Crew Name:
Chub Rollz
City or Region:
Oakland, CA
What do you do?
Chub Rollz is BIPOC founded, Queer & Trans led group. All wheels, ages, abilities, genders, and orientations welcome. We are a beginner-led, beginner-based group, geared towards creating accessible, shame-free places to play, share, and learn collectively and to advance the representation of fat bodies skating. We host monthly skate meetups and occasional virtual skate sessions for fat skaters and their friends.
Where do you meet?
We find various locations around the Bay Area to use so folks get used to skating new terrain and feel comfortable out in the community. Sometimes it’s a parking lot, other times we’re at a skatepark, but the goal is for folks to feel like they can skate anywhere they want.
How did you start?
I (Andy Duran, Chub Rollz founder) started getting back into skating after a 15-year break and was shocked to find that there weren’t more options out there for fat skaters. Mostly just “fail” videos and discouraging weight limits that I knew weren’t true for me when I was a fat skater in high school. Once I started skating again I knew I had to build a safe space for other fatties to learn too so we could grow the representation further and encourage others who thought they couldn’t skate based on their size.
Can you share a story or favorite moment from a meetup?
Our Pride meetup was magical! Everything was perfect. The weather, the vibe, everything was just all love and community. One of our skaters had recently broken their leg, but we got them a knee scooter so they could come out anyway and everyone signed their cast. As fat people, we often feel how quickly we are discarded when our bodies aren’t able to do things others can with ease, like sit in a booth at a restaurant or a chair with arms in waiting rooms. Our group has always been about making things adaptable so that everyone can participate. Seeing how folks rallied around our injured skater was really something that hit me personally, as someone who has felt disposable when injured. We started saying “no chub roller left behind!” and we mean it!
How can people get involved/support you?
If you’re local to the SF Bay Area and identify as fat, plus size, chubby, thicc, and wanna skate with other fatties, come on through! We will soon be relaunching our virtual events for folks that enjoy a Zoom skate sesh with skaters worldwide.
If you’d like to support us please check out our GoFundMe to help us go on a skate trip to SoCal, or feel free to reach out about other ways to donate skate gear for those in need.
Our next meet-up is Sunday, August 22 from 3-6pm at Rockridge Curbs (Bart Parking Lot) in Oakland, CA.
Where can people find you online?
We are @ChubRollz on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok.
Anything else you want us to know?
Fat bodies can skate. Our standard skateboards have held riders near 500lbs. If you’re someone who wants to skate but don’t think you get to because you’re “too big” you absolutely still get to. And if you’re someone that sells skate gear or advertises skating, please consider how representation matters in showing who all can use your gear. Or even who can buy shirts or pads in their size from your shop. You could be giving people the same amount of hope each day that we do if you wanted to.
This map was created to make it easier for non-trad skaters to find people to skate with and places to roll. every month Maya haptas shoots a few questions to one of the meet up crews featured. Let's skate y'all!
