He certainly wasn't the portrait of a man about to single-handedly change the course of Hip-Hop music on the West Coast. Schweisinger was a white, former surfer from nearby Torrance, who regularly attended the Rollerdrome in Culver City when the Beach Boys were still called the Pendletones. 

While Los Angeles had seen huge growth in the skating industry in the late '70s, the '80s presented new challenges — like video games and the death of disco — for the attention of young people.

In 1983, the Starlight in North Hollywood closed. The following year, Skating Plus in Canoga Park and Roller Works in Chatsworth met a similar fate. The industry's attempt to regain business by marketing skating as a form of physical fitness only served to further alienate teenagers.

Schweisinger's North Central Avenue venue already had strong roots root in the Compton community. In 1962, Los Angeles Rams defensive back, Woodley Davis — a Compton native — opened the 40,000 square foot Sportsman Bowl spread out over three acres. The place boasted a 36-lane bowling alley, an attached restaurant, and a cocktail lounge.

Dooto Music Center was next door. The brainchild of Walter Williams — who earned acclaim and a small fortune after producing The Penguins’ “Earth Angel” — the place doubled as a recording studio, film and television production facility, and 1,000-seat auditorium for music performances.

While both venues survived the looting and arson associated with 1965’s Watts Riots, the subsequent “white flight” that occurred afterwards had a significant impact on every business in Compton. By 1970, the Sportsman Bowl had burned down after a mysterious fire occurred. Opportunists subsequently gutted the wreckage for anything of value. What was once thought to be the sign of black entrepreneurial growth in the area, was now an eyesore. 

Schweisinger, a budding commercial real estate agent, got his first look at the ravaged venue nearly a decade after its smoldering remains were finally removed. It had the look of a shipwreck; prestigious trinkets broken, polished lane floors underwater, and a persistent sludge throughout the cocktail lounge where comedians Redd Foxx, George Kirby, and Sloppy Daniels had surely had a few drinks after performing at nearby Dooto Music Center.

The place was Schweisinger’s if he wanted it. While the price had dropped significantly since it first went on the market, the $300,000 asking price would be nearly $1 million today after inflation.

As he gauged the entrepreneurial possibilities within the dilapidated structure, he heard a consistent recommendation that he should open a skating rink. 

There was a small precedent indicating that running a successful skate rink was possible; Both World on Wheels on Venice Boulevard — famous for their Uncle Jamm's Army Wednesday nights — and Sherman Square in Pasadena were thriving businesses despite a downturn in the skating industry. However, both venues were marred by tremendous gang presences.

Similarly, Compton was also a hotbed for gang activity — specifically the Bloods. The year that Skateland was up for sale, Compton supervisors earmarked an emergency $100,000 to combat gang violence.

Schweisinger’s life wasn’t always defined by suburban bliss. He worked shifts a his father Fred’s grocery store, V&F Foods, on Avalon and Imperial — two blocks north of the flash point of the 1965 riots. As a child, his family watched on television as the store was looted of their entire inventory — save for an unopened barrel of pickles. 

“Too heavy to loot, I guess,” Schweisinger told The New York Times.

Schweisinger surely anticipated that his father would be against his real estate play in Compton Yet, Fred accompanied his son on a fact finding mission to World on Wheels on Venice Boulevard. 

World on Wheels found traction in the community when it shifted from a bowling alley to a roller rink. Boasting powder blue floors when it opened on Halloween night in 1981, the rails were draped with onlookers as the Scooby Brothers, a popular skate-dance group, showed off one of their signature synchronized routines. 

The Mid-City rink became famous for its “7 to 7” lock-in parties, where parents could drop off kids for a 12-hour binge of roller skating and safe socializing. The venue became the focal point for live radio shows from KDAY  — in its original AM format — and performances by pioneering West Coast hip-hop duo,  L.A. Dream Team. 

While Schweisinger could have certainly been perceived as an outsider looking to cash-in on a Black-fueled art form, he found a helpful willingness from those associated with both skate and Hip-Hop culture. 

Jerry Woodard, a World on Wheels veteran, agreed to be the floor manager at Skateland. Kevin Mallett, a promotions manager at KDAY, offered free on-air advertising. Finally, Lonzo Williams ponied up the DJ services of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru. His Willowbrook club, Eve After Dark, was adjacent to Compton, and regularly drew 300 people a night.

The year Skateland opened there were 212 gang-related homicides in Los Angeles. While the venue was firmly in Blood gang territory, more often than not, the music from Uncle Jamm’s Army, Terry Allen of LA Sound Control, Egyptian Lover, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, N.W.A., Queen Latifah, LL COOL J, Kurtis Blow, and Run DMC kept things peaceful. 

“Roller skating was a natural fit with Hip-Hop, and the roller sinks provided large venues for connecting with the growing local Hip-Hop audience,” KDAY’s Greg Mack told Heritage Auctions.

Skateland’s maximum capacity was just a little over 1,700 people. On January 2, 1987, Schweisinger and his staff let in over 3,000 people to watch Long Island duo, Eric B. & Rakim, perform. It was not only a testament to the demand for non-West Coast Hip-Hop artists, but also to the popularity of the venue itself.  

As is often the case in the world of business, Skateland’s popularity coincided with the downfall of World on Wheels. The Mid-City venue became the focal point for violence between three rival Crip groups. While Skateland was decidedly a Blood destination — despite a “no caps, no colors” policy — Schweisinger only contended with two shootings during a four year period. However, the venue’s metal detector became vital in uncovering carpet cutters, surgical scissors, and nail files intended to be used like prison shanks.

When the lights came on after a successful evening of skating, dancing, and music, the floor was covered in Jheri Curl sheen. While patrons had to go home, friends of the Skateland staff were free to stick around and help clean up. It was during these early morning sessions when Eazy-E and Dr. Dre played records and improvised raps in the DJ booth. 

The seedlings of what would later become N.W.A. bore fruit in the fall of 1987 when Eazy-E performed the the Ice Cube-written “Boyz N-The Hood” at Skateland. A year later, the venue served as the first official gig for rap’s LA supergroup. 

“The fuse was always lying around,” Schweisinger told The New York Times. “I was always hoping it wouldn’t get lit.” 

As N.W.A.’s popularity surged, Schweisinger began to see signs that his business — which had managed to steer clear of any major incident — was becoming ground zero for crack addiction, hustling, and robberies. When a local drug kingpin realized that $15,000 was stolen from his locker during a skating session, he held Schweisinger and his staff hostage. 

Schweisinger listed the business for sale the following month just as Eazy-E’s first full-length album was hitting stores. 

Skateland closed on Christmas Day 1988 following a concert by Tone-Loc. The following January, Schweisinger drove down to Mexico to sell 500 pairs of used skates to a rink in Tijuana.

The rink is now used as a storage facility for Kizure Products, a prominent vendor of curling irons, hot combs, and other hairstyling tools.