JD: First, congratulations on your huge success at Worlds. In 8 years you have 48 World Championship medals -- 7 this year alone. You’ve basically accomplished everything in roller skating, what are your goals now?

CH: Thank you. My goals are the same as they’ve always been. My sponsor, Hyper, will help me make the sport bigger and to make the sport more visible to the public. I always felt it was my responsiblity being in the position I’m in, to make the sport grow.

JD: Speaking of Hyper, what’s going on with Chad Hedrick the business man? How about your contract?

CH I have been trying to find a home where I’m comfortable. Now I’ve found it again at Hyper. I really enjoy working with Jon Elliott. We can accomplish a lot for the sport in the next 2-1/2 years. I think technology is going to get better as well. I’m really looking forward to that. My contract with Hyper is for 2-1/2 yrs with an option to extend another 2 years. We started our relationship in 1994. It’s pretty good to be able to go back and feel at home. I’ve always used Hyper wheels.

JD: Is Derek Downing going to join you on Team Hyper?

CH: I’d love for Derek to join me. It’s a business now for everybody. He’s got a house in Atlanta and I’ve got my house in Houston. He’s got a wife and family. We’ll see what happens. I’m really interested to see if that could be arranged.

JD: What about being a team player?

CH: Many people have seen me racing with Derek and Keith. I’m a team player and don’t mind working for others. Some people think I’m selfish, but it’s a team sport now. You have to realize you can’t win everytime and that a win for your team is a win for yourself.

JD: How long do you plan on racing?

CH: At World Championships this year, it seems that the competition remains the same every year. If I can have the success I’ve had this year, I don’t see any reason why I can’t continue to race and win.

JD: Will you race the 2002 Euro circuit?

CH: Oh yeah. That’s the reason I’m with Hyper, we’re trying to broaden horizons and increase distribution. Hyper has a good presence in the U.S. It’s important for us to have a good showing globally. Along with races, I’ll be doing clinics all around the world. I’m excited about that, trying to get fitness skaters to move up to the next level.

JD: We cover the clinic you held in conjunction with the Midwest Inline Challenge in Chicago [in the print version of this issue of FaSST]. Do you enjoy teaching?

CH: Sure. Part of the deal with Hyper is that we’ll be doing probably 8-10 clinics per year, quite a few internationals, more in NY, one in Chicago. I’m interested in helping others now. The more people you help, the more the sport grows. That’s a major plus.

JD: Do you have advice for beginners?

CH: To go out there and enjoy skating. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t force yourself to do it. There are plenty of other opportunities in the world to be successful.

JD: Back to the international scene. What do you see as the difference between the growth of racing in Europe and the U.S.?

CH: The European market is race oriented. Every person there likes racing. Whereas in the U.S. there are many sports to compete with, tough to get the doors open. Europe welcomes us with open arms so we can take advantage of that. Hopefully it will get real big there and help grow the sport back here.

JD: Worlds next year will be track only in Belgium. How will this affect you?

CH: You can really skate fast on that track, so it should not be a problem, sort of like indoor skating. I’m really excited to get back out there, with the new faces. Jordan Malone’s moving up to Senior so we should really have a good team next year. We’re looking for more people on the team to diversify. We don’t have many sprinters right now, we only have three distance skaters.

JD: Has your indoor roller skating given you an advantage?

CH: Definitely. We grew up indoor skating. Look at the Americans from the last 3 eras: Tom Peterson, Dante and Tony Muse, and myself, and now people like Jordan Malone, juniors coming up, it is pretty apparent that indoor skating gives a big advantage over other countries who skate outdoor only.

JD: What race do you dread the most?

CH: I really dread the really, really long distances. It’s really scarey that the people in charge of the sport globally think the future is in the long distance racing. I think the future is in the 300/500m, 10/20/40K, on a 4-500m track where the spectators can keep contact with skaters and positions, and be in touch with the strategies. I don’t think there’s a future in a race that’s 2-1/2 hours long where you see skaters for 3 minutes within that 2-1/2 hours.

JD: Internationally the long distances are very popular. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing and inline skating may debut with a marathon. Do you see yourself there?

CH: I don’t know. I’m the first profssional skater who started out at age 16. You try to see how far you can go before you’re burnt out. I’ll be 31 years old then. I don’t know if I’ll be able to race but I’m sure people will understand that I’m part of the reason for skating being in the Olympics and I feel that I’ve been a responsible part of the growth of the sport. No one knows how long you can go at that level of skating.

JD: You’ve seen the success of KC Boutiette, Derek Parra, Jondon Trevena, Joey Cheek, Jennifer Rodriguez and other inliners who’ve crossed over to ice. What about the Olympics in Salt Lake City?

