“For the 1997 competitive season, one of the selected senior compulsory dances was the Golden Waltz, and in the dance the man does a lunge. Well, from practicing that dance over and over again and doing so many lunges, the leather along the side of my boot became so worn that a hole soon developed, and my socks were getting wet.

Knowing that there would be many more months of training this dance ahead of us, I needed to resolve this eroding leather issue quickly.  I went to the local hardware store, bought a roll of black tape, and covered the sad hole in my boot.

The next day I got on the ice and stroked around the rink to warm up.  After a lap or two, I heard a flapping noise. I looked down at my feet in disappointment and saw this four-row section of frozen tape sticking out like a stiff, black plastic sail. The tape lost most of its pliability and adhesion from literally freezing in the rink.

So I went striaght back to the hardware store. Since I had no desire to make this store part of my daily commute, I purchased every brand of tape the store carried.  The cashier at checkout must have thought I was nuts.

Each day I experimented with a different brand of tape on my boot. Taping my skates wasn’t a bad idea, but the choices were terrible. Each result was disappointing. Like the first roll, most tapes would detach and flap in the air. Some adhesives were too weak and some destructively too strong. Some plastics were too stiff to conform to a boot, and some would even disintegrate during a lunge only to become a hazardous trail of tattered, black plastic flakes. I forgot to mention that they all looked ugly.

Frustrated but desperate to save my boots and frozen feet, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I worked intensely to develop my own formula for a leather-friendly, pliable tape that would resist the harsh factors of competitive skating moves, freezing conditions and rough, uncut ice. Our specialized tape would be easy to apply. It would stay on when needed but could be easily removed when desired. Our tape would stand up to lunges, falls, scrapes and daily wear and tear, and it would make the filthiest, most beat-up, pathetic-looking skates look brilliant, beautiful, and brand new. The plastic had to be just right. The adhesive had to be just right. The look had to be amazing. Finally, the perfect formula and the perfect tape came shining through. Sk8tape® was born and our company, too.”

-Charles Sinek,
President & Founder of Penguin Specialty Products
2002 U.S. Olympic Team Member