“My kids think skateboarding is for dumb old ladies.” – Alex White
While most of our skate-moms enjoy skating with their kids as a family activity, a common theme among these parents is the mental health benefits they receive from skating, as well as the support and sense of community they have discovered at their local skateparks. For these moms, skateboarding is that thing that propels them forward, becoming a motivating factor that allows them to be better parents because they have something for themselves beyond being mothers. It’s also worth noting that all of their skate careers have been supported and influenced by places and organizations that have carved out safe and inclusive spaces for womxn to skate. Several learned to skate through organizations like Skate Like a Girl, or Impact Skate Club in Toronto. Many cited attending special womxn-only nights at their local skatepark because they knew these were spaces they would be welcomed and accepted, giving them more opportunities to skate.
Interviews by Maya Haptas
Melanie Bartlett
Age: 41
Philadelphia, PA USA
Instagram: @reclaimyourlifeagain
Years skating: 1
How often I skate: 3 times a week
How I learned to skate: I’ve wished I could skate since I was a kid. I grew up in a small town and definitely didn’t know any girls that skated. I had no way to access skating. I just figured I couldn’t do it. 20 years later, I took my five-year-old daughter to learn to skate at an indoor skatepark. After a few weeks of watching my daughter, I realized that with the right support, I could do it. I bought myself a board and safety gear and just went for it. My daughter encouraged me and showed me her tips. At 40 years old, I stood on a board for the first time.
How do I fit in skating as a mother: I have to negotiate time to skate with my husband. Now I have Tuesday and Thursday evenings as my skate nights. I skate on the weekends with my daughter at women’s skate meetups and also plan informal kid/family skate dates.
Who I skate with: I love skating with my 6-year-old daughter. Her courage is inspiring. It is also a totally different experience to skate with other adults. I enjoy skating with my daughter, but I also really value social time with other adults that I’m not responsible for.
What I would tell other moms: I think the value of skating on a person’s mental health is underreported. Motherhood is so stressful and the work is unending. Taking the time for a physical activity that is also fun and social has been SO powerful for me. I love my skate crew and all the new friends I’ve made through skating — they are folks I never would have met otherwise because many of them are not parents and much younger than me. I’m so grateful for the impact skating has had on my life.
Telma Costa
Age: 41
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Instagram: @thetelma / @laterskatersgang
Years skating: 1
How often I skate: at least 2-3 times per week
How I learned to skate: I’ve always been into skateboarding but was never allowed to get a board growing up because it was a “boy” thing. I obsessed over skateboarding as a teenager. I would buy Thrasher and analyze how people were able to do what they did. I even got a tattoo from an Etnies ad I saw in Thrasher. I would buy skate videos when I could and the sound of the wheels on concrete was like therapy for me. I would get lost in those videos and pretend it was me doing the tricks.
Watching my daughter learn to skate gave me the confidence to take it up. She inspired me to throw out any reservations I had and just go for it. I had also just gone through a huge shift in my life where I realigned my values to prioritize my happiness so I could be a better person for others. And skateboarding was a thing that brought me so much joy.
How do I fit in skating as a mother: Skateboarding has made me rethink my whole daily routine. I need to make time before/after work and on weekends so I’ve started to wake up earlier so I can do things like clean the house in bits, do the dishes, and prep meals. I have never been so motivated to optimize my life.
Who I skate with: My daughter and my husband skate, and it’s awesome. I love skating with my daughter because she helps me be brave. It’s a very humbling and touching thing to be able to learn from your kid. To be able to let your guard down and be on their level and be their peer is an amazing feeling. It’s also important for me to show her how it’s ok to be scared and that if you love something and are passionate about it you should follow your dreams.
What I would tell other moms: Skateboarding is an incredibly therapeutic thing for me. It really did save my life. It’s the only thing that I do that completely silences my mind and brings me to a place of serenity. I’ve become so much more confident and that confidence bleeds into other areas of my life.
Oorbee Roy
Age: 44
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Instagram: @shahfamilyskates
Years skating: 1.5
How often I skate: 2 times per week (more if my body lets me)
How I learned to skate: My husband, Sanjeev, has been skating on and off since childhood and a couple of years ago, my daughter started. Then, my son started! They were all having so much fun and I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines.
