Powerslide

German origins. Powerslide is a German skating company founded in 1994 by Matthias Knoll and Stefan Göhl. Knoll came to the business from competitive speed skating rather than from the sporting-goods industry. Powerslide's own account dates the beginning of his skating to 1975, when he was six years old and skating on wooden quad roller skates. He later competed nationally and internationally and became a member of the German national team. The company also states that, in the early 1990s, he became the first member of the German team to switch to inline skates and win races on them; the sources reviewed here do not independently establish that priority, so it is retained only as a manufacturer account. [1–3]

Roll Knoll and the roots of the business. Before Powerslide existed, Knoll sold speed-skating equipment directly to other competitors from his car under the name Roll Knoll. His relationship with former world champion and Hyper Wheels founder Tom Peterson helped give him access to wheels and other products, while his distribution portfolio expanded to include equipment from several skating manufacturers. Powerslide's detailed chronology dates the start of Roll Knoll to 1989, while Knoll gave 1988 in a later published interview. The available evidence therefore places the origin of the business in the late 1980s rather than resolving that one-year difference. Roll Knoll was subsequently renamed Speed Line in 1993 as the business expanded beyond the race circuit. [1, 3]

The 1994 turning point. Knoll and Göhl founded Powerslide in 1994. That summer also marked the end of Knoll's competitive career. According to both Powerslide's company history and the later interview with Knoll, he had the opportunity to compete at the speed skating World Championships in France at the same time that the new company had the opportunity to present itself at ISPO in Munich. Knoll chose the trade show and left top-level competition to concentrate on the business. Powerslide's chronology also records Peterson supporting the new company at ISPO through access to brands and favourable payment terms. [1–3]

Distribution before manufacturing. Powerslide initially operated primarily as a distribution company, selling products from established skating and action-sports brands rather than relying on a complete proprietary product range. Its portfolio included names such as Senate, 976, Boneless and Pro-Tec, alongside speed-skating brands. Powerslide states that at the height of the 1990s inline boom it distributed more than 50 brands. In 1996, the company also established the distribution subsidiary Disroyal for a number of emerging action-sports brands. [1–3]

The 1997 strategic shift. The rapid expansion of inline skating did not continue indefinitely. Powerslide and Knoll's later interview both describe 1997–1998 as a period of severe market contraction, particularly in aggressive inline skating, with brands disappearing, distributors carrying unsold stock and the market becoming substantially smaller. Powerslide responded by changing its business model: instead of depending mainly on products developed by other companies, it began putting greater emphasis on designing and developing its own products and brands. Powerslide identifies innovation, quality, performance and design as the four principles around which this strategy was organised. [1–3]

Upside Down and the beginning of the proprietary brand portfolio. Powerslide's first major original brand emerged from that strategic change. Upside Down was formed in 1997 as a Powerslide sub-brand focused on aggressive inline skating and was later renamed Universal Skate Design (USD). Its equipment emphasised replaceable and interchangeable components, allowing skaters to configure parts of their skates rather than treating the skate as a completely fixed product. The creation of USD marked an important transition from Powerslide acting primarily as a distributor to building a portfolio of brands and products of its own. [1–4]

From one company to a multi-brand skating group. Powerslide subsequently expanded its proprietary brand ecosystem across several skating disciplines and component categories. Its present portfolio identifies USD Skates, Kizer frames, Matter racing wheels, Undercover wheels, Ennui protection, Wicked bearings, MYFIT liners and Chaya roller skates and components, alongside the Powerslide-branded skate ranges. The group consequently extends beyond speed skating into fitness, urban, aggressive, off-road and quad skating, while retaining a substantial racing operation. [1, 2, 5]

Athletes as part of product development. Powerslide currently states that it supports more than 100 skaters and ambassadors worldwide and uses that network for product testing and feedback. This figure and the description of the athletes' role come from the manufacturer and are not presented here as independently audited sponsorship data. The practice nevertheless reflects a recurring feature of Powerslide's history: competitive skaters have been closely involved with the development and promotion of its equipment. [2, 5]

Dedicated inline racing equipment and adjustable frame alignment. After previously distributing racing equipment from manufacturers including Bont, Ultimate and Verducci, Powerslide introduced its own dedicated inline race collection in 2002. The same period saw the introduction of the X-Slot mounting system. It combines a longitudinal mounting element in the boot with a transverse slot in the frame, allowing the frame to be moved both fore-and-aft and laterally beneath the boot. X-Slot remains part of Powerslide's current mounting technology. [1, 3, 6]

Composite, ventilated and heat-adjustable race shells. Powerslide's development record places its Skeleton-C concept — carbon shells incorporating ventilation — and SHMR heat-moulding technology in the 2006 racing range. SHMR was intended to allow composite shells to be repeatedly reshaped using heat. Powerslide records the introduction of basalt fibre into its speed-skate shells in 2009. The material evolution remains visible in modern equipment: current ACCEL race boots use carbon and Kevlar constructions and are specified as heat mouldable at 110°C, while the Falcon range uses hybrid basalt and glass-fibre shells with the same stated moulding temperature. [1, 3, 7–8]

Dial closure and modular boot support. Powerslide incorporated the BOA dial-closure system into its speed-skating equipment in 2005 and also records a race-skate configuration with a detachable cuff during the same period. A contemporary 2005 review of the Powerslide R4 independently documents the use and operation of the BOA tightening system on that boot. Powerslide describes its implementation as the first BOA system used on inline skates, but the sources reviewed here do not independently establish that priority; the historical claim is therefore limited to Powerslide's documented use of the system. [1, 3, 9]

Advocacy for larger racing wheels. Powerslide documents a 2007 “Legalize 110mm” campaign, during which its racing team used prisoner-style uniforms to draw attention to the proposed increase in permitted wheel diameter. A surviving contemporary report reproduces a communication from CIC President Roberto Marotta stating that wheels with a maximum diameter of 110 mm would be permitted under CIC international rules from 1 January 2008. The evidence establishes both Powerslide's campaign and the subsequent rule change, but does not by itself demonstrate that the campaign caused the decision. [1, 3, 10]

Development towards three-wheel racing. Powerslide records three-wheel skate development before the arrival of 125 mm racing equipment, including the use of the “Triskate” name on a three-wheel fitness skate in 2010. This history is relevant to the later racing configuration, but it should not be used to claim that Powerslide invented every form of three-wheel inline skate. The more strongly documented contribution is the company's role in developing and promoting the modern large-wheel three-wheel configuration that culminated in 3x125 mm racing equipment. [1, 3]

Three-wheel 125 mm racing. In early 2015, independent technical coverage reported that 125 mm speed-skating wheels had reached the market at Powerslide's instigation and described the company's efforts to obtain acceptance of the new diameter in competition. Later that year, the Berlin Inline Marathon provided a significant demonstration of the format: Bart Swings won for Powerslide/Matter in 56:49, setting a course record, while the official event report noted that for the first time the majority of the elite field was racing on three 125 mm wheels. The evidence therefore supports Powerslide as a major driver of the development and adoption of 3x125 mm equipment in elite inline racing, without requiring the broader claim that it invented all three-wheel skates. [1, 11–12]

Triangular three-point mounting. Powerslide's later TRINITY system is documented in a patent family with priority from 28 January 2015. The design places one fastening point centrally at the heel and two fastening points on opposite sides of the forefoot, creating a triangular boot-to-frame connection. The European patent was subsequently granted. This should not be described as the invention of three-point inline mounting in general: the Powerslide patent documentation cites Bont's earlier 2005-priority three-point inline-skate arrangement as prior art. The defensible Powerslide development is therefore the specific triangular three-point geometry and associated frame architecture, rather than three-point mounting itself. [13–14]

Parallel mounting architectures. Powerslide's current racing range continues to support different approaches to boot/frame integration rather than replacing every earlier standard with TRINITY. The ACCEL 195 uses conventional 195 mm two-point mounting, while the Final 125 uses Powerslide's three-point TRINITY system. Mounting geometry therefore remains part of a broader equipment choice involving boot construction, frame height, wheel configuration and intended use. [7, 15–16]

This History is ODYTA editorial content based on the manufacturer, interview, contemporary editorial, event and patent sources listed below.

Sources accessed 19 October 2026. Powerslide's company histories, brand histories and technical product pages are identified as manufacturer sources. They provide unusually detailed chronology but are not treated as independent corroboration of the company's own claims of priority, market leadership or performance.

The long-form Powerslide history published by Rollerenligne.com incorporates an interview with founder Matthias Knoll. The publisher is independent of Powerslide, but statements supplied by Knoll within the interview remain first-party testimony and are treated accordingly.

Two different dates exist for the beginning of Knoll's pre-Powerslide business. Powerslide's detailed chronology dates the start of Roll Knoll to 1989, while Knoll stated in the Rollerenligne interview that he began the business in 1988. This History therefore describes its origin as the late 1980s rather than selecting one date without qualification.

Powerslide states that Knoll was the first member of the German national team to switch to inline skates and win races, and makes a number of additional “first”, “world's first” and industry-leadership claims throughout its corporate history. Such descriptions have not automatically been converted into ODYTA factual claims. Where independent or documentary evidence was insufficient, the text either attributes the statement to Powerslide or omits the priority claim.

The account of the 1994 World Championships / ISPO decision is supported both by Powerslide's current history and by the later published interview with Knoll. The evidence supports the conclusion that Knoll chose the business opportunity at ISPO rather than continuing his top-level competitive career; it does not indicate that he travelled to the World Championships and then withdrew from them.

The 1997 business-model change is similarly present both in Powerslide's corporate history and in Knoll's later interview. The broader claim that the inline market contracted sharply is therefore used as historical context, while Powerslide's assessment of its own strategy and products remains company testimony.

Patent documents are used to establish disclosed designs, priority relationships, publication or grant history and technical geometry. They do not by themselves establish superior performance, commercial success or universal adoption. In particular, Powerslide's TRINITY patent family cites an earlier Bont three-point mounting arrangement as prior art, so TRINITY is not described here as the first three-point inline-skate mounting system.

For the 2007–2008 transition to 110 mm wheels, the surviving contemporary source reproduces the CIC communication announcing that a maximum wheel diameter of 110 mm would be permitted from 1 January 2008. This is sufficient to document the regulatory change, but not to prove that Powerslide's “Legalize 110mm” campaign caused it.

For the 2015 Berlin Inline Marathon, Powerslide and some related historical sources give Bart Swings' time as 56:48. The official BMW Berlin Marathon report and results record 56:49. The official event result is therefore used here.

Current product specifications and the claim that Powerslide supports more than 100 skaters and ambassadors describe the company's position at the time the sources were accessed and should not be interpreted as permanent historical figures.