“I started skating in 2019 and it was just something that I really fell in love with immediately.”
When Takina Pollock Shafer laces up her skates, she says there’s a freedom that fills every twist and turn.
“Roller skating is just liberating for me. It’s something that helped me get back in touch with my inner child,” Shafer said.
For the last two years, she’s been working hard to share that feeling through her company Skateport, which hosts pop-up skating events in downtown Bridgeport.
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“Last season in 2023, we did eight events here out in Post Office Square,” Shafer said. “So, we have a DJ, we have food trucks that come out, we have other small businesses that we partner with that come out and do some vending."
She said about 3,000 people have skated with Skateport since its founding in 2021.
People can rent equipment or bring their own, and Skateport has lessons for beginners. The offerings reduce the barriers for skating and makes the pop-up skate events diverse across almost every demographic.
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“Skateport, we see people of all generations and cultures that are out here," Shafer said. “Last season, our youngest skater was three years old and our oldest was 65.”
She said skating and Skateport bring people together in a way that’s been missing from Fairfield County for decades when the last skating rink in the area was closed.
“Bringing back something that people really missed, or that people didn’t even really know that they missed, has been really important to Bridgeport,” Shafer said.
She has a vision of rolling Skateport into a new rink in the city so they can skate year-round. Right now, there are plans for a winter skate at Park City Music Hall in January.
“I think we’ll continue to see people enjoying roller skating, finding new ways to get active,” Shafer said. “It’s great for your mental health, great for your physical health, so I think we’ll see the culture of roller skating grow in Bridgeport.”
