About HK Roller Skating School
Shop 5, L8/F, Enterprise Square Five, Megabox, 38 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay
Shop 5, L8/F, Enterprise Square Five, Megabox, 38 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay
No grand blueprint. Just two decades of skating.
Tsoi Ka-chai — better known as Coach Tsoi — is the founder of Hong Kong Roller Skating School and head coach of the Hong Kong Freestyle Inline Skating training squad. From a kid who simply loved lacing up a pair of rollerblades, he became a national team coach, and eventually opened the city's first dedicated roller skating school. Skating has been the thread woven through every chapter of his life.
"In the beginning, you could count the number of full-time roller skating instructors in Hong Kong on one hand."
When he opened his first indoor school in 2018 and faced the weight of monthly rent, Coach Tsoi held firm to a conviction: that bringing this niche sport to all corners of society — and raising its standing in Hong Kong — would be the true measure of success.
"Roller skating is genuinely ice-free." Coach Tsoi says with a laugh. For him, the sport has always represented a kind of uninhibited freedom. "As long as you have a pair of skates, you can do so much of what you want to do. That's why I love it — I just kept going and never stopped."
"This sport gives me a feeling of total freedom. No walls, no pressure — and it doesn't cost a fortune."
Looking back to when he was nineteen, Coach Tsoi's first job was as an activity instructor at a holiday camp, teaching campers how to use a range of sports equipment — archery, rock climbing, trampolining, canoeing. Most of those he could bluff his way through, but roller skating demanded genuine skill. Through that process of learning, he found a passion that quietly took root.
During the day he worked; after hours, colleagues would give him quick lessons — around 45 minutes at a time — and he'd spend the rest of the evening practising on his own, sometimes skating for three or four hours straight. "Back then, how much you earned didn't feel like the most important thing. What mattered most was being happy every single day."
After leaving the holiday camp, Coach Tsoi moved into office work while teaching skating on the side. He was so consumed by the sport that, by his own admission, he "couldn't bring himself to go back to the desk." His body was in the office; his mind was always on the rink. Eventually, he handed in his resignation and committed fully to life as a professional roller skating coach.
"I went from someone who simply loved roller skating to becoming a roller skating coach."
In 2019, Coach Tsoi opened the first indoor roller skating school in Lai Chi Kok. In his own words, he was essentially moving his outdoor students indoors to "burn through expensive rent" — monthly outgoings had already reached HK$100,000. He laughs about it now: "There used to be a saying in business — when you first start out, you should play it safe and hold back. But we were lucky. From day one, there was no need to hold back at all."
Yet the road was far from smooth. In 2022, the school relocated to a new space during the pandemic, only to be met with relentless closures under social distancing measures. The endless uncertainty tested his will to survive, and the school teetered on the brink of closure. Coach Tsoi recalls receiving a government notice to shut down all sports facilities on the night of his birthday. "In that moment, I found myself wondering — is it just not possible to run a sports business anymore?" With the entire business landscape in deep freeze, all any operator could do was take it one step at a time. Somehow, they made it through those days he now describes as "best forgotten."
The school's new home inside a major shopping mall in East Kowloon boasts over 20,000 square feet of column-free space, with a straight-line run of up to 53.7 metres. The upgrade in facilities not only allows for a larger student intake, but also supports equipment retail — providing the ideal environment for competitive training.
In the world of roller skating, attempting a new move almost always means the risk of a fall. Coach Tsoi sees business the same way — there's always an element of risk. His belief is that by producing decorated competitive athletes, the school builds parental confidence while simultaneously raising public awareness and the overall status of roller skating in Hong Kong. A five-time recipient of the Hong Kong Sports Institute's Elite Coach Award, he currently guides more than ten roller skating athletes who have each qualified for HKSI individual elite athlete funding, earning honours on the international stage. For Coach Tsoi, excellence on the track and sound business development go hand in hand.
"Whether you're building a business or leading a team — being a leader is always harder than being a follower."
Coach Tsoi's classes are rooted in competitive training, and his teaching philosophy centres on the belief that demanding standards produce exceptional results. Yet when it comes to beginners or children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), he insists that unlimited patience and compassion are non-negotiable.
The school also breaks with the convention of barring parents from the training floor. Trial classes maintain a strict 1:4 student-to-coach ratio, and parents are not only welcome to watch from the sidelines — they're handed water and towels while they do. "Teaching must lead to visible improvement so that parents actually have something worth filming and sharing online." As the school's motto puts it: "You don't have to win the trophy — but you absolutely have to get the photo."
Coach Tsoi is candid about the limits of the school's coaching resources. The thing he values most is managing expectations honestly. "If a child doesn't have the athletic talent, we'll tell the parents straight — let them learn it as a life skill or a hobby. On the other hand, if we spot real potential, we'll be equally honest and let the parents know that their child is worth investing time and resources in." This unwavering honesty doesn't just prevent the disappointment of unmet expectations — it has become the bedrock of the school's reputation.
Looking back over two decades, Coach Tsoi never became a professional athlete — instead, he went straight into coaching, channelling his love for the sport into spreading it as widely as possible. "I'm genuinely grateful that I turned something I love into a career."
Over the past four years, he has partnered with charitable organisations to provide free roller skating training to 500 children from grassroots families with special needs, as well as organising dedicated competitions for them. It's a commitment he intends to keep.
Roller skating has in recent years grown into a competitive discipline in its own right — training balance, coordination, reaction time, and focus. It can even serve as a practical mode of transport through the city's busy streets. To spread the word further, Coach Tsoi and his team have been actively building a YouTube channel, featuring scenic skating routes around Hong Kong, basic technique tutorials, student freestyle performances, and behind-the-scenes footage from competitions. The goal is simple: to invite everyone to join the ranks of Hong Kong's growing community of skaters — and discover the joy that rolling can bring.
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