About Us
The world of ice skating runs through our veins, given that we have collectively got almost half a decade of skating experience between us!
We both entered the sport from different angles, here are our stories –
Leigh
I started my skating journey as a child of 6 years old in my heart rink of Ayr in Scotland, which is sadly no longer an operating ice rink, and I immediately found my happy place. Rather than being the very shy, introverted little girl, in the words of my ever-supportive Mum – I came alive on the ice! You would normally find me improvising to all the other kids’ skating music! I skated competitively in my younger years and was lucky enough to win the title of Scottish Junior champion and had the opportunity to represent Scotland at Skate Electric and other team competitions across the UK.
But interpreting music and performing became my world, so it was no surprise that when I moved with my family to Blackpool and watched my first Hot Ice Show that it all clicked into place – I was going to be a professional show skater!
At 16 years old, straight out of school I auditioned for Hot Ice and was given my first contract, I became a ‘regular’ in what was considered one of the best ice shows in the World, completing 11 Summer seasons, as well as a performance in New Orleans followed by a Stageworks UK tour, numerous Christmas pantos both on ice and on synthetic ice, a Summer season at Europa Park in Germany, a car launch in Copenhagen, a Christmas in Hong Kong, an ice circus in Qatar, pro skater on BBC’s Strictly on Ice and also being a reserve pro on Dancing on Ice and then possibly one of my most memorable performances was as a roller skating nun in the London Olympic closing ceremonies! It was the best of times and being able to perform in ice shows will always remain my best job ever!
Fast forward a number of years and I have just graduated from my latest role as a ‘Skater Mum’ as we very proudly watched our daughter follow in our footsteps in her first professional contract, a 9-month tour of Spain. Being able to share a love of this unique sport with our daughter is priceless and brings us so much joy. Our son did have make a brief appearance on the ice as a 5-year-old as a baby Olaf, but the skating bug didn’t quite stick with him and as cute as the performance was, he was a one-hit wonder.
Mark
In complete contrast to Leigh, I started my skating journey much later on in life (never too old to start!!)
I first took to the ice when my sister took me to the “beat night” at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Ice Arena. After this first experience on the ice at approximately 13 years old, I was hooked.
I bought my first pair of hockey skates and frequented the Arena 2/3 times a week. As I became more confident on the ice, I started playing (use the term loosely) Ice hockey. From hanging out at the Arena for most of my days, I secured my first job ushering at the world famous Hot Ice Show – watching all the incredible skaters perform in this amazing show. I progressed from front of house to working backstage as crew – operating the spotlights and in one season being a flying operator. I still had the skating bug within me, and it was not until I was 18 years of age that I bought my first pair of figure skates!!
I had a real desire to become a show skater – and trained most evenings after the show with my incredible coach John McCarrick, sadly no longer with us. He taught me all the ins and outs of becoming a show skater. Believe it or not, after only 2 months figure skating, I attended my first audition for Disney On Ice in Sheffield – an amazing but nerve-wrecking experience. Needless to say that after only 2 months, I was not successful. However, this only fuelled my desire and I found myself back at Sheffield 12 months later for my second audition with Disney.
Then I received the call – I had been accepted into Disney!!! This was a dream come true and the start of my 7 year adventure travelling all over the world, taking me to some incredible countries – Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, Uruguay, Argentina, China, Hong Kong and nearly all the states in America – to name just a few.
Unbelievably, I was fortunate enough to become a principle character – portraying the Beast in Beauty and the Beast for 3 years followed by King Triton in The Little Mermaid!!
Now we watch our daughter follow on in our footsteps, and we could not be prouder.
Skating has been such a big part of our lives, and now we can carry our passion on for skating, bringing to you The Skatewear Company.
Preparing you perfectly for the ice
Our history and experiences mean that we understand how important it is to have skating apparel that is both functional and beautiful. Skating clothes need to be versatile, able to adapt to training both on and off ice and able to withstand the varying temperatures in ice rinks as well as being resilient to meet the demands of even the toughest training sessions and as parents we know the value of items that are quality to maintain. The brands that we collaborate with offer skaters a variety of styles to match the skater’s personalities and unique style but still offers premium functionality.
We have already built up a great customer base over the last 5 years being the UK agent for Karisma and we are excited to add Thuono, JIV and Intermezzo to our brand-new web-shop…..
We welcome you to The Skatewear Company – a brand made by skaters for skaters!