Old Dude on Blades Skate School

WARNING: Inappropriate behavior.
We went to him based on him on recommendation from In Line Sports to get a lesson for my daughter. He seemed like a good teacher. After the lesson I asked him about skating lessons for myself and he made an inappropriate and insulting comment, which I won’t repeat here.
We will not consider him again.

Yesterday was a beautiful clear day and thanks to Phil for making it an awesome day out with the girls. 2 of my girlfriends and I signed up for an one-​hour private roller blade lesson with Phil — he will rent you skates, pads, and a helmet for an additional cost. Anyway, Phil has a great personality and got us middle-​age women on rolling in no time. He provided all the basics and made sure we had them down before we went on to the next stage. I left the lesson feeling confident with going out on my own in my own neighborhood.
Thanks Phil!

I’m 35 and decided to finally learn how to rollerblade. I contacted Phil and had a private lesson in Cupertino. He’s really great! Very knowledgeable and patient. Best of all, I had a lot of fun and now feel much more comfortable on my skates!

I called Phil to set up a lesson and he was very accommodating with my schedule. He comes to the lesson fully prepared with a broom to sweep away any pebbles that may be on the asphalt and also a large piece of carpet to make sure his students can learn how to make a quick transition from asphalt to a slower surface.
Phil will take you through the basics and importance of protective gear and proper body mechanics. He also teaches you the mechanics of the skate (how to change wheels, bearings, etc).
He is great as teaching you how to accelerate and slow down properly, and as you are practicing, he is very engaged to make sure you understand the techniques and will correct you (in a very nice way) so that you learn the right way. He also teaches you much more of the skating techniques that I won’t list but you get the general idea… he is there to make sure you learn to inline safely and correctly.
He is nice and knowledgable and I highly recommend him!

Skiing inspired me to take up inline skating as an adult. I made some progress on my own, but wanted to take a lesson to get some tips and keep improving. Got together with Phil for a session at a park in Cupertino, and he was generous with his time, and did show me some things and make some suggestions that have helped me with my skating. He’s a solid skater himself, and I think beginners and intermediates can benefit as I did from spending time with him.

When I decided to start rollerblading two years ago, I went about it all the wrong way: I bought a pair of skates without knowing what I was buying, and started skating on a parking lot with the help of a coworker who only skated on quads. This ended in a very painful episode where I wrenched a knee and could have caused very serious damage.
Not being one to give up so easily, I found Phil while googling San Jose rollerblading resources and decided to take a class with him.
Best thing I ever did! Phil is very patient and methodical, and very focused on safety. You will learn more in two hours with him than you would in months by yourself, and it will be fun!
If you’re serious about skating and live in the area, do yourself a favor and book a lesson with Phil. He’s wonderful with kids, too!

Today, my friend and I were very brave, we took an inline skating class with Phil, aka ‘Old Dude on Blades’. :) We had both tried before and had horrible experiences but, once Phil reduced our initial fears with calm facts and methods, we had so much fun!
Phil is a certified In-​Line Skating instructor and really good with people who know nothing about blading. I had only had one other roller blading experience (and let me say… it was terrible, nothing like today). My girlfriend who met us there had never bladed before! (If I weren’t so determined to learn, I would have given up after my first time out when my bf tried to instruct me… and he’s been blading for 15 years!)
Today’s lesson though was the best! Phil had great tips and strategy on blading and he understood that we were very nervous about falling and hurting ourselves or not being able to stop. He was direct, clear to understand and thorough in his instruction. His cont. to stress the main points and was patient, laughing with us when we messed up, before he corrected what we’d done wrong.
I had bought some cheap skates to make sure I liked blading before I invested a lot of money but, they were horrible! Luckily, Phil has equipment available too — a few bags of pads, helmets and blades. He switched me out to his Rollerblade brand blades (I think he gets them at Black Diamond store in Palo Alto) half-​way through and… what a world of difference! Blading went from being a painful struggle to being smooth and… well, not exactly easy! In no time at all, I relaxed and smoothed out my stride. I only busted my butt once! Haha
Now, I’m going to go and get some better blades and practice for a few weeks. Phil said after a couple weeks of practice, we should be ready for our next lesson. I can’t wait!!!
You can find his information on the website I put under the business info!
Try it, you’ll love it!