By Lindsay Peyton

By day, he runs a business devoted to his favorite sport Grn Mnstr Roller Sports, an online wholesale company that serves up the products he designed and created to help skaters. The company is known for Antik Skateboots, Heartless Wheels, Gumball Toestops, as well as other skate –related apparel and accessories.

In the evenings, Sanders is almost always in the rink – either coaching the Rat City Rollergirls, training for the men’s team he helped create, the Puget Sound Outcast Derby, or just unwinding and having fun on four wheels.
Sanders, also known as Quadzilla L.K., has competed internationally in inline skating and roller derby, and even starred in a television show based on bank track roller derby.

His journey began simply enough. The self-described “rink rat” who grew up in Tacoma took a job at a skate shop right as the inline craze started in the early 1990s. He received a sponsorship from a local skating company and started traveling the world, visiting various skate parks, signing up for different competitions and learning all about the products in the industry.

When inline skating’s popularity started to wane, Sanders went to Florida to star for four seasons on “RollerJam,” a television series about roller derby that aired on the Nashville Network (now Spike).

After the show, Sanders returned to Seattle and became known for break-dancing on skates. In 2005, he joined the “Quad Express” jam skating team, which went to the national finals of the Roll Bounce Championship.
He started coaching the Rat City Rollergirls in their first season. “They were still learning the game, and they asked me to teach them the basic stuff about roller derby,” Sanders said.

In 2008, Sanders started his own company to offer the products he knew skaters needed – but didn’t exist on the market yet.

“I’ve been in this industry my whole life,” Sanders said. “You generally start making things out of necessity. What do I want? What products are missing? I knew other people out there felt the same way.”

He started designing skates that would provide more ankle support, lighter wheels that would allow for more agile movement in the rink and toe stops that became top sellers.

“I’m in touch with the market and the skaters,” Sanders said. “I’ve stayed relevant, because I’m still coaching and skating. I’m always trying to innovate and do things better. I keep my ear to the ground.”
His top-notch products have made Grn Mnstr Rollersports a fixture in a number of skate shops, including Fast Girl Skates.

The shop’s owner Jennifer Savaglio is also a former member of Rat City Rollergirls and Sanders was one of her favorite coaches. “He’s tough but fair,” she said. “He made you want to work harder – and he’d get right in there with you.”

Years before he was her coach, Savaglio knew Sanders as a skater and sales rep. “He was the best thing you’d ever seen on skates,” she said. “He was amazing to watch.”

She was excited to see him develop his own products. “I knew him, I trusted him and I believed in him,” Savaglio said. “He’s an incredible innovator. He’s the one who is always breaking new ground and making new standards in product and performance.”

Savaglio has been impressed with his progress in the industry. “He never gets tired,” she said. “He keeps on looking for the next big thing. He’s been an inspiration.”

The dedication comes naturally to Sanders – and while he works long hours and spends a lot of time in the rink, there’s nothing else he’d rather do.

“I just like skating,” he said. “It’s always been a part of my life. I have a good time when I’m skating. I don’t worry. I don’t stress. I just go out and do my thing.”

http://grnmnstr.com