Hill Bombing: The Skating Movement Nouveau of Northwest Arkansas

(This article was published in our Spring 2025 edition – The Sporting Issue. Read it online here.)

Meet Clementine Simpson, the Northwest Arkansas skater who popularized the “hill bombing” movement and launched a downhill skating subculture as the social media sensation @clem.skates on Instagram. Clementine lives in Fayetteville and works as an ER nurse, balancing her time between medicine and managing the Arkansas Roller Skate Crew. Known for her daring tricks, high speeds, and casual use of common roadways for creating content, Clementine is redefining what it means to be a modern athlete.

Starlight Skatium, Fayetteville’s most well-known skating rink, was where Clementine first found her passion for the sport. She and her childhood friends joined a speed skating club in 2008, which led to her participation in the national Speed Skating competition hosted by USA Roller Sports at ages 12 and 13. In her four years of competing, Clementine placed first and then second in the quad category, taking home two national titles.

After her early victories, her interest in competing tapered off. “There’s not anything beyond nationals except for worlds. I considered competing in the Olympics, but I would have had to participate as an ice skater because roller skating isn’t a recognized Olympic category.” The loss of her brother, Solomon Simpson, days before her 13th birthday also caused Clementine to step back from skating for a time. She had to process the grief of losing a sibling in her early adolescence, a vulnerable time for anyone, especially someone dealing with death in the family. Despite retiring from competitive skating, Clementine stayed connected with the sport, taking her first job at a roller rink.

Eventually, after coming to terms with Solomon’s passing, Clementine realized her brother would have wanted her to pursue her interests and dreams fully. So, while enrolled in the nursing program at the University of Arkansas in 2020, she was inspired to start her social media account. It was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she found outdoor skating to be a way to combat the isolation of quarantine. “Fayetteville is very hilly, so I got super into downhill skating. There wasn’t much of a category for it then, and it’s still such a niche thing that doesn’t get a lot of coverage in the skating community.” One of the videos that helped @clem.skates take off was the initial Dickson Street “hill bombing,” a feat which Clementine describes as taking a steep downhill grade at full speed. As she accumulated followers online, Clementine put out a group skate offer through social media. When over eighty people reached out within the first two weeks, she knew there was an opportunity to create a new community centered around skating in Northwest Arkansas that could accommodate the social distancing guidelines of the time. Shortly after, the Arkansas Roller Skate Crew was born.

Organizing the skate club helped propel Clementine through the trials of nursing school. She has stayed busy organizing a myriad of pop-up events and club appearances, bringing the crew out to Fayetteville’s PRIDE and Mardi Gras parades, and putting on events like Shred Fest and Halloween-themed group skates. Her social presence has led to brand partnerships with French company Flaneurz (also known as Slades in the U.S.) and Luminous Wheels, which makes LED gear for quad and inline skates and longboards. (”Longboarders are welcome too! We’re inclusive!”)

What’s next for the protagonist of Arkansas’ skating scene? A personal brand launch. “I’m working on the site design right now. It’s going to tie in Ozark and cowboy themes with traditional skate motifs.” Clementine’s upcoming skating brand will be fittingly named Hill Bombers. When it goes live, hillbombing.com will be a hub for downhill skating culture, providing video content, promoting worldwide skate events, and selling must-have merchandise for hill bombers everywhere.

Clementine’s trajectory from speed skating champion to social media guru has established her as a cultural pioneer. With her momentum, passion, and planning, she is set to expand the downhill skating community far beyond the streets of Northwest Arkansas.