[linuxftw]

The difference is, there was no SV startup unicorn with an insane valuation making roller blades. They were basic consumer products for like $20.

The executives made 100's of millions in profits off of a fad. They did an amazing job. Some of it's just dumb luck with the lockdowns, but either way, they made something out of nothing.

[ghaff]

Maybe they would have been if they had been the big thing 20 years later. But I think their heyday probably also predated a lot of the X-sports stuff etc. so it was mostly a recreational activity that was popular with fairly ordinary people. Skates could easily be more like $100+. They're basically hockey skates after all. (Construction details are different but level of support is the same.) Individuals made something out of nothing in the space but they didn't make $100s of millions of dollars.