since 90% of bearings sucked back then (looking at you Speed Demon).
When all the weird brands of bearings started popping up and every board/hardware/wheel company were selling bearings, they were basically the cheapest garbage with brand logos on them imported from China. Nothing like NMB, GMN, and Swiss bearings from before.
My brother bought a set of those Speed Demons in '96 right when they first came out, and they were the only bearing I ever saw break on the first day skating. He literally did tricks over a small gap around the corner from the skate shop and broke 2 bearings in about 15 minutes. Garbage quality.