Why Sky Brown and a New Generation of Female Skateboarders Have Made Me Want to Push My Skating Further

I’ve been involved in skateboarding for a long time, but recently I’ve found myself feeling more ambitious about my own skating than I have in years.

A huge part of that has come from watching the level of women’s skateboarding absolutely explode.

Seeing skateboarders like Sky Brown competing on the biggest stages in the world, alongside the progression of younger British skaters like Lola Tambling and Lilly Strachan, has genuinely changed the way I think about what is possible in British women’s skateboarding.

Internationally, I’ve also taken a huge amount of inspiration from skateboarders like Lizzie Armanto and Cocona Hiraki.

They’re all completely different skateboarders, which is probably what I find most inspiring about them. There isn't one blueprint for what a successful female skateboarder has to look like anymore.

Watching Sky Brown Changed the Scale of What Felt Possible

It’s difficult to talk about the current generation of British women’s skateboarding without talking about Sky Brown.

What I find particularly inspiring isn't simply that she is incredibly good at skateboarding. It’s the scale she has managed to take it to.

Watching a British skateboarder become successful at the Olympics, compete at events like X Games, work with huge global brands and become recognised by people far outside skateboarding is pretty incredible.

I'm at a completely different point in my own skateboarding, but seeing somebody take it to that level inevitably makes me ask: how far can I take mine?

That question has become increasingly important to me.

The Younger British Generation Is Ridiculously Good

The standard of younger British female skateboarders is another thing that has pushed me.

Watching skaters like Lola Tambling and Lilly Strachan makes it impossible to become complacent. The technical level and confidence of this generation is ridiculous, and I mean that as the biggest compliment.

Rather than making me think, “well, they're younger than me,” it has had almost the opposite effect.

It makes me want to skate more.

I want to learn harder tricks. I want to become more comfortable on bigger transition. I want to see how much I can progress if I actually give my skating the level of commitment I've given other parts of my career.

Why I've Become So Interested in Vert

One of the biggest changes in my skating recently has been my interest in vert skateboarding.

I've always loved transition, but vert has given me a completely different challenge.

There is something about standing at the top of a vert ramp that strips everything back. You can have an audience, followers, brand deals or whatever else — the ramp doesn't care.

You either have the trick or you don't.

And I really like that.

Watching skateboarders such as Lizzie Armanto has been particularly inspiring because of the combination of style, transition ability and individuality in her skating.

Then you have someone like Cocona Hiraki, whose technical ability and consistency at such an extraordinary level show where modern women's park skateboarding has gone.

That progression makes me want to find out what my own ceiling is.

X Games Has Always Represented Something Bigger

For anyone who grew up around skateboarding and action sports, X Games has a particular significance.

It isn't just another competition.

For years it has represented that almost impossible-looking end of skateboarding: enormous ramps, huge tricks and the skateboarders whose names become known around the world.

I'm not going to pretend I'm currently an X Games-level skateboarder. I'm not.

But I also don't think there is anything wrong with looking at the highest level of something and allowing it to influence where you set your own ambitions.

If watching X Games makes me want to learn a harder trick, skate a bigger ramp or spend another year seriously training vert, then that's a good thing.

I Want to Find Out How Good I Can Actually Get

This is probably the biggest change in my attitude towards skateboarding.

I'm less interested in deciding in advance what my level is supposed to be.

I would rather find out.

I've taken inspiration from Sky Brown, Lola Tambling, Lilly Strachan, Lizzie Armanto, Cocona Hiraki and plenty of other women who are currently pushing skateboarding forward.

I'm obviously not trying to become any of them.

I want to see what Stefani Nurding's version of that progression looks like.

For me, right now, that means skating more, training vert, learning harder tricks, competing when it makes sense and continuing to put myself in situations where I'm slightly scared and slightly out of my depth.

Because that's usually where I've progressed the most.

Women's skateboarding is moving unbelievably quickly.

I don't want to watch that happen from the sidelines.

I want to see how far I can go with it.