Rolling Into San Francisco's Skate Week with the Godfather of Skate

When David Miles Jr. moved to San Francisco in 1979, he had no idea he'd eventually be known as the city's Godfather of Skate.

Why it matters: This year's Skate Week is underway. Spearheaded by Miles Jr., it celebrates the joy of skating with events across the city .

Flashback: Miles Jr. arrived in SF after leaving Kansas City, Missouri. When he first got off the bus in Golden Gate Park, he said he fell in love.

• "I saw people roller-skating and thought, 'This is the most fantastic place in the world,'" he said. "So I joined them, and I've been there ever since."

Context: He soon became the de facto leader of the Golden Gate Park Skate Patrol — a group that fought a parkwide ban on roller-skating and successfully lobbied for a dedicated Skatin' Place on JFK Drive.

Driving the news: I headed down with my video camera to Miles Jr.'s spiritual home, the Church of 8 Wheels on Fillmore Street, and met the Godfather in person .

Claire's thought bubble: Miles Jr. is so charismatic, I immediately felt at home on the rink. It's been awhile since I skated back in Australia, but he walked me (rolled me?) through the basics and had me zooming in no time.

• "My philosophy is, if you see someone do it, you can do it. … It's only a matter of practice," he said.

Once he'd given me a rundown, Miles Jr. treated me to a real show, dancing up a storm with some of his best moves. Then he roped in his granddaughter Charlize, who was more than happy to show off some of her favorite tricks.

• "If you can get past the part where you're not afraid and you don't fall down and get hurt, you'll be skating like me — 45 years in Golden Gate Park," he said. "You have your granddaughter out here doing stuff, passing it along. That's what it's all about!"

The bottom line: After 45 years he still doesn't need to wear a toe-stop on his skates and remains an absolute master on the rink, well deserving of his Godfather title. But when it comes to being dubbed the Mayor of Golden Gate Park and an icon of San Francisco, he says it's "humbling."

• "I'm just one of those people that took what I do to the nth degree — I love skating, and I love the energy that it has," he said. "I just don't think that I could have ever become what I am now in any place other than this magical, great city."

Check out our full video of David Miles Jr. on Axios SF's Instagram !