LIZ “Lizard” FORLANO

Why do you still play as an adult?

Rollerskating was something that came pretty naturally to me when I was younger and I always thought it was fun. It made me wanna try to skate other ways too (on a Walmart board with a SpongeBob graphic to be exact) but I never stuck with any of it.

Now 20 something years later I started actively rollerskating again through roller derby. As much as I loved the sport, when I finally discovered quad park skating it was like I had found my purpose. That might sound cliché but it's no joke. I have never been happier than in the time I have moved to Chicago and began dedicating more of my time to skating. As for kendama, the mere fact that it is literally a toy that I get excited over playing kind of speaks for itself.

It's such an awesome thing to exist because I think anyone can enjoy it and I'm glad I can share it with others the way it was shared with me.

Describe your overall style.

I'm not sure if I give off a certain style but if I had to break it down I'd say I feel street vibes, as far as skating I prefer the idea of always skating outside and I like the versatility of street obstacles rather than transition skating. My clothing style probably reflects that as well because I like to wear clothes that are going to be practical/ comfortable to skate in but still keep that edge. Of course I like to dress up a little every now and then too but you'll never catch me skating in a skirt haha.

When it comes to kendama, I don't really know how people describe their styles but what I'd say about mine is that I like to just mess around until I feel tricks that flow or make sense to me and I'll just go fast and see what happens. Sometimes it works!

Additional affiliations:

Along with being on the NFKrew, Im a quad skater riding for Mass Transit Wheels and Brainfreeze Skate Wax.

Music choice:

I've been listening to all kinds of music since I was a kid and I definitely have my mom to thank for that. My music taste isn't super specific and I can tolerate mostly anything but country. My go-to genre is definitely rock though- alternative, grunge, hardcore, punk etc is all good with me.