Just Takin' a Stroll in My Fresh HEELYS

Heelys came onto the scene in 2000, right around the year I was entering middle school.  They were created by an American, Roger Adams, who sought to make a shoe that could role on command.  The shoe itself was epic.  It basically was designed like a normal tennis shoe, but embedded in the heel of each shoe was a wheel, where the kid was to ride, rather than walk down the hallway, the street, the mall or wherever he/she should choose.

Photo from Dicks Sporting Goods online store listed as
Heelys Street Lo Girls' Roller Shoes

The thing about Heelys was you were either a total expert or a total spaz and the in-between phase of learning to figure out these guys was both epic and life-threatening.  The idea is to lean back with one foot ahead of the other and glide down smooth surfaces.  However there were several initial problems that would arise.


The first, the typical "I-leaned-too-far-back-and-just-busted-my-butt-trying-to-look-cool-down-the-hallway."  Example looks like this.


The second, the also common FACE PLANT.  Example looks like this.


The third, the how-the-hell-do-these work??! Example looks like this.


The cool, suave middle school Heely masters aspired to look like her.  [You go Heely chick!]  These were the elite blanaced kids.  Heelys took going to the mall to another level.  You think your just walkin' around the mall?  Not if you have a fresh pair of HEEELYS!!!!! You can roam the mall like this:

clip from YouTube "Heelying at the mall"

God I loved Heelys, but I was such a spaz to begin with usually would wobble into a face-plant.  But I did improve and then I just got too old to wear them.  It was fun while it lasted and I wish I could just still age-appropriately wheel around, but unfortunately I can't though I am very jealous of those mall kids!