Today, we’d like to introduce you to Lindsey Montgomery. Lindsey was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Ralph Russell.
Lindsey, thank you so much for joining us today. We’d love for you to bring our readers up to speed – can you introduce yourself and share your story?
Working at the Skating Rink was my very first job when I turned 16! I grew up skating there with my family and I had always told myself that it was going to be my very first job. My first position was redeeming tickets at the prize counter!
Please tell us more about your brand, Sparkles Family Fun Center of Smyrna
Here at Sparkles we offer roller skating, arcade, and playground as our main attractions. Most importantly, we offer an experience! We have patrons of all different ages and backgrounds come to enjoy the nostalgia of the old school skating experience with the disco lights, graffiti, “brownies” everything that gives you that 80’s Roller Rink theme. On the other side we also have a lot of young adult and teen upcoming skaters ready to learn and be a part of this movement! I’ve been working here about 11 years and I love seeing all these new faces become regulars down the road and keep that skate culture alive that we cherish so much! I’m beyond proud of the fact that we can offer this experience to all ages, everyone who walks in the door, no one feels excluded or misplaced.
As you know, we’re big fans of Ralph Russell and we know you’ve worked with them quite a bit as well. We’d love to hear about your experience working with Ralph Russell.
Ralph was the first DJ that I hired after I became General Manager. We had just re-opened after being closed for about two months due to COVID and I didn’t have anyone to play throughout the rink. I had heard of him before playing at Cascade and he turned our to be a perfect fit for us as well. The first month he was here I had him playing almost 4-5 times a week and he was alway available for us! Next thing you know all of my employees and all of our customers had on his DJ apparel, “DJ 23” with the Superman logo. It was so funny people would call during the week to see who was playing on certain nights so they could make sure to wear their apparel. You could tell not only did he have a big following but his love for skating as well. Sometimes I would look out on the floor during the session and I’d see him get a few laps in before it was time to change the track. One of the biggest changes he has brought to the scene the young adult crowd. He throws these parties once a month and it’s basically a semi-late night skate event for young adults. Most of the late nights parties are 18+ but we have been able to hold sessions for those who are 16+ to be able to skate late with their friends in a safe environment. It gives them something to look forward to outside of our regular sessions which I love because I remember wanting to go to these different parties and was unable until I turned 18! When you think about it, those kids become our adult night customers after a few years anyways, and if they’re here skating with us it’s comforting to know that they’re in good hands. Ralph has brought so many good changes to our facility, bringing out new faces and new ideas I can only imagine what the future holds and I’m excited to be a part of it!
Website: SparklesSmyrna.com
Instagram: SparklesOfSmyrna
Twitter: @SparklesSmyrna
Facebook: Sparkles Smyrna
