The Sarnia Journal has partnered with local photographer Art Connolly to feature his captivating “Humans of Sarnia” series as he delves into the lives and experiences of everyday people in Sarnia/Lambton.
Brad begins his story with a detail that still makes him smile.
He was born in Brantford just one week apart from Wayne Gretzky. “We were probably born in the same hospital,” he says with a laugh. “That’s where the similarities end.”
At eight years old, Brad moved to Sarnia, and aside from brief stretches elsewhere, it has remained home. His career path reflects the steady belief of someone who values work and routine. He spent several years at Dow, moved into sales, and today works at Foodland in Brights Grove. He also serves as a caretaker at a local church. Retirement, for Brad, is more theory than plan. “I don’t know if I’ll ever fully retire,” he says. “I enjoy keeping busy.”
But the real through-line of his life isn’t found in job titles. It’s found on wheels.
During the mid-1970s, while attending Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School, Brad discovered roller skating. What began as something social quickly evolved into something more disciplined. He spent most evenings at Skate Country, circling the floor for hours, refining footwork, learning control and balance.
That was more than five decades ago.
“I’ve been skating about 52 years now,” he says. The number lands softly, almost casually, but it represents a remarkable consistency. When Skate Country eventually closed, Brad faced the same crossroads many niche hobbyists’ encounter: accept the loss or adapt.
He chose to adapt.
He travelled into the United States when he could, made trips to Windsor, and found a rink in London that remains his most reliable option. “London is the only place within a short drive that you can go to on a regular basis,” he explains. The commitment requires planning, fuel, and time — but for Brad, skating has long since transcended convenience.
In the 1970s, roller skating in Canada held a different cultural presence. Rinks were social anchors. Birthday parties, date nights, and weekend gatherings revolved around polished floors and disco lights. Brad remembers it as something woven into youth culture. Today, he notes, the United States still sustains that scale, with large crowds and thriving skating communities. In Canada, interest waned for a time but has recently experienced a revival — fuelled by pandemic-era rediscovery of outdoor and individual activities, nostalgic longing, and the amplifying power of TikTok and Instagram.
Locally, Brad has been quietly working to keep that revival alive.
For the past ten years, he has helped organize public roller-skating sessions at Clearwater Arena during the months when the ice is removed, typically from late April to late August. It is currently the only viable space in the area suitable for roller skating. The sessions draw an eclectic mix: teenagers tentatively learning crossovers, young adults rediscovering something they abandoned after high school, and people in their forties and fifties returning to a rhythm they never quite forgot. “What I really like to see is the young teenagers,” Brad says. “And now I see people my age bringing their grandkids.”
Each session seems to confirm what he already believes: there is an appetite for shared, physical activity that isn’t mediated by screens. Parents tell him regularly that the city needs more opportunities like this — that there isn’t enough for kids to do.
Skating, in its simplicity, offers something rare. It demands presence. You cannot scroll while gliding. You must pay attention to your body, to others on the floor, to the music, to balance. It is social without being performative. It is exercise disguised as joy.
Yet the limitations are structural. Sarnia Roller Skating is limited in how often it can book the arena — typically one or two days per week during the off-ice season. For the remainder of the year, there is no indoor facility locally dedicated to roller skating. The continuity he has maintained personally for 52 years is not easily replicated for the community.
“That’s one reason I’d like to expand what I’m doing,” he explains. “I’d love to find a place so we can do it year-round.”
He has begun exploring vacant commercial properties — warehouses with smooth cement floors, spaces that would require minimal retrofitting. “Ideally an empty warehouse with a nice clean cement floor would be perfect,” he says. “Basically, I’m looking for a place that’s ready to go.”
There are a couple of possibilities, he notes carefully, that could work if circumstances align. But before securing space, he understands that he needs something equally important: a broader base of committed participants.
His next step is organizational rather than architectural. Brad envisions forming a skating club — possibly structured as a co-operative — that would formalize meetups, create programming, and cultivate a stronger skating community. With enough momentum, a dedicated facility could evolve into something multi-generational and multi-purpose: a seniors’ activity centre during certain hours, space for skateboarding, perhaps even pickleball alongside roller skating.
It is an ambitious vision, but it grows organically from five decades of lived experience. Brad is not chasing a trend; he is stewarding a tradition.
In a city often defined by industry and shoreline, Brad’s circles on polished floors might seem small. Yet they represent something enduring: the quiet persistence of joy. While others chase novelty, he has remained faithful to something simple and physical — a practice that has outlasted employers, venues, and cultural cycles.
Fifty-two years after first lacing up skates at Skate Country, Brad is still in motion — not only for himself, but for the next generation waiting at the edge of the floor.
If you are interested in learning more about Sarnia Roller Skating, please visit their website at https://sarniarollerskating.ca/
Humans of Sarnia founder Art Connolly is a man fuelled by curiosity and a passion for connecting with people in Sarnia. Inspired by the renowned “Humans of New York” series, with a camera in hand, he captures the very essence of the individuals he encounters, preserving their stories through his lens. Follow his series on Instagram and Facebook.
