Above: Photo Courtesy of Patrick Conway
By Robyn Clarke
Within the walls of a thrift store, the possibilities are endless. Shoppers may peruse the shelves for hours and leave empty-handed, unable to find a single item that could be recycled for further use. Or the opposite could happen. They could step inside and find a treasure within minutes. In that instance, what someone else once disregarded suddenly has a completely new purpose.
The latter is exactly what happened when figure skater Skyler Rodgers laid his eyes on a pair of roller skates as an adolescent. He did not know it then, but the find would serve as the key that unlocked the doors to a successful career on the ice.
When Rodgers first saw figure skating on TV, he was impressed by the sport’s athleticism and intrigued by its eye-catching costumes. Once he had the roller skates, there was no turning back.
“I taught myself to skate backwards,” he said. “I would just go everywhere and do everything on those roller skates.”
When Rodgers transitioned to the ice at the age of 12, he felt as though he had found a second home. From the beginning, being within the walls of an ice rink felt comfortable, and he realized that he had a knack for picking up the intricacies of the craft. Fueled by the desire to improve, he spent hours on the ice, doing anything and everything that he could to grow into the best skater that he could possibly be.
Rodgers’ dedication paid off. He competed in U.S. Championships twice while skating at the junior level. Yet, even as his career blossomed, he knew that to reach the heights he wanted, he needed to find another way to set himself apart.
“I’d gotten to a point where I needed to improve my artistry as a skater,” Rodgers said. “So that’s how I got started in dance.”
Thanks to a teacher at his middle school, he had been given the chance to act as a character in The Wizard of Oz for a play, and the opportunity paid off in dividends. The role allowed him to explore the expressive side of the sport that had come to serve as an escape.
Rodgers identifies as a gay man, and as a result, he often experienced bullying from his peers. Though it was difficult to endure their harsh words, a solid support system allowed him to stay strong.
“'I’m really a firm believer that it's not always your blood family that’s your family,” he said. “And so I was fortunate enough to have people in my life at the right time to support me.”
One member of that support group was Leslie Medine, a national expert in youth empowerment and development. She founded Alternatives in Action, a nonprofit organization that, according to its website, “serves youth from the Bay Area who are motivated to transform their lives and their communities.”
At the time Rodgers was involved with the group, it was known as the Home Project, and he served as a volunteer who helped other adolescents secure meaningful employment. Beyond the professional development opportunities the organization provided, it served as a space where Rodgers knew it was okay to be himself.
“[With the Home Project], I could see results,” said Rodgers of how the group showed him the value of hard work. “It [taught] me the value of my voice and who I was. It really helped in that regard.”
The Home Project served as a springboard for a lifetime of advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to his work with the nonprofit, he also formed the first Gay-Straight Alliance at his high school and has spoken at queer youth conferences around the country. But regardless of whether he is working with an audience of five or 500, Rodgers wants those who may be standing in his old shoes to know that they are not alone.
“A lot of times, when I first started reaching out, I felt alone,” he said. “But there are like, hundreds of gay people. They aren’t alone.”
He also wants to see youth who share his identity to embrace themselves and the unique perspective that they have to offer the people around them.
“There’s a beauty in [being your authentic self,]” Rodgers said. “They have power in their voice and power in making decisions more than they even know.”
Skating propelled his social justice platform to even greater heights. Following stints with Disney on Ice in the United States and Holiday on Ice in Europe, he went on to launch Skybeat Dance, a dance fitness program that integrates dance, plyometrics and simple aerobic sequences to help users become physically fit.
While Rodgers enjoys the dance aspect of the program, what he loves the most about his creation was the community that it facilitated amongst participants. During a Skybeat class, everyone is welcome, regardless of their fitness background or physical ability.
“[The idea is], we’re all welcome,” he said. “We can modify anything if you want to have a good time. So it evolved, and before I knew it, people were like, ‘Thank you, you really helped me through a hard time.’
“I really recognize the power of it, because someone did that for me,” he continued. “So if I can do that for them in this capacity, it’s very rewarding.”
Little did Rodgers know that when he laid eyes on that pair of roller skates so many years ago that they would do more than provide a fun pastime. They would not only lead him to a life raft during some of the more difficult times in his life, and they would also allow him to be a guiding light in the lives of others who may be enduring similar challenges.
