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A decade ago, women and non-binary people were not always welcome or able to reach their full potential as skateboarders. Today the sport is undergoing a radical change.
Sydney will host a Street League Skateboarding (SLS) tournament this weekend, providing a high profile opportunity for local skaters to position themselves against the world's best.
Among the many competitors will be Australian women and girls who are propelling the sport into a new era of camaraderie alongside competition, all while breaking records and winning gold.
Teenage sensations making history
When Arisa Trew landed the 720 trick – so named due to it involving two full 360 rotations in the air — at the Vert Alert ramp competition in Salt Lake City in June, she wrote her name into the history books as the first girl or woman to land the trick.
The 13-year-old from the Gold Coast, who trained at Level Up Australia National Sports Academy, landed the 720 in front of Tony Hawk, who pioneered the trick in 1985.
She also became the first to land it in an X-Games competition while also winning gold in the women's vert.
At the same event, 13-year-old Chloe Covell from northern New South Wales won gold at the women's street competition, then later gold at a SLS in Japan.
Ruby Trew (no relation), a 14-year old from Sydney is another emerging world champion, winning silver in the park division at the World Skateboarding Olympic qualifier in Argentina in May.
Young girls and women in Australia now have "roll" models, like Arisa, Chloe and Ruby, who are world class skaters.
Covell hopes that the growing profile and visibility of her and others now get "many more girls and women get involved and to start shredding".
"There is always something on a weekend whether it be a comp or just a meet up somewhere at a skate park or hitting some street spots," she said.
"It's always an open invitation to whoever wants to come and hang out and skate no matter what level you are at."
In the lead up to 2024 Olympics in Paris, Australian girls are top medal contenders, regularly making it to the podium at the World Skateboarding qualifiers and winning at X-Games and SLS – some of the biggest and most commercially profitable skate competitions in the world.
A combination of formal and informal approaches has helped bring in changes in skating resulting in this impressive amount of progression.
Tokyo debut with 'culture of care'
Skateboarding made its debut at the Tokyo Olympics, and what stood out was a culture of care amongst the women and non-binary competitors.
Kat Williams, a pioneering competitive and sponsored skateboarder and now coach at Skate Australia, feels that two aspects are at play.
"Firstly, skateboarding is incredibly difficult; skateboarders constantly put their bodies on the line to progress the level of skateboarding. This earns them respect from all competitors for their dedication," Williams said.
"Secondly, women and non-binary skateboarders have been fighting for equality for a long time.
"In this male-dominated sport, they have faced significant challenges, uniting skateboarders in their understanding of the determination required to reach the high level of the Olympics."
Challenges have included no pay parity, women's competition divisions being held early in the day with less audience potential, lack of adequate funding and sexist attitudes that diminished their skill levels and sponsorship opportunities.
Williams said the Olympics played a role in creating change for women and girls in the sport.
"It created equal prize purses, and companies started to see growth in the women's industry, so they began recognising that there was a market to support women and non-binary skaters more," she said.
The Tokyo Olympics also drew attention to the importance of having more women judges like Australia's Shari Duffy from the Sunshine Coast who was a World Skate judge and has been a commentator since 2014.
The Bowlzilla/Yeah Girl and Girls Skate Australia competitions are examples in Australia where equal prize money is on offer.
Rumble Skateboarding also have made efforts to employ women coaches, MCs and other roles in their extensive competitions plus sponsored events at the community level, where there are also efforts by a range of skateboarders to educate and grow inclusive and respectful environments.
All organisations have supported opens, girls and women's divisions.
Building safe and inclusive spaces
Evie Ryder, who has been a sponsored skater, is a social worker and a co-founder of community initiatives such as We Skate QLD and Consent is Rad.
She emphasises the values that need to be encouraged include, "the camaraderie and encouragement of others that starts you skateboarding and keeps you in love with it".
"In the face of sexism, homophobia and transphobia, the act of supporting each other, and valuing each other beyond the skateboard is what shines bright all the way to the Olympics," Ryder said.
It is also Ryder's hope that there will continue to be support for "women's skateboarding at all skill levels, plus safe and inclusive skate spaces, access to safe skate facilities and equipment and coaching".
At the national level, new initiatives such as the Win Well 2032 campaign, part of Australia's High Performance 2032+ Sport Strategy, are also designed to address the well-being of athletes, including skateboarders, who are on the Olympic path.
The program emphasises values such as "how we win is just as important as when we win" and that participating sports be committed to "prioritising and focusing on the physical, mental, emotional, and cultural wellbeing of our athletes, coaches, staff, and sport as a whole".
The success of such programs often falls on professional staff and coaches, who in skateboarding have rarely been women. But in recent times, more are taking up such roles.
The World Skate organisation, which oversees Olympic qualification, has two men and two women on its commission, and their six person judging team includes two women.
As part of high-performance programs at Skate Australia, Williams oversees the Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement program.
"It really comes down to the idea that wellbeing is achieved through a holistic approach…a balance in life is more important than the end goal of a gold medal," Williams said.
"Elements from skateboarding that other sports can learn from in this area for example is the importance of 'play'.
"The key is to have a healthy, enjoyable journey through sport, and transitioning out of sport."
This includes careers like hers in skateboarding in post-competition years.
And with just under 12 months until the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the federal government has committed an extra $20 million to support Australia's medal hopes.
Skate Australia will receive a portion of a $5 million boost, which will be used to directly support skateboarders for Olympic qualifying events, and address a gap in support staff to prioritise the health and wellbeing of their athletes.
Friendships and fun
Skateboarding has always had a strong social scene with a culture that emphasises friendships and having fun with other skaters.
It's that social scene that X-Games and SLS gold medallist Covell credits, along with her family, as her biggest supporters who help her navigate some of the tricker parts of being an elite athlete.
"Everyone just tries to have a laugh and we all just make it fun," she said.
"I think Australia has one of the best skate scenes…I hope it continues to grow and everyone has the opportunity to pick up and skateboard and fall in love with it."
ABC Sport has partnered with Siren Sport to elevate the coverage of women and non-binary people in sport.
Indigo Willing is a sociologist, skateboarder and the co-author of Skateboarding, Power and Change (Palgrave) with Anthony Pappalardo.