Sky Brown looks over his shoulder towards Tower Bridge. “Definitely the coolest place I’ve ever skated,” she says. “To have that as a backdrop, it’s so iconic.”
The 15-year-old skateboarding superstar just performed a series of impressive tricks on a 14-foot-high floating half-pipe between two London buses on the Thames, stopping commuters, tourists and children in their tracks.
Naturally, Brown’s exhibit was part of a new advertising campaign for one of his many sponsors, luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer. But the Team GB sensation took a red-eye flight to London especially for it and then returned home to Los Angeles the next day. It’s not a normal week for a teenager. But Brown is no normal teenager.
This is the girl who signed her first endorsement deal at age seven, turned professional and landed a contract with Nike at age 10, and then became Britain’s youngest Olympic medalist at age 13.
This is the girl who has 2.2 million followers on TikTok and 1.3 million on Instagram, won Dancing with the Stars: Juniors on American television, released a musical single and two books and recently tried to qualify for the Olympics in a second sport. surf.
Skateboarding superstar Sky Brown aims for more Olympic medals in Paris this summer
Brown, just 15 years old, performed a series of impressive tricks between two London buses
For many athletes, being so young would derail their careers. For Brown, however, there are no such fears.
“Honestly, it’s very easy for me,” he says when sport mail He asks how he manages to make training compatible with his business commitments and his studies. ‘This is my lifestyle: skating, surfing and traveling. This is what I’ve always been doing. “I’m really grateful to be able to do what I love.”
So what is a typical day in the life of this extraordinary athlete like? “I try to get up around 5 a.m. so I can get in the ocean before everyone else and surf,” Brown begins. “Then I go home, eat something, go to school and then go to the skate park. If the waves continue to be good, I will surf again. “Then I will go out with friends and have dinner with my family.”
On that basis, it appears that Brown’s daily life remains relatively unchanged from before she won her historic Olympic bronze medal in the women’s park event in Tokyo three years ago. However, her fame has skyrocketed since those Games, when she not only caught the attention of the British public, but gained new fans around the world.
“I got a lot more followers,” says Brown, who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother, Mieko, and an English father, Stuart. ‘Just by going to different places, like being in London now, a lot of people recognize me.
‘Going around the world and having people recognize me everywhere is really special. I have always wanted to inspire. I have seen growth in skateboarding, especially in young girls getting into the sport.
Brown’s fame exploded after winning the bronze medal in the women’s park event in Tokyo.
He has grown as a person and believes he has more power and strength on his skateboard.
As for her literal growth, Brown estimates that she is only two inches taller than when she competed in Tokyo. She’she was 5 feet tall and now I’m 5 feet 2 inches tall. I thought she was going to grow a little more!’ she laughs. But it is evident that she has grown as a person. The young woman we saw in Tokyo is now a young woman, and she even has a hairstylist and makeup artist on hand for a touch-up before getting in front of our camera.
“I feel older,” he says. ‘I’ve grown a little. I have gained more power and strength. “I have some new tricks on the skateboard, so I’m really excited to show them off.”
Brown certainly proved that a year ago, when he won gold at the World Championships in Sharjah, virtually guaranteeing his place in Paris the first time he asked for it.
Now ranked third in the world park rankings, it is almost a formality that it confirms its Olympic berth at the upcoming qualifying events in Shanghai and Budapest.
Brown will then go to the Games as one of the gold medal favorites, although it’s not that she’s fazed. “I really want to get gold for Team GB, for my family and for all my fans,” she says. ‘It would mean a lot to them and it would be crazy.
‘I don’t feel pressure. Having already done it in Tokyo makes me want to show off my new tricks even more. It’s just exciting for me. Skating isn’t about medals, it’s about the show you put on. I just want to show what I love to do and how beautiful skating is. “Paris is one of my favorite places and I can’t wait to skate there.”
Brown narrowly missed qualifying in surfing, and is now focusing entirely on skateboarding.
