by These brothers from Delaware are bringing joy to the internet—one roller-skating video at a time.
Marcus Griffin, 33, and Michael Griffin, 36, known as “The Griffin Brothers,” are sharing their passion for roller skating and music on social media.
The siblings’ synchronized skating videos have taken the internet by storm, with most of their clips curated to throwback hits like Debbie Deb’s “Lookout Weekend” and Haddaway’s “What is Love.”
The duo has racked up millions of views on their social media pages. Their TikTok has 2.2M likes, while their Instagram account has garnered 277K followers.
But for the brothers, it’s not about the fame. They skate because they genuinely enjoy it, and knowing that they make other people happy by doing so inspires them to continue.
“As soon as you step on the floor, like, you ascend into another dimension and I think that’s where the love comes from now,” said Marcus, who works as a truck driver. “It’s not even about us anymore. It’s about our supporters and the comments and the messages we get from people.”
If you click on any of their videos on Instagram or TikTok, you’ll see that viewers have a common reaction. Here are some of their comments:
“Never get tired of watching these vids! You guys are on point!!!!”
“Need a longer video! I could watch this for hours!”
“Watching you takes me back to better days.”
Indeed, the nostalgia that these brothers bring is undeniable. Because of their viral videos, many people are considering going back to skating. Some have been inspired to learn to skate.
Although most skating rinks are closing down, the Griffin siblings are doing a lot to rekindle the public’s interest in the hobby.
“We’re bringing back those old feelings that people had when they used to go skating, when they didn’t have to worry about the bills, the houses, everything,” Marcus said. “When they watch us, they get a certain joy in themselves, what they felt when they were younger, like when times were good, no pandemic, no mass shootings, no nothing. They don’t think about that.”
The pair started skating as young boys—a passion they inherited from their mother, who was the original skater.
She used to go skating when she was younger. Her mom would drop her off at the rink, and she’d stay there all night. So, she did the same thing with her sons. Marcus and Michael would skate every Friday and Saturday, and their love for the hobby grew.
During the pandemic, Marcus noticed an old skating video of him and his brother getting thousands of views on YouTube.
“He kept telling me get my skates, get my skates, get my skates,” Michael said. “And so my niece, his daughter, finally had a birthday party. And they had it at the skating rink and I had put rentals on and I’m like, ‘OK, let me just do this.’”
“So I got back to skating again. And it was so fun. I was like, Why did I stop skating? Why did I stop skating? And the love just came right back and then we finally made a video last year,” Marcus added.
You can usually spot the brothers skating at Christiana Skating Center in Newark, Delaware. They choose the songs they want to use beforehand and wait until the end of the night when the rink clears. The brothers then connect their phones to the DJ booth and ask their friend, Damon Hudson, to film them as they glide and dance to the beat.
“We just want to bring joy and happiness to everybody who lays eyes on this,” Marcus said.
