Birds on Boards

Fitness, Life/Style - November 15, 2016

I was so stoked to receive this Penny Skateboard delivery last month! As a kid, I would skateboard everywhere on my 31” wooden board, with black grip deck, neon pink wheels and silver skull artwork - the only kid on the block riding a board as we went on adventures in and around the Yorkshire countryside. I absolutely adored that skateboard, it was so hard leaving it all loved, scratched up and battered behind in an English charity shop when I was packing up my life to move to Aussie.</P>
<P>Fast-forward twenty-something years later and I received this little beauty through the mail. Shamelessly singing the lyrics to Avril Levigne’s 'Sk8er Boi' at the top of my lungs when it plays on the radio in my car (my preferred four wheel mode of transport these days) is probably the closest I’ve come to skateboarding in the past few decades.</P>
<P>So I guess you’re wondering why I’m even blogging about this, huh? Well, read on, people…</P>

I was literally so stoked to receive this Penny Skateboard delivery last month. Gee, I must have been – “stoked’? I wasn’t even aware that word was in my vocabulary. Clearly the eight-year old skater-girl inside me is already starting to come out…

As a kid, I would skateboard everywhere on my 31” wooden skateboard, with black grip deck, neon pink wheels and silver skull artwork – mainly because my mom wouldn’t let me get a BMX before I was ten. How she felt a skate board was safer than a bike, I have no idea – but I guess four wheels were better than two, and it was the eighties after all. I must admit I always felt pretty rad being the only kid on the block riding a board as we went on adventures in and around the Yorkshire countryside. I absolutely adored that skateboard and remember how hard it was leaving it behind, all scratched up and battered and loved, in an English charity shop when I was packing up my life to move to Aussie.

Fast-forward twenty-something years later and I received this little beauty through the mail. Unwrapping the iconic Penny Skateboard packaging, a thrill of excitement rushed through me… I’ve not skated in literally forever – except maybe a few years ago at the agency when playing about on a mates board to snap a cute pic for the Perth Fashion Festival #Restyle event… but oh wow, skater or not, anyone could see that this Penny is what you call a skateboard!

Alas, shamelessly singing the lyrics to Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi at the top of my lungs when it plays on the radio in my car (my preferred four wheel mode of transport these days) is probably the closest I’ve come to skateboarding in the past few decades. Roller-blading, I can do. Ice skating, I love. SUP-ing I adore. But skateboards? Oh gee, it’s been a while. Okay, I suppose what I’m trying to do here is establish the fact that I’m no Sk8er girl.

So I guess you’re wondering why I’m even blogging about this, huh?

See, the thing is, the guys at Penny Skateboards are pretty into their fine detail. They know what their audience wants, what they enjoy and what they love. I was absolutely astonished after I removed the skateboard from it’s personalised box and tissue to reveal the actual design of the board… The aptly named Toucan Tropicana is a 27” black nickel board, with milky-white wheels and vibrant tropical jungle artwork – featuring Galahs, Cockatiels and Lorikeets within the design! To have my very own birdies Thor, Kenickie and Lola featured on the board really does make it unlike any other. I can’t thank the guys at Penny Skateboards enough – it’s possibly the best thing I’ve been gifted for my blog to date!

“When the sky turns dark, these birds won’t fly away.”

The board is so beautifully designed, I hardly wanted to take it out for fear of scratching it! (Oh, c’mon, lets face it, it was virtually guaranteed.) Oooh, but wait – my fave bit? The glow-in-the-dark wheels (a Penny debut!), which light up the night! Glow-in-the-dark! Jeez, I really am starting to feel like it’s the 80’s all over again. Except, you can forget the Iron Maiden-esque silver skull designs – tropical jungle birdies are how we roll in 2016…

I may not be a skater-chick, but hey – this time last year, I was no runner. And I just ran a marathon (well, okay, if we’re being specific, two half maras in as many months – but that’s pretty much the same thing, right?). I do love a good challenge (just wait ‘till you hear what I’m doing in February) – and so took this little beauty out and about around Perth to take some cool shots. And maybe a few stumbles…

Whilst it was fun getting back into the flow, gliding around Lancelin, the Pinnacles and along the West Coast Hwy, I was kind of keen to take it easy because all I truly wanted to do was get this board mounted onto the wall at home as one awesome piece of art. As for my skating career? Yeah, some dreams are meant to be shelved. Or mounted on the wall in this case. Well, that’s if I manage to tear my little feathered friends Kenickie and Lola away from their new perch/mode of transport…

Whether you’re a professional, a head-over-arse novice like me, or indeed a tropical birdie with a taste for adventure, I guess it’s true what they say… your fun really does start on a Penny.

Thanks to the guys at Penny Skateboards for sponsoring this post and for entertaining the idea of my skating ‘abilities’. It was totally rad.

Sorry… 😉

Shop the full range of boards and accessories at the official Australian Penny Skateboards store – and learn how you can benefit the communities of Ethiopia by Skating with Purpose!