Black-owned Good Foot Skates is Dallas‘ only full-service skate shop. It’s the go-to spot for high-quality skates and accessories, and it is reconnecting the Black community with this beloved recreational hobby.
With the increase of viral roller skate videos across TikTok and Instagram in 2020, the pandemic saw many rekindle a love for the roller skate culture. Within the Black community, the art of roller skating serves as a reminder of community and radical Black joy.
For Mo Sanders, the founder and owner of Good Foot Skates, this has been a very busy period. Opening the store at the end of 2020, it has become hugely successful in the Dallas community and beyond.
Sanders, or Quadzilla as he’s otherwise known in the rink, has a shining reputation in the skate world. He has competed and won international roller derby championships, and has been a coach and even a roller skating consultant for several Hollywood movies.
Sanders shared with Travel Noire that the motivation to open the shop “was a passion to share the fun and joy of roller skating, as well as to facilitate the need for a place in Dallas to get the necessary knowledge, information, and expertise of 42 years of skating to make educated decisions on the types of roller skates one would need to get the most out of it. There are so many facets and styles to it that it’s not just as simple as saying ‘I want some skates’ and just buying them.”
It comes as no surprise that Good Foot Skates has made such a huge contribution to the Dallas community, as well as to the wider representation of Black people roller skating.
“We feel we have helped the community find a new love or uncover old love for something they used to do and long forgotten about, and whenever they come in that’s exactly what they tell us.”
“We’re just happy to see people enjoying themselves again,” says Sanders.
Good Foot Skates offers a wide range of skates, as well as expert knowledge from the on-site team. Customers on Instagram boast of their first experiences in the store being unforgettable.
One customer shares that after making the mistake of ordering skates online, he took a three-hour drive to Good Foot Skates where Mo helped him correct the situation and educated him on 3200s, which the customer ended up buying shortly after spending hours chilling in the store, enjoying this much needed community safe space.
Related: NYC Roller Skate Week Celebrates Black Joy And Historic Contributions