Meet the singing roller skater who is making people smile up and down the BeltLine.

“Atlantan” is a first-person account from a familiar stranger who brings the city to life. This month from Kevin Randolph.

I’m 60 years old and from Chicago. Sixty sounds so old. I don’t feel it at all. I moved here in 1997 and bought a house in the Old Fourth Ward about 10 years ago.

I was a half marathon runner. I have bad knees, so I can’t run anymore, but I can rollerblade for a few days. I needed to find something to occupy my time when my knees hurt. On the weekends I rode with a group in Midtown. After all, the building in Atlanta in 2014 turned out to be overloaded, and roller skating on the streets became dangerous. It was only after Covid that I started singing – that’s when I noticed how depressed and scared people were.

Now I sing while skating. I’m enjoying it. People come up to me and hug me. They tell me they saw me sing “Party in the USA” and can’t help but smile and laugh. I sing “Apple Bottom Jeans” (“Low”), “Hollaback Girl” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” It’s an eclectic mix.

I’m on the BeltLine almost every day, running anywhere from 12 to 20 miles. On Saturdays, when it’s nice outside, I ride for hours. I walk from Piedmont Park to DeKalb Avenue (next to Shake Shack) and then turn around. Sometimes I go to Madison Yards. I try to get out there when there are no people. I have ADHD, so I get bored easily. I need people to eat.

I wear big headphones with plastic bags. I know it looks weird; I don’t care. I’m sweating profusely. By the time I finish riding, I’m already wet. There was a kid who won first place at a Halloween party by dressing like me. On weekends, I get strange looks from tourists and people who have never seen me. I just smile and laugh. After some time, their vigilance weakens. One day a woman bought me pizza. Last Christmas, someone gave me $100 and a card and said, “Thank you for being good.”

Most people don’t know that I’m overly educated. My student is a computer science major with a minor in ballet. I have a master’s degree in mathematics. I taught advanced submarine electrical courses in the Navy and English and Spanish in high schools. I got my real estate license because I was bored. I used to be a gymnast, sang in a gay men’s choir, performed at weddings, funerals and in church. Now I just sing on the Beltline.

This article appeared in our November 2024 Issue.

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