What to know
- Kerr discovered rollerskating during the pandemic, turning a garage hobby into a new passion and career.
- His skating videos gained traction online, leading to teaching gigs, national presentations, and the launch of Rollstar Entertainment.
Union Station first invited him back to skate during live DJ sets after his 2022 removal. - This year, Kerr and Rollstar Entertainment are officially partnering with Union’s Roller Express program to teach visitors how to skate.
Three years ago, a Canadian track athlete was kicked out of Toronto’s Union Station for rollerskating to a DJ’s set. Now, in a full-circle moment, he has been invited back to teach others how to stand and vibe on wheels.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Brampton resident Jared Kerr had always envisioned himself as a student athlete. After getting a scholarship at the University of Houston, Kerr majored in psychology, with a minor in business administration and massage therapy, and became a star athlete at the school’s track and field team.
After graduation, he had plans to keep training and secure a work permit in the U.S. to invest in opening his own facility to support athletes training both their bodies and minds. But once the pandemic hit and Athletics Canada announced it would be cutting funds for athletes abroad, he found himself back home.
“Everything was closed to the highest level, there was no exception for any level of athlete. So, that put me in a position where I was just home, and for the first time in my life, I was still. I had nothing to do,” he told Now Toronto on Wednesday.
“[Going] from post collegiate to professional, that bridge, tends to be tough for some athletes. COVID just made it extra tough, and so my mental health was not good at that time.”
That was when he stumbled upon his father’s old roller skates in his garage, and decided to try them on out of boredom. But in trying to pass the time, Kerr found a hobby that would change his future.
“I applied that same mentality that I had from track, literally the Olympic-level mentality, and I was looking at it like, ‘I’m training, I don’t know what I’m training for, but I’m training.’ And so that mentality drove me to excellence.”
After posting his progress online, opportunities started to come to him, from people asking him to teach them how to skate to professional presentations across the country and even abroad.
In 2022, Kerr launched Rollstar Entertainment, a multipurpose entertainment service company that connects skaters with brands and gigs, and took his hobby to the next level. With the company, Kerr has led several projects, including for TV shows, commercials, movies, music videos, and more.
“I started Rollstar Entertainment because I want to turn my passion into a profession, and helping get my friends paid to do something that they love to do every once in a while is really nice,” he added.
FULL CIRCLE MOMENT
Kerr made headlines three years ago for being kicked out of Union Station by a security guard during his commute from downtown Toronto to Brampton, after he took out his skates and rolled around to one of the station’s guest DJs.
“I put my skates on, I started skating, and [it] didn’t take long for a group of people to form around and record, kids asking to take pictures with me. But the commotion caused the security to come, and one of the security guards [was] gently… like ‘I’m sorry, but you gotta go.’”
Instead of being frustrated with the incident, Kerr had the idea of DMing the Union Station team and giving them an idea for a roller skating rink filled with great DJ sets. To his surprise, the team responded to his idea, and actually followed up on the initiative.
Firstly, Kerr was invited by Union to come back to the station and vibe away to DJ sets on his skates and interact with guests.
“Basically [I] was employed by Union Station to skate around Union Station, wherever the DJ was. And they even had stanchions…around me. I felt like art, it felt nice. And I met a lot of people,” he said.
But the collaboration didn’t stop there.
In 2023, Union, in partnership with TD, launched Roller Express, a segment of its Union Winter initiative, which offers a free indoor roller rink, with free skate rentals, complimentary lessons, themed nights, and family-friendly sessions.
@nowtoronto It’s that time again! Experience a full roller skating fantasy at Toronto's Union Station for free until Jan. 2026. 🛼 Click the link in our bio and head to nowtoronto.com for more info. #Toronto #UnionStation ♬ original sound – Now Toronto
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Although Kerr was away working on another project for the first two years of the initiative, this year, Union Station is collaborating with Kerr and Rollstar Entertainment, this time to open the event with a presentation and teach Roller Express participants how to stand and vibe on wheels.
“It is a beautiful story…I know some people may see this story and draw inspiration from it, because it’s what fuels me and what inspires me to keep going. I started off by getting kicked out, and now I’m hired not only to teach and skate, but to provide the teachers for the other classes and that’s just cool.”
Union’s Roller Express started on Nov. 26 and will keep rolling until Jan. 18. While workshops are happening on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
