This was the first photo I ever saw of 52Kings: pink hair, blue lights, clearly pleasing the crowd at Emerald City Gala, and you canât see it in the photo, but heâs on roller skates. (My photographer told me about the skates; thank you, Zen.) Who wears roller skates to a concert? Who wears roller skates to perform at a concert? I needed to know more.

Turns out 52Kings is exactly as compelling as that photo made him appear. Heâs a bright-haired, roller-skating R&B musician. Heâs also a model, a licensed cosmetologist, and a professional speed skater. You may have seen him skating around town, either at a venue or at a regular olâ skatepark. (He likes Judkins and Marginal Way.) Or you might have seen him playing the piano, guitar, bass, cello, trombone, or trumpet at a local show. Or you could have just seen his bright hair bobbing above the crowd on a busy night on Queen Anne or Capitol Hill.
I sat down with 52Kings to ask him all the burning questions such as âDo you sleep?â (4-6 hours a night) and âDoes Seattle have a good skating culture?â (Yes: Olympians Apolo Ohno and J.R. Celski are both from Federal Way). Hereâs what else he had to say about cycling through neon hair colors, traveling the world, and how Seattle music venues stack up when it comes to roller skating.

THE STRANGER: Whereâd you get your stage name?
52KINGS: My brother had a deck of cards, and they were all kings from all around the world: Turkey, China, everywhere. He traveled the world collecting them. He never let me touch the deck. He was like, âThis is my sacred deck. You canât touch this.â And I was like, âAll right, I wonât. Iâll take the name.â So I took the name on, and now when you Google it you find me. To this day I still never touched the deck.
Whatâs your favorite kind of skating?
I got into quads [roller skates] when I moved here because of roller derby. I started playing for Puget Sound Outcast Derby, a menâs roller derby league. Most people donât know about [menâs roller derby]. Then I slowly transitioned into just doing mostly roller derby and not speed skating. Speed skating is fun, but youâre just going really fast. Less than 30 seconds later, youâve either got a medal or you fall. With roller skating, you can dance around. Roller derby is basically just dancing your way through the pack, and then you get your points.
You went to Colombia for speed skating. Where else have you been?
Iâve been to Colombia a couple of times for speed skating, and every time itâs better and better. The culture of speed skating is huge. Iâve been to France. A lot of places in the United States people donât know for skating. Thereâs the Disney inline marathon they used to do. They used to skate through Disney and Epcot. NorthShore Inline Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Spain. Japan. Thereâs so many places. Italy. I like France. And GermanyâI got to do skating and music, like a little tour.

How did you learn to skate?
Me and my sister learned to skate when we were younger. We were just dropped off at the skating rink. My sister did figure skating, and I wanted to do hockey. I was alright at handling the puck, but I was really fast. One of my coaches that scouted me, he told my mom âIâm going to make this kid the best.â And he did. I won everything. There were years I won consecutive races, championships. I was fully committed.Â
Why did you start skating during performances?
You see somebody standing in the middle of the stage. Thereâs a microphone. They stand there and sing or do whatever they do, and the crowd is all around them. The crowd is everywhere. How do you interact with all of those people at one time? My skates are an extension of me. Itâs my feet and the wheels. Itâs easier to communicate with the crowd. Also, with COVID, Iâm not staying in one space. Plus itâs entertaining. People are like âWhoa, this guyâs on skates.â Or, if they know me, âHeâs going to come out and skateâbut is he? Is he?â
Have you ever fallen on stage?
No. Iâve jumped off the stage. Itâs something about people not expecting you to jump off the stage on skates. They subconsciously make a circle, and it feels like youâre not at a show anymore. It feels like theyâre a part of it. Theyâre invested. I wish everybody could be on skates. Thatâs the next move. A show at Southgate.
Whatâs your worst wipeout story?
It was speed skating. It was me and another colleague of mine. I hit the last corner, and I passed him. Itâs called throwing hipsâhe took his left hand and pushed my hip. I was falling, and then he tried to jump over me and landed on me. It was crazy. I always tell people, if youâre gonna go roller skating, anywhere you go, wear wrist guards. You need those wrists, you canât be typing, writingânothing without wrists.

Does your skating inform your music? Do you ever choreograph your sets?
You know, I donât. Iâm just on my skates, and when I start performing itâs like, âOh there I go.â I call it catching the spirit. If youâre thinking of anime, itâs like, âOh, heâs going off. His levelâs up on the radar.â When I get a groove itâs like I donât even know Iâm skating anymore.
Whatâs the most skate-friendly local venue?
All of them! Nobodyâs ever said no to the skates. But I love the sound of the wood floor at Havana. Chop Suey has a really good venue when it comes to the skates because the floor is flat. The stage at Neumos is kind of uphill so if people are in the back they can still see. I like Barboza because the stage isnât that high up, but it sticks out so you can hop off and hop back on and have a good time.
How does the skate scene differ from the music scene in Seattle?
I would say the skate scene is more forgiving. They want to help, help, help, help. Like, âOh, you need skates. Any wheels? We got it.â The music scene is a little different. You gotta work a little harder. And if you mess up, youâll be remembered for that mess-up. But in the skate world, itâs very lenient. I think that has to do with the fact that one thing people are paying you to do versus one thing youâre paying to.Â
Youâre also known for your bright hair. How often do you change it? What are some of your favorite hairstyles youâve had?
I change my hair every two weeks or once a month. Once I had this teal, like this crazy electric blue. Wa Na Wari did this event with Malcolm Wolfdelux. It was a photoshoot, a fashion show. So my face was on there, and I did music for it. Next thing I know, I see myself on these buses. Iâm talking 40something buses in the city. Somebody was like âDude, youâre on the bus.â Iâm like âI donât ride the bus. Whatâre you talking about?â And then he sent me a video, and itâs me with the blue hair. It was sponsored by the Frye Art Museum. They did this whole ad with Wa Na Wari. So Iâm just like âOh, Iâm on buses!â And it just so happened that I was coming out with a whole album, In Remembrance to Reparations. That came out, the bus came out. It did great because of the advertising!