Let’s roll: World champion roller skater offers classes to Montreal community
Posted May 23, 2024 11:21 pm.
Last Updated May 23, 2024 11:40 pm.
From private lessons to open jams, the Skatespace roller skate school is showing the Montreal community how anyone can just roll with it.
“I help people be themselves,” said Chloé Seyrès, founder of the initiative, whose skate name is Kozmic. “And just socialize and learn cool stuff.”
“Just an idea during the pandemic,” said Kozmic. “I just offered to do some skating lessons in the park and people loved it.”
And did they ever love it –- it has now developed into this:
Where Kozmic teaches with other coaches at the Centre Communautaire de Loisirs Sainte-Catherine d’Alexandrie.
“I also offer basics classes,” she explained. “Which is learn to skate classes with all the big main families of moves that you need to know to be comfortable on skates.”
“Have like safe and efficient foundations.”
After ending her relationship with ballet as a teenager, Kozmic fell in love with roller skating –- and she perfected it.
“I was very lucky to have the chance to compete at international championships,” she said. “And win several world championships, actually four to be exact.”
“Then at one point I retired,” she added, laughing. “I was like, okay, time to retire when I’m at the top.”
From roller derby, to moves with inline skates, and recently being featured as a solo artist for Cirque du Soleil –- Kozmic and her team’s skating knowledge is out of this world inspiring.
“I love music and I love exercising,” said Loredana Mulé, participant at Skatespace. “But I love the family, the women.”
“We share so much,” she added. “We come here and we heal our souls with music and laughter and love and kindness.”
Invented in Europe in the 1700’s, roller skates started out looking like inline skates.
Then the quad skates were introduced in the 1860’s — Which were popular during the disco craze at roller discos in the 1970’s.
“I feel at home,” said Chérie Picard, participant and administrator at Skatespace. “I feel like I could be free doing what I love doing.”
“It’s good for the soul,” she added. “It’s good for the body, and this is why I like coming here.”
Kozmic’s stellar teaching philosophy: to empower others with the tools that allow them to create their own skating journeys.
“I’m so proud of, like, just people enjoying themselves,” she explained. “There’s a little bit of me in them.”
