Brian Richards

By: Brian Richards Rodriguez Before Strip Skates was a brand, before the events, before the grant, before any of this… there was just a feeling. And it started a long time ago. As a kid, I was always drawn to movement. Not necessarily the structured kind, not the typical team sports where everything had a set role and a set path. I liked trying things. Figuring things out. Moving my body in ways that felt different. I wasn’t chasing being the best on a team, I was chasing that feeling when...

By: Brian Richards Rodriguez It’s wild to even say this, but coming up in May marks one year since this whole Strip Skates idea started. One year ago, this wasn’t a business. It wasn’t a product. It was just a thought… something different, something I felt, but didn’t fully know what to do with yet. Then I went to a small business fair. And that moment mattered more than I realized at the time. I met people who were open, encouraging, and genuinely interested. People who didn’t brush it off,...

By: Brian Richards Rodriguez If you told us a few months ago that we’d be stepping onto the Fremont Street Experience with a real shot at a permanent presence… we would’ve said, “let’s see what happens.” Because that’s how this whole thing has moved. One opportunity, one ask, one moment at a time. It started with First Friday. That’s where we built it. Tested it. Figured it out in real time. Month after month, showing up, creating energy, learning how to turn curiosity into connection. That’s...