RED WING, Minn. — On a typical Monday, nearly a hundred employees would be hard at work at Riedell Skates in Red Wing, but one day after the Super Bowl, the production floor is unusually quiet.
“We gave everyone the day off for the Super Bowl yesterday,” President/CEO Bob Riegelman says.
Many of the employees stayed up late to watch the game on television and nearly a dozen employees had the opportunity to watch the game in person.
“A few of our employees were invited to an afterparty after the game,” Riegelman says.
The afterparty was held by a company called “Flippers,” that collaborated with Riedell to create custom roller skates for the Super Bowl halftime show.
“They reached out to us in October. They were like, 'Hey, you want to collaborate on a project? I can’t tell you what it is yet,” Riegelman says.
A week later, the company discovered who the skates were for.
“He called back and said, 'Hey, we’ve landed the halftime performance with Usher and he’s going to put roller skating in it,” Riegelman says.
The team had three short months to design and build the skates by hand.
Riegelman says their design team worked with Usher’s team to create the perfect style, fit and color for the roller skates.
“There was a lot of back and forth going on to get it right,” Riegelman says.
The skates also had to be functional and easy to put on and take off.
“One of the key features of this product is we developed and put in a zipper so Usher could quickly change,” Riegelman explains.
“He was off the stage and within 30 seconds he was back with a pair of skates on. It was all because of the zipper.”
This wasn’t the first time a famous person has worn a pair of their roller skates.
Riegelman says the company’s roller skates were worn by Margot Robbie in the DC Comics film “Birds of Prey,” and actor Elliot Page in the movie “Whip It.”
Riedell has also created custom ice skates for Olympians like Michelle Kwan, and for cinema like the movie "Castaway" with Tom Hanks. Hanks’ character uses it in the movie to remove one of his teeth.
Each of these appearances has helped Riedell develop its image, but Riegelman says the Super Bowl halftime show this year was the brand's biggest appearance yet.
"It always helps when you have someone with Usher's selling power to get behind it and help promote it,” Riegelman says.
During the company’s 79-year history, Riegelman says ice skating and roller skating have seen a lot of ups and downs.
The popularity of skating comes and goes with every passing generation.
“It’s constantly changing. It seems that when the economy is hurting, roller skating picks up,” Riegelman says.
Together with Usher and “Flipper’s” they’re trying to make roller skating cool once again.
To learn more about Riedell Skates and the company’s 79-year history click here.
To learn more about the new “Flipper’s Quadz by Usher” click here.
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