DENVER — Colorado runs on skates. From figure skating to pond hockey battles, to our professional Avs, even street crews are carving their mark in the action. Denver Urban Skate Troop also known as DUST is a weekly roller skating community that left their mark earlier this year on Avs Faithful.
Billy Arlew, one of the DUST organizers, explained during the summer they skate every Monday and Wednesday. Watching them in action, the energy is unmistakable as each member fueled by a passion to simply skate.
"There's friendships. I feel like there's relationships that are formed, of course, and there's a lot of extracurricular stuff that happens to," said Arlew. "We'll go camping together. They'll be little groups that go off and do road trips or take a flight to another country together. It's a really tight group that goes way beyond rollerblading, that's for sure and quad skating."
Routes vary depending on the day, Wednesday skates are typically around 8 to 12 miles and start in the River North Art District. Whether it's a small crew or a massive group, these skaters never fail to turn heads and draw curious looks.
"More importantly, I would say is sharing it with people. Getting 50 people, 70 people, however many we have, taking over the streets," said Arlew. "For people who are looking on from the side, they haven't seen rollerblades since the 90s, so it's just like a flood of emotions for them. So we're all having a good time and people that we're skating past are having a good time, it's the best."
When the Colorado Avalanche had their playoff push against the Minnesota Wild, the talented DUST crew came out to hype up the crowd. This special connection was made possible as member Christian Westerberg is family friends with Gary Makar, the father of Cale and Taylor Makar. The two connected about the group and it did not take long for some magic to happen.
"This is a really cool group, and the whole thing is about inclusion," said Makar. "It's about connection, kind of what the world sort of needs now and so that's how I just sort of set it up."
"You're not just limited to a rink and I think Mr. Makar thought that was really cool and took a look at us as kind of an obvious bridge between DUST and the Avalanche," Westerberg said.
Earlier this year, DUST was decked out in Avalanche jerseys and showcasing some srious skills. The crew gave Avs Faithful a glimpse of what's possible when skating hits the streets and might have been some good luck charms too.
"The three we had some involvement in, they won, one of which coming back to beat the Wild," Westerberg said.
With hockey season kicking off, it is a reminder of the passion for skating throughout the Mile High that extends beyond the rink.
"We'd love to see more hockey players out here. Frankly, we have a few, but we just want to see more people. We already have, as you can see, a pretty sizable group and we're looking to grow that, so come join us," Westerberg said.