Persistence, passion and an enormous enthusiasm towards skating. These are only the few words describing Jon Julio — the man to whom the global blading scene owes by far the most. There is no other blader, who has been active with the sport from the very beginning until now. He never stopped skating or put it aside. For several years now he has been focusing on different directions of his own brands as well as presenting the phenomenon of blading to wider audience, yet always keeping it with its street and somewhat rebellious nature.
"My way or the highway"
Jon Julio had his own vision of blading and the direction where it should head. Unsatisfied with the corporate approach of the brands that supported him in the late 90s, Jon tried to join a bunch of innovative projects (USD, England Clothing, Skatepile or Ucon). He even boldly started his own companies like Runners Project or Dyna Wheels, yet still his ambitions were much higher. At the time when rollerblading was suffering with massive downfall, Jon was approached by Roces. The Italian brand helped with establishing the first skate company of Jon Julio — Valo Brand. We all know, how it went from there. Valo brand was a breeze of fresh air amongst the stagnant rollerblading market. Splendid marketing, focusing more on the distinctive riders rather than on the product itself definitely hit the spot. Just like in the 90s we got the brand that everyone wanted to be part of. Julio gave bladers the new identity.
As the time went by, Roces probably noticed their lost potential. Huge Valo popularity indisputably helped the Italian manufacturer to get back on its feet. With the start of 2018 the blade world was struck with devastating news of Roces and Julio parting their ways. Italians quickly rebranded their manufactured products back under Roces name, while Jon Julio once again put everything on one card by starting completely independent concept of Themskates.
Again, the competent marketing based on full transparency earned, or rather maintained, masses of supporters of Jon and his projects. The premiere batch of the first Themskates model called 908 was sold out within few days, getting the attention of other bigger brands. The launch of the company was smartly planned. First skates were offered as pre-order. The situation showed how well the community trusts and respects Jon. Never before has so many skates been pre-ordered. Such solution gave the much-needed boost of funds, which were entirely intended for the next batch production. And so, when the first packages from Themskates were delivered to customers, the brand was already working on another, improved model.
Them 908
The premiere 908 model was not perfect though. The main problem was found with the durability of the soulplates and the low quality hardware that made replacing much harder. The justification, however, was the surprisingly low price. The boot only version cost more or less the same as full set of frames with good wheels and bearings. Due to this reason almost everybody could afford to check the new skates for themselves without spending a fortune. Despite the drawbacks mentioned above, the 908 came with some cool features. The shell based on modified Sabotage skates from the 90s was super flexy with the original lacing system. The eyelets placed on the soft 'shoulders' that are closing together when firmly clasped, allowed for the full flex control in the skates. Due to this fact the first model of Themskates is still considered as quite soft skate, greatly improving the lock of topside tricks.
All remarks and user' feedback was scrupulously collected and addressed. As a result, just a few months later the second edition of 908 is introduced. The biggest improvement was unquestionably the upgraded soul kit. Much thicker and far more resistant. The instant brand reaction to user feedback was very warmly applauded by the blading scene. Such approach was not very commonly accented till then, so Themskates scored another respect point.
Julio kept the pace. In the summer of 2018 we got a chance to get the first signature model of 908 boots. The Sean Darst Pro model introduced even more new aspects. The used material was now much harder, giving the skate more rigidity and support. Introduction of 'Bridge-hardware' facilitated the soul kit replacement even further. The launch of Sean Darst pro skate was not only fixing the problems with the hardware but ultimately it was the beginning of new pro skater policy standards.
Being a pro skater for over two decades, Jon felt the need of changing the way the pro skaters are treated by the supporting companies. He simply put cards on the table by giving all information about the official royalties for his Themskate pro riders. According to the new policy, Sean Darst got around 20-$25 in his pocket for each sold pair, while the pro riders of other brands were barely given $1-$2 per skate. Suddenly the “pro” status started to make sense and meant more than a sticker with a name. This changed everything and convincingly was another milestone reached by Julio. Such big move could not go unnoticed by the competition. More and more companies started to adapt such policies for their representatives. It seems like Themskates had a direct influence on improving the overall situation of professional skaters.
Them 909
In 2019 Jon Julio started collaboration with Intuition brand. High end liners, flagship products of Intuition company now became the integral part of Themskates. As the Intuition liners are considered as absolutely superior products, more and more people were convinced to try Themskates on. All the time, however, Jon met with the accusation that Themskates is simply a new version of the old Saboatge skates. Being aware of that Julio gets the last piece of the puzzle by joining forces with Kyle Sola. Kyle is well respected engineer of rollerblading goods, responsible for such sought-after products like Sola frames or Rollerblade Blank Soulplates. Together with Jon's input he came up with new skate designed from scratch — Themskates 909. Having in mind all the cons of 908 boots, the new shell received more streamlined look, standard lacing system and completely remodelled cuff.
Very flexy plastic, used in 908 production was changed to harder one, making the skates far more responsive. We can control the flex by changing the cuff height position. If we are exclusively skating aggressive and are need of more freedom with locking tricks, the lower cuff position is recommended. But if we need more support with distance skating on bigger wheels, we may want to rise the cuff higher.
The 909 model brought up the third version of Them soulplates. Starting from 2022, all 909 skates will come with the upgraded version. Big change here is the larger heel area, helping beginners with alley-oop grinds. The soulplate is fixed to the boot with 8 screws, very wanted feature which makes base of our skate feeling more solid and stable.
To make the skate completely original and independent of other manufacturers, Kyle and Jon also took care of the dedicated street frames. Them street frames meet all the expectations of modern aggressive frame. Great for common flat setups as well as antirocker fans. With specified features like lower profile (fits 58 mm wheel size for flat), small and shallow groove and axels that requires only one Allen key to tight them up.
The whole skate is full of small yet distinctive details. Themskate laces, or one of a kind dedicated buckles with engraved logo. Them 909 started as a boot of three different shell sizes S (41-42), M(43-44) and L (45-46) but nowadays the offer is expander further with the junior XS (39-40) size. There are also rumours about extra shell size between S and M (Eu 42,5) to further adapt to customer requirements.
Sign of the times
For the most bladers out there Them 909 is a sign of the new times. Blading community matured. Rollerblading is getting back to pop culture and unlikely to the 90s, now it is totally ready for that step. Themskates leaded by active and respected people of our industry are the proper guidance and simply a climax of 'skater owned' concept. When putting your Themskates on, we can really feel they represent something more. They represent the long history and experience of Jon Julio and fully expressed skating by such icons like Alex Broskow or Danny Beer just to name a few. Themskates and their flagship 909 skate model is currently a reflection of the condition of the aggressive inline skating in general — constant progress and a bright look into the future.