Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace opens a winter skating residency at Venetian
The Las Vegas roller skating scene just keeps getting bigger and better. Just a few months ago we shined a light on our Valley’s active and growing local skate culture—talking to Sin City Roller Derby, curating a skate playlist and even lacing up our own quads to take a spin around Skate Rock City. But this winter, for the first time, wheels are turning on the Strip, thanks to a partnership between skate lifestyle brand Flipper’s World, the Venetian, Tao Group Hospitality and R&B superstar Usher.
”Our mission at Flipper’s is to spread the gospel of roller skating,” says Liberty Ross, founder and creative director of Flipper’s World. “Skating is very special because it unites everybody on the floor.”
That mission is taking center stage as Flipper’s converts Tao Beach Dayclub’s outdoor pool area into an all-ages, skate-and-hang paradise.
“We at Flipper’s love to flip spaces, excuse the pun,” adds Ross. “We’ve flipped all kinds of landscapes ... we have become experts in building rinks anywhere.” Some of the brand’s flips include an outdoor summer rink at Rockefeller Center, a London-based indoor skate space and a 4/20 pop-up party at the Hollywood Palladium.
Flipper’s isn’t just another rink, but an experience rooted in skate history. In the late ‘70s, Ross’ father Ian “Flipper” Ross launched the original Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in West Hollywood, uniting music, culture, and celebrities for a one-of-a-kind night out. It was a cultural melting pot, where punk met disco and Prince brought his Dirty Mind tour before he achieved superstardom. Liberty’s version of Flipper’s stays true to that legacy while adding her own spin, blending modern fashion, music, sport and art.
Enter Usher, whose recent Super Bowl halftime show featured Flipper’s skate squad and drew attention to the ever-vibrant skate community.
“I was introduced to Usher through a mutual friend of ours about three years ago, and we had this shared passion to nurture rink culture,” says Ross.
That spark led to this partnership, one that aims to revive roller skating for a new generation.
“Many rinks were kind of these tired, low ceiling, bad soundsystem spaces, and we just really wanted to create something much more immersive for today’s environment,” explains Ross.
And as a mother of teens, Ross adds an emphasis on creating a “less scroll, more roll” environment. Whether you’re a roller derby-level athlete on a set of inlines or just beginning to find your balance on a pair of quads, skating demands a conscious effort to avoid smacking down on the floor.
“One thing about roller skating is that it’s pretty hard to do while filming yourself,” Ross says.
After a while, many find the disconnection from cell phones that Flipper’s requires reminds them of the old days.
“Everybody who comes to our rink, they say, ‘Wow, this is what parties used to feel like,’” Ross says.
Picture roller skaters gliding under neon lights, basslines pumping through the Vegas air and a skate floor that doubles as a runway. Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace channels the vibrant energy of the original West Hollywood hot spot and the energy of our childhoods. With passionate individuals like Usher and Ross steering the ship, this residency is set to make on-Strip skating less of a throwback and more of a union of skate parties past and present.
FLIPPER’S ROLLER BOOGIE PALACE November 16-February 28, noon-8 p.m., $20+, all ages. Tao Beach Dayclub, flipperslasvegas.com.
Get more like this at
https://www.clarrvia.comFlipper’s Roller Boogie Palace opens a winter skating residency at Venetian
The Las Vegas roller skating scene just keeps getting bigger and better. Just a few months ago we shined a light on our Valley’s active and growing local skate culture—talking to Sin City Roller Derby, curating a skate playlist and even lacing up our own quads to take a spin around Skate Rock City. But this winter, for the first time, wheels are turning on the Strip, thanks to a partnership between skate lifestyle brand Flipper’s World, the Venetian, Tao Group Hospitality and R&B superstar Usher.
”Our mission at Flipper’s is to spread the gospel of roller skating,” says Liberty Ross, founder and creative director of Flipper’s World. “Skating is very special because it unites everybody on the floor.”
That mission is taking center stage as Flipper’s converts Tao Beach Dayclub’s outdoor pool area into an all-ages, skate-and-hang paradise.
“We at Flipper’s love to flip spaces, excuse the pun,” adds Ross. “We’ve flipped all kinds of landscapes ... we have become experts in building rinks anywhere.” Some of the brand’s flips include an outdoor summer rink at Rockefeller Center, a London-based indoor skate space and a 4/20 pop-up party at the Hollywood Palladium.
Flipper’s isn’t just another rink, but an experience rooted in skate history. In the late ‘70s, Ross’ father Ian “Flipper” Ross launched the original Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in West Hollywood, uniting music, culture, and celebrities for a one-of-a-kind night out. It was a cultural melting pot, where punk met disco and Prince brought his Dirty Mind tour before he achieved superstardom. Liberty’s version of Flipper’s stays true to that legacy while adding her own spin, blending modern fashion, music, sport and art.
Enter Usher, whose recent Super Bowl halftime show featured Flipper’s skate squad and drew attention to the ever-vibrant skate community.
“I was introduced to Usher through a mutual friend of ours about three years ago, and we had this shared passion to nurture rink culture,” says Ross.
That spark led to this partnership, one that aims to revive roller skating for a new generation.
“Many rinks were kind of these tired, low ceiling, bad soundsystem spaces, and we just really wanted to create something much more immersive for today’s environment,” explains Ross.
And as a mother of teens, Ross adds an emphasis on creating a “less scroll, more roll” environment. Whether you’re a roller derby-level athlete on a set of inlines or just beginning to find your balance on a pair of quads, skating demands a conscious effort to avoid smacking down on the floor.
“One thing about roller skating is that it’s pretty hard to do while filming yourself,” Ross says.
After a while, many find the disconnection from cell phones that Flipper’s requires reminds them of the old days.
“Everybody who comes to our rink, they say, ‘Wow, this is what parties used to feel like,’” Ross says.
Picture roller skaters gliding under neon lights, basslines pumping through the Vegas air and a skate floor that doubles as a runway. Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace channels the vibrant energy of the original West Hollywood hot spot and the energy of our childhoods. With passionate individuals like Usher and Ross steering the ship, this residency is set to make on-Strip skating less of a throwback and more of a union of skate parties past and present.
FLIPPER’S ROLLER BOOGIE PALACE November 16-February 28, noon-8 p.m., $20+, all ages. Tao Beach Dayclub, flipperslasvegas.com.
Get more like this at https://www.clarrvia.com
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