If you grew up in the 90s in Stockport, you’ll know about the roller skating rink in Hazel Grove. While it wasn’t a flashy affair - we skated around until exhaustion or until someone had a meltdown, and the child who’s birthday it was got handed a fiver from the owner - it was always a good time.
So, when it was announced earlier this year that Manchester was to welcome not one, but two new rollerskating rinks, I wondered what I had done to be so lucky. Last week, the What’s On team checked out the first of the two openings, Good Life Skates at Escape to Freight Island, which delivered a healthy dose of nostalgia with its 80s disco hits and Vimto slushies.
And this week, we turned our attention to Paradise Skate World, the UK’s first ‘intergalactic’ rollerskating rink, which has landed at Great Northern Warehouse. The space-themed venue has been brought to life by the team behind Junkyard Golf, and can be found in the same spot as the original Junkyard Golf site.
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It is said that first impressions really count, and on this occasion Paradise Skate World doesn’t disappoint. On arrival into the venue, it’s clear why it’s been earmarked to be one of the city’s most Instagrammable spots.
“Paradise Skate World is unlike anything anyone has ever seen - it’s an intergalactic roller rink and cosmic cocktail bar,” explained Paradise Skate World co-founder Sophie-Larissa Houghton, during a visit to the venue earlier this week. “Here, there’s a chance to escape reality and come and experience a different frequency."
And it’s true, it really feels like entering another realm - or universe perhaps. Featuring a wood-sprung cosmic-style cruiseway that surrounds a central bar - accessible from the rink or a bridge above - the space channels the cosmos, while also nodding to the strong rollerblading tradition found in American cities.
“We wanted to create something out of this world and space is the best place to go. The beach side, meanwhile, is inspired by the Miami and Los Angeles lifestyle, where rollerskating has deep roots - the two elements go hand-in-hand."
Taking a leaf out of Junkyard Golf’s book, the space embraces the experiential with a number of far-out installations for guests to interpret. Take the palm-a-lite fixture hanging above the bar - it could be a palm tree, but it could just as easily be a space satellite.
“We’ve got so many installations and we’ve worked with a number of different artists including M3 Industries, WandaPace, who are based in Hulme and designed the satellite, and Russ, who did all of the graffiti and the mural on the back wall. Every single installation is subjective, so the light-up tunnel could be part of a spaceship, it could be a light-up ribcage, and the space panels could be something from a whole other world."
Arguably though, the bar is the space’s calling card, or “the pulsing vein” as Sophie says, and to head up this ambitious endeavour they called in Joe White, one if the city’s best known bartenders. You might know him as the man behind award-winning bar Henry C in Chorlton and 10 Tib Lane in the city centre, but he’s also run venues including Gorilla and Hula, so it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about creating a memorable cocktail experience.
“When we talked to Joe about what we wanted to the drinks to be like, we wanted them to look minimalistic and streamlined, so we didn’t want any flourishes or garnishes, we wanted to keep it really simple with things like edible metals and sparkles to give that intergalactic rock experience.”
Featuring tongue-in-cheek ingredients such as ‘cosmic dust’ and ‘violet clouds’, drinks range from the moody Dark Side of The Moon and funky Lost Frequency, to the gin-based Cloud Jumper which is a dead ringer for a packet of palma violets. Phase two will see the launch of Intergalactic Unicorn, a psychedelic Mexican restaurant, but in the meantime, if you get a bit peckish orbiting the bar you can grab a vacuum-packed bar snack, designed to look like astronaut food.
Providing an interactive spin on an popular 80s pastime is no easy feat, but with its cosmic cocktails, laid- back beats and Skate Martians (marshals), every base is covered at Paradise Skate World. And if you want a memento, the gift shop - named after artist Eriel Indigo who is coming over from Los Angeles’ Venice Beach to perform at the opening next week - has plenty of merch to keep the experience alive.
Paradise Skate World is now open at the Great Northern Warehouse, you can grab your tickets here. Prices start at £12.50 per skater, per hour, with 40-50 skaters allowed on the rink at one time.
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