‘Deeply inclusive’: Skateboarding comes of age

When 68-year-old skateboarding legend Tony Alva carved through the concrete bowl at the Surf Skate Expo in Cornwall, a point was made for all people of a similar age.

Skateboarding is not just for the young. It is for anyone with balance, an acceptance of the humiliation when you are learning, and a love for riding.

Jon Bishop, 51, from Newquay, came from board sports like surfing and found skateboarding during lockdown.

“I built a ramp for my son during Covid,” he recalls. “Then I thought, why not give it a go myself?”

What surprised Mr Bishop most was not just the thrill of skating, it was the community.

“You can have a six-year-old and a 60-year-old in the same bowl, and it’s all hunky-dory,” he said. “The culture is so inclusive.”

Alva featured in Dogtown and Z-Boys, a documentary about the original California skaters who pioneered vertical skating in empty swimming pools during the 1970s.

Newquay’s Concrete Waves skatepark, with its tiled edges and concrete coping, is “mellow facsimile”, said Mr Bishop.

“But it’s got the same spirit. Seeing Tony skate it was historic.”

Mr Bishop said: “There’s a common story, People drifted away in the ’90s, had kids, and then got back into it when their children showed interest.

“I’d always made excuses, worried about injuries because I’m a guitar player by trade. But once I started, it was fabulous.”

Dr Paul O’Connor from the University of Exeter, who has researched ageing and skateboarding, agrees.

“Skateboarding is inclusive in a deep way,” he said.

“It’s not just ‘everyone’s welcome’, it’s a hand up. People are pulled in, supported, and met at their own level.”

Mr Bishop added that the skateboarding culture feels more welcoming than others. “Surfing culture can be a bit toxic,” he said. “Skateboarding is different, more open, more supportive.”

Dr O’Connor’s research highlights the mental and emotional rewards of skateboarding.

“It’s calming, almost spiritual,” he said.

“When you’re on a board, you’re completely in the moment. You can’t think about anything else.”

Mr Bishop said: “It’s a great physical workout, but also a psychological one.

“Learning anything later in life takes longer. Watching my son progress made that clear. But the joy of finally landing a trick, it’s unmatched.”

Skateboarding is not just a sport, it is a gateway, said Dr O’Connor.

“It connects people to other things,” he said. “Music, art, design, writing. People who skateboard rarely just skateboard.”

Mr Bishop documented his own journey on YouTube, from building his ramp to learning his first tricks.

“I included all the failures,” he said. “People appreciated the honesty. Some even said it helped them get into skateboarding themselves.”

One of the most striking changes in Dr O’Connor’s recent research is the rise of women in skateboarding.

“Ten years ago, it was hard to find women over 35 who skated,” he says. “Now, it’s a 50/50 gender split. Women are embracing it, often because they felt excluded when they were younger.”

Plymouth’s Stefanie Nurding, who was skating at the Expo, now has her own skateboarding brand and successful social media presence.

And while older men are sometimes accused of chasing a midlife crisis, older women are celebrated for embracing their fears. “It’s a subtle but important shift,” Dr O’Connor said.

Mr Bishop points out that skateboarding competitions now span generations.

Britain’s own Olympic park skateboarding representative, Andy Macdonald, is the same age as Mr Bishop, proof that elite-level skating does not have an age limit.

Skateparks like Prime in Plymouth welcome older skaters with their Old Man Mondays sessions, which are popular for mature users and the over 40s get in for less at the door.

So will Mr Bishop and Dr O’Connor still be skating at 68, like Tony Alva?

“I hope so,” said Mr Bishop. “Tony’s still skating well. And there are plenty of people older than him still going strong.”

Dr O’Connor agreed. “I smile when I think back to my 13-year-old self. I’m still doing it. And there’s no reason to stop. It makes me happy.”

And as the saying goes in older skateboarding circles: “You didn’t give up skateboarding because you got old. You got old because you gave up skateboarding.”