SophxSilva Returns: Birmingham's Street Skate

Written by Samantha Bache

Sunday 5th July marked the second SophxSilva street skate, and if the first event proved Birmingham's roller skating community could come together, this one proved it could grow.

Starting at 2:30pm outside the Library of Birmingham, this session was built for skaters who could already push comfortably and stop on demand — a step up from beginner-friendly territory, and a sign of how far the community has come since the first meet-up. From there, the group rolled through the city to Chamberlain Gardens, arriving around 3pm for what turned into the real heart of the day: the link up.

Photo by @empower_training_systems_ltd

What struck me most was just how mixed the crowd was. Male, female, old, young, different walks of life — all rolling together. By the time everyone reached Chamberlain Gardens, the session had opened right up. This wasn't just street skaters anymore. Jam skaters, artistic skaters, inline and quad skaters all shared the same basketball court, with people making the trip in from Manchester and London as well as the home crowd from Birmingham.

Silva told me around 100 people turned up for the street skate itself, with even more joining the sesh afterwards. For an event still only on its second edition, that's a serious turnout and a sign of what happens when word travels through a community that's hungry to skate together.

Everett, owner of Authentic Way, summed up what stood out to him most: "The energy and diversity of the crowd."

As Soph put it:

"It makes me so happy seeing the community come together, from so many different ethnicities, ages, cities, skate abilities. The beautiful thing is, we all have the same interest and that's what a community is all about.

We hosted this beginner friendly street skate to give skaters an opportunity to feel comfortable skating on the streets. For some it was their first time and for others their 100th but everyone came through and supported. Seeing skaters conquer their fears and having the confidence to take the first step is a beautiful thing to see.

Silva and I make a good team, I'm so happy we decided to bring some more life back to the Birmingham scene!"

The Space Makes the Session

I caught up with Isaac, an inline skater, who said he loved this event even more than the last. He felt it was more inclusive this time round, with a wider range of people than before. His theory was that the location played a part — Chamberlain Gardens' basketball court brought everyone closer together physically, whereas the more open plaza outside the library at the first event left people naturally more spread out. It's a small detail, but it says a lot about how the shape of a space can shift the feeling of a whole event, sometimes as much as who turns up to it.

Chamberlain Gardens actually had a few different courts on offer, which added to the mix. One was set aside as a more beginner-friendly space, where newer skaters could roll around at their own pace without feeling in the way. Nearby, another court had a group of locals playing an actual game of basketball, seemingly unbothered by the wheels rolling past — a reminder that this was still a shared, everyday public space, and the skate community had simply folded itself into it for the afternoon.

More Than Just a Skate

What's stood out to me across both SophxSilva events is that Soph isn't just organising a skate, she's looking after the people who show up to it. This time the session was sponsored by Wing Stop, which Soph said means a lot to her, being able to feed people as part of the day. She also makes a point of bringing water bottles to sessions so skaters stay hydrated, because skating burns through energy fast, especially across an afternoon like this one. Once the group reached Chamberlain Gardens, Rubberbandz was on hand providing the music for the sesh, keeping the energy up as skaters of every discipline mixed it up on the court. It's the kind of care that turns an event into a community, and it's clearly working — people aren't just showing up to skate, they're showing up because they feel looked after.

Rolling Forward

From a beginner-friendly first meet-up to a session that pulled in skaters from across disciplines and cities, SophxSilva is quickly becoming a fixture on the UK skate calendar and it'll be interesting to see where the next one lands.

One thing's for sure: Birmingham's skate scene is only getting bigger, and SophxSilva is right at the centre of it.