Lucy Adams is one of the UK’s most recognisable skateboarders. As a key player, not just in female-skateboarding circles, but as part of Skateboard England – who stepped in to organise 2020’s Team GB – she’s seen the development of British skateboarding first-hand. With twenty-one years on a board, no discussion on the UK scene would be complete without Lucy’s perspective. SKATEISM tracked her down to see what went in to her
two-decade-long career in skateboarding and where
she sees herself going next.
Let’s start at the beginning. Who were you as a kid?
Other people would probably describe me as a tomboy as a kid. I always hated that word though. I was proud to be a girl, I didn’t want to be a boy, and it always felt that that word insinuated that I wasn’t. I was active and liked playing sports and games. Spare time was always spent outdoors. I was quite a shy and thoughtful kid but through my teens I developed confidence. Then I think a bit of confusion about who I was came whilst going through puberty and I started to get uptight and a bit angry.
When did you discover skateboarding?
Trevor Wedd gave me the gift of skateboarding in 1997. I saw him do a blunt-fakie on a mini-ramp and I was sold – the magic of skateboarding! At that time, the bigger town I lived near to in West Sussex, Crawley, had just had a brand new skatepark built. It served to inject the local scene with a whole lot of new blood, me being some of that. I remember that although I was quite obviously different because I was a girl, I was welcomed in like anyone else.
“Other people would probably describe me as a tomboy as a kid. I always hated that word though. I was proud to be a girl!”
Why did skateboarding appeal to you?
I loved everything about the culture at the time. It felt like I was part of an exclusive club because none of my friends at school did it and so I was seen as this unique and slightly weird girl at school. I loved that time of the month when the shelf of the local newsagents would be graced with the latest Sidewalk Surfer magazine. I would study the pictures on every page, I could tell you the name of every board, shoe and the shops that featured inside. I would read it cover to cover, over and over. I loved going to skate shops and saving hard-earned cash for my next board, feeling the curves on every one of them and smelling that fresh seven-ply.
What were those early days like? Did your family encourage skating?
Those early days were all mainly built around the skatepark for me. I was a young girl in a male dominated environment and although I didn’t feel intimidated or outcast, I guess it was a scary thing for my parents. But they were great really, letting me get on the train every day after school to hang out at the skatepark until dark – those journeys were generally made alone but once I was at the park, I was amongst my crew. Unfortunately that crew don’t still skate – well not like they used to – they may dip in and out, but they’ve all moved on and have families and careers.
Was there much of a UK scene for women in skateboarding back then?
It was basically non-existent as a scene. It was unusual to see another girl out skating over here, whether that be at a park or in the streets. The first time I saw a group of girls skating together was at a skate jam. Those early events that took a chance on having female categories or only-girls skate jams were instrumental in those initial stages of development. We didn’t have social media or an easy way to connect, and so the only way you knew about another girl skater was seeing them face to face at an event, or by word of mouth.
“He suggested the idea of turning pro and needless to say I was taken aback, but over the moon! Stu put the whole thing into my hands, even designing the board. It was amazing.”
I remember watching you skating in All Girls Competitions at Pioneer Skatepark way back then.
The Girls Skate jams at Pioneer were an annual occurrence organised by Jenna Selby! They’re still going strong now – having done over ten years of them. That was a really fun event you could always count on to catch up with everyone. We’d all crash at Jenna’s and get a really good skate at a cool little indoor-park. I always got really amped at those comps because I was stoked on pushing myself. I think there was a clip in a video somewhere – maybe UKVM – where I air up this gap onto the platform. I think I tried it all day and then I finally did it and I smashed straight into the wall which had a banner hanging up on it and it fell down on top of me!
Does skating in comps still appeal to you?
I have actually started to get way more nervous these days. I think the formats in comps are starting to get a bit more formal. We’re seeing the resurgence of singles runs and that frightens me. I definitely have less time to skate these days than a few years back and so I’m lacking in consistency. But the whole vibe of a comp is still something I absolutely enjoy. I love watching amazing skateboarding; the magic that can happen in a comp when people go for it gets me buzzing. I get to hang out with girls that skate and that inspires me.
When did you first start skating for Lovenskate?
I think I started skating for Lovenskate in about 2010. It was just one guy, Stu, hand-screening boards at first, selling them cheap to friends. I won a ‘Real Girls Skate Curbs’ boards at one of the Girls Jams at Pioneer and I was so stoked – I loved it! I wasn’t sponsored at the time and I knew a guy, Ewen, who knew Stu and asked him to connect me with Lovenskate. We set that up and I visited The Mangle Studio where I fell in love with the whole thing. Organically, Lovenskate became more of a brand with a team and more products, and I’ve been stoked on everything Lovenskate has put out since. I feel really supported and always look forward to hearing from Stu about his ideas and visions.
In 2017 you turned pro for Lovenskate, right?
Yeah, it was actually my 20th year skateboarding so I wanted to do something significant. I wanted to film a part, something that I was really proud of and shoot an article too. Naturally I mentioned it to Stu as I wanted to hear his thoughts and maybe see how we could collaborate. He suggested the idea of turning pro and needless to say I was taken aback, but over the moon! Stu put the whole thing into my hands, even designing the board. It was amazing.
We’ve seen a huge influx of this type of professional recognition for female skateboarders in the past two or three years. What are your thoughts on this?
The rise in participation of females skateboarding has been incredible. It is having such a positive impact for skateboarding by diversifying it more and more, and illustrating how anybody can just pick up a board and get involved in learning. Opportunities for me and my friends have been growing, what with more support from brands and mags. Take my friend Josie Millard for example: she’s been getting loads of great coverage and endorsements from some big brands. This is great because she’s actually carving out a living in skateboarding, living the dream.
“If we can use this huge display of skateboarding to help us fight these battles and win the Suits over, then I for one will be very happy!”
And it’s an amazing example for the next generation, right?
It’s been great to see the increase in the younger generation of girls getting into it! I love watching their Instagram clips and seeing them pushing themselves, I’m so happy for them that they’ve found skateboarding so early on. I think that the growth of female sessions and events, plus the advance of social media, has meant women are able to find and encourage each other like never before.
You’re working with Skateboard England, building Team GB for the 2020 Olympics. That’s uncharted territory too. What excites you about that project?
Skateboard England is actually the national governing body for skateboarding in England. Initially it came about via skater Jerome Campbell and a guy called James Hope-Gill who had a lot of experience with governing bodies in sport, mainly in football. He’s someone who had the necessary experience to actually do this properly because previous attempts in England had failed. I’m aware that it’s not for everybody, and that for some skaters even the idea of a governing body is questionable but I genuinely think there is a need for one, especially now when the Olympics are coming in just two years. However that is not our main focus. Our aims are all about growing participation in skateboarding at the grass roots as well as making better facilities and working with local authorities to help support skateboarding but not criminalise it.
What do you think the Olympics is going to do for skateboarding in the UK?
The Olympics is a strange one but it is generally quite exciting to see what it brings. It’s already acted as a catalyst in getting us having discussions with sporting bodies and government organisations that we wouldn’t have had before. It can hopefully help us ensure an end to sub-standard skateparks, but also help us save street spots and encourage local authorities to share space. The streets are public and they’re there for us all to play in. Cars dominate that space these days, and fewer recreational activities are taking place there. We’re all being forced into courts, centres, pitches, boxes and timeframes are being more restricted. If we can use this huge display of skateboarding to help us fight these battles and win the Suits over, then I for one will be very happy!
