There really is something for everybody out there, for whatever you want to do involving roller skating. I don’t think roller skating is going anywhere,” Webb says. Webb says during the COVID-19 pandemic, skating had a big resurgence because of this versatility of the sport, and it helped get people out of their houses and remain active during a challenging time. She says that once the rinks opened back up, there was a whole new audience that had picked up the love for roller skating, and that nostalgia factor is what drove people to pursue the sport again. “You don’t need a lot of space to be able to do it,” Webb says. “There’s so many different styles that you can do. You can just go in and skate by itself as just a phys- ical fitness activity. You can learn how to do dance moves on your roller skates. You can be athletic on your roller skates and do things like playing roller derby, do things like park skating, and learn how to grind on bars and do flips off of ramps. It’s just such a versatile activity.” For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org. Ashley Madison skates around the Zoni Girls roller venue at the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix on Nov. 16, 2024. (Photo by Aryton Temcio/Cronkite News) Fun on Wheels from p 21