How do I fit in skating as a mother: At some point in my life, I realized I can “have it all” — just not at the same time. So, in order to make time to skate, I gave up going to the gym. I miss the gym community and lifting weights, but the added benefit of spending quality time with my family makes the sacrifice well worth it. I am trying to get yoga back into my routine to stay loose and prevent injuries. As a family, we plan our trips around skate places now! We’ve been to Mexico, California, and Woodward, PA on family skate trips. Skate or die!
Who I skate with: For me, skating with my kids is the best part about skating. Not only are we out there having fun together, but we are also pushing each other, supporting each other, learning from each other, and competing against each other. It’s also worth noting that kids really do mimic what they see their parents do, so every slam or missed trick, every show of frustration or anger, every interaction with other skaters — they are watching. When they see me get back up after each fall, or face my fears and try a new trick, or encourage a new skater, they are watching and learning.
What I would tell other moms: For anyone new to skateboarding, you are amazing! Even if you are just learning to get on the board or push, what you are doing is pretty rad. We are all skating at different levels and trying new things. Just being out there and trying is enough.
Rachel Wadsworth
Age: 29
Castro Valley, CA, USA (SF Bay Area)
Instagram: @mamawadsonwheels
Years skating: 1.5
How often I skate: Every day is the goal
How I learned to skate: When my second child was born, I expected the transition to having two kids to be chaotic, but normal. Little did I know that at 9 months my son would be diagnosed with left hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that causes weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, typically resulting from a stroke.
A few months before my son turned 2, my sister bought a skateboard for me for my birthday. It was somewhat of a joke. I had always wanted to skate and I think something inside me knew I needed an outlet, something separate from the life of “mom-duties” and hours of physical therapy that consumed me. Skateboarding is honestly an escape for me. It makes me feel alive. It gives me something of my own. It helps me realize how much I have to be grateful for. And it has continued to help me cope with other challenges in life. The phrase #skatetherapy is real.
How do I fit in skating as a mother: I’ve been known to skate during my kids’ naps or late at night just so I can fit it in. I don’t work in the traditional sense, but raising kids, one of which has special needs, is definitely a job in itself. On days that are very busy and stress-filled, even taking 10 minutes to practice pushing switch up and down my street relieves a ton of stress and brings me so much joy.
I coordinate a lot of my life around being able to skate. Like speed-cleaning my house or planning an easy dinner, so I can skate instead of being stuck in the house doing chores!.
Who I skate with: My daughter is 5.5 and she is just getting into it. Skateboarding is perfect for teaching lessons like persistence, resilience and overcoming fear. Seeing her achieve new things is so incredible and inspires me! My son is just starting to be interested in skateboarding and likes to ride while holding my hands. I hope they both fall in love with it as I have.
What I would tell other moms: A lot of people say I’m inspiring and I think — “Nope, I’m just doing what I love!”. It’s so important to find something you’re passionate about and do it as often as you can. Self-care is a necessity for surviving, especially in parenthood!
Alex White
Age: 35
Monterey CA USA
Instagram: @thealexwhite
Years skating: 23
How often I skate: A couple of times a week
How I learned to skate: I started skating in Los Angeles as a kid and moved up the Central Coast and started competing in California Amateur Skateboarding League contests. I got sponsored by a couple of local shops and small companies. Then I moved to Los Angeles for college and filmed the part for Getting Nowhere Faster.
I met Amy [Caron] and Vanessa [Torres] and Lisa [Whitaker] and went on trips all around the world skateboarding. I started to make films and in 2005 I made a documentary about girls skateboarding.
I moved back to Monterey during the recession. Had my first son Henry in 2011 and my second son Billy in 2014. Now I’m a 35-year-old grown woman with two young sons and I still skate and my kids think that skateboarding is for dumb old ladies. They think Pokémon is way cooler.
Who I skate with: I skate my kids to school in the mornings. They’re just barely learning how to skate right now and I love every minute of it. Sometimes I drag them to the skate park but most of the time I meet up with my other old lady friends and we go skate the park by ourselves. Sometimes with new babysitters, I feel weird telling them that I’m going to the skate park. I need to skate, it’s like therapy for me.
What I would tell other moms: Skateboarding while you’re breastfeeding hurts. You gotta get a really good sports bra.