CH: The best of luck to those guys, I’m sure they’ll do well. Metric ice skating against the clock is not my style. I talk to KC every now and then and he wants me to skate short track. There’s a lot at stake for me to skate ice, not only financially, but knowing that if I left this sport there’d be something missing.

JD: Lets talk about equipment. What is your opinion on ceramic bearings?

CH: I’ve never really tried them myself, but I’ve heard other people have good luck with them. I’ve skated on Boss Bearings for more than 8 years now and am pretty happy with them.

JD: What is your opinion on inline claps?

CH For myself I don’t think it’s that beneficial. For others it may work. For my technique it doesn’t make much sense. I’ve had thousands of people trying to learn my technique. As soon as inline clap skates came out, they wanted me to change my technique. I was sort of blown away by it. I’m reading articles in magazines with everybody talking about my technique, with claps I’d have to change my skating. I figure my technique is right for me.

JD: You’re known for your double push technique. Where did this come from? Why does it work?

CH: It was natural and I do not know if it is the best or correct way, but I get by the best by using it but I think work ethic is more important than technique.

JD: How’s the Hyper Nitrous Hi-low frame?

CH: The Hi-low frame gives a really big advantage both indoor and outdoor. For Indoor the back 2 wheels have a bigger tire, last longer and you get better traction [2-84’s in back, 3-80’s in front.] For outdoor the overall roll down the straightaway. We’re finishing the testing this week and I’ll be in California next week to polish up on all the details.

JD: Are we going to see a Chad Hedrick line from Hyper?

CH: I don’t know. I would hope to see that and put something together with Hyper at a decent price so that people can afford to get involved in the sport.

JD: How much and when do you find any down time?

CH: Hard to say, I get only short breaks. Between races, shows, training and clinics, it’s pretty much a full time job.

JD: Here’s a questions you probably get asked alot: "Do you cross train?"

CH: Before I never did, but now I’ve got a new bike and am trying to broaden my base and play more sports this year. Of course I’ll be skating all the time like I always have.

JD: How do you stay motivated? You skate so many events.

CH: I don’t know how many events I skate a year. Motivation is the hardest thing to maintain in any sport. After I’ve accomplished what I have, it’s very difficult to go out and race against the same people. You dig down deep. I hate to lose. I think that motivates me the whole time. Everyone wants me to lose.

JD: You’ve got a target on your back.

CH: I’m really excited by the challenge.

JD: I know you always respected your Dad and his coaching. You probably couldn’t have done all this without the help of your family. How does your Dad help you at this elite level as a coach?

CH: At this point in my career, it’s not really knowledge about skating that my Dad covers now, but the motivation. I’ve never seen a person who can motivate you like my father. That’s why I give it all I’ve got. when I’m out there on the track I want to win more than everybody out there. It’s been a major learning curve for me. It’s in my head when I get out there. My Dad did this.

JD: Forget about personalities and nationalities. Go back 10 years, if you were able to pick a 4-person all-star men’s team, who would it be?

CH: Along with myself I would choose Tom Peterson and Dante Muse because they both had the same desire to win as I do. And also Derek Downing because he understands that it takes a team to win rather than individual ability. Nowdays in this sport, in order to be successful, team skating is more important that it ever has been.

JD: Who is your idol?

CH: I didn’t really have an idol, I liked a lot of skaters. I looked up to Scott Hiatt, I liked the way he raced. Scott was in control during a race and kept his temper. I liked that. He carried himself well on and off the track.

JD: What’s your first success on inlines?

CH: My first success was winning in France at the ‘94 Championships.

JD: What race win is your favorite?

CH: The race that I remember with the most satisfaction is the ‘94 Roller Derby National Championships at Downers Grove where I was 1st and Derek Dowing was 2nd. This was the beginning of a great friendship and great teamwork.

JD: If you could thank some folks along your way, who would be on your list.

CH: Of course it would be my father, he’s responsible for almost everything. My family supported me a lot. It’s been really good this year. My mom saw Worlds for the first time. That was cool. Derek Dowing has been a good friend of mine, we’ve been through alot of ups and downs together in the sport, that’s been good. I’ve been with Keith Turner for a long time. I really enjoyed that, we had lots of good times. Scott Hiatt I lived with for quite awhile, he was fun to race with. Of course, Tony Muse, I learned alot from him.

JD: Is there anything you’d like to add?

CH: I’m looking forward to racing in the World Championships next year. Good to be on the cover. Life is good.

For more information on Chad and the Hyper Race Team and future clinics, visit http://www.hyper-race.com.

Photos © Harm de boer