If you've been stuck in quarantine, watching beautiful people blissfully roller-skate in some gorgeous, sun-drenched place is bound to pique your interest.
That is perhaps one of the reasons why roller-skating is making a comeback in a big way, thanks to TikTok.
Ana Coto is an actress and dancer in Los Angeles who's made a huge splash on the app for her roller-skating videos that make you wonder why you're not already rolling around yourself.
Like this one with more than 10 million views, showing Coto looking devastatingly cool while skating to some J.Lo.
Coto has only been on TikTok since February, but her follower count has quickly skyrocketed to 1.1 million.
"I’m pretty much just shocked," she told BuzzFeed News.
Coto skated a bit as a kid but picked it up again three years ago after a friend had a dream that they'd all gone skating.
"I told her that I couldn’t skate, and she said that she basically didn’t believe me," said Coto.
They went to Moonlight Rollerway and Coto was "remarkably bad," she said. But she kept at it, got better, and now it's pure bliss. And she thinks that's why people have enjoyed watching.
"I know how I feel when I’m skating so I can only imagine people are smart and I don’t have to tell them, 'Hey, look how happy I feel.' You can just sense it," she said.
Coto has been so popular that she's being credited with sparking a new trend that's seeing other young women pick up skates for the first time.
tiktok got me considering buying quarantine roller skates
is tiktok making anybody else really want to buy roller skates
that woman roller skating to jenny from the block on tiktok is making buying my own dope pair of roller skates sound like a great idea. pls don’t refer to this tweet when i inevitably snap both of my chicken legs in half whilst trying to skate.
Google Trends shows a recent surge in searches for "roller skates," and it's translating into actual sales. Moxi Skates and Impala, two roller skate companies known for their on-trend colors and patterns, told BuzzFeed News they've both experienced a recent uptick in sales.
"Demand has definitely been off the charts, and we have been hustling to keep all sizes and colors in stock," an Impala spokesperson said.
Indeed, many styles on both sites are sold out, and people have been complaining that they can't seem to find skates in stock.
So I just want to buy a pair of roller skates but thanks to TikTok - they are sold out EVERYWHERE online
Marician Dedeaux Brown, who also lives in California, starting skating three months ago after seeing it on social media.
"I was scrolling through TikTok and saw these great women skating, and it just inspired me to buy a pair of skates and I just fell in love with it," she told BuzzFeed News.
Brown, 23, serves in the Marine Corps and said skating is the perfect after-work activity.
"I like how freeing it is. I like how if I have a stressful day at work I can just lace up my skates and just release all the stress," she said.
She's even started posting her own TikToks, all shot by her wife who also skates. Her latest one has more than 640,000 views.
"It’s a lot, and I’m just thankful that people find me inspiring," she said. "I have seen a lot of people get into skating, and I think it’s beautiful. I think it’s great."
Like Coto, she agrees that just watching people skate is good vibes all around.
"Not everybody has that ability to go outside because of the weather or because of their state’s current lockdown situation. It’s a chance for them to just live through the video and create some kind of serotonin," she said.
Brown said that if you are inspired to get out there and skate, the important thing is to get used to falling.
"It’s not about keeping from falling. It’s about how not to fall," she said.
Coto said wearing proper protective gear is also important, so your new hobby doesn't land you in the hospital. When she first started out, she broke her wrist. But she's also glad to know that people are picking up the sport at least in part thanks to her videos.
"I’m so even a little bit proud for this to be my claim — that’s really, really beautiful."