Scott B. Olson

Scott B. Olson (born 1959) is an American inventor, entrepreneur, and former hockey player. Olson developed and popularized the first modern inline skates trademarked as Rollerblade in the 1980s, Olson holds a dozen patent applications for skate- and sport-related innovations from 1982 through 2001. Olson subsequently built and marketed SwitchIt skates, Rowbike, and Skyride.

Developing modern inline skates

For two centuries, inventors and entrepreneurs attempted to popularize skates with a single row of wheels. By the end of the 1970s, only Chicago Roller-Blade and Super Sport Skate managed to gain limited adoption for training, within a niche community of ice hockey players. It took Olson, his brothers, his family, his friends, and his company, Rollerblade, to perfect these skates, and to make them enjoyable as mainstream recreation for the general population.

Skates used by Mark Lipson and Scott Olson ca. 1980 in a 200-mile marketing trip

In 1979, Scott Olson, then an ice hockey player, stumbled upon the Super Sport Skate (or Super Street Skate). Fascinated by these novelty skates, he soon made a living promoting and selling them to hockey players in Minneapolis.

Through further tinkering, prototyping and road testing everywhere he could, Olson eventually arrived at a skate design with an adjustable/expandable frame, polyurethane wheels and double ball bearings. The skate rolled faster, and remained more reliable on road surfaces.

Other notable ventures

SwitchIt

Scott Olson was forced to sell a majority stake in his company in 1984 due to financial difficulties,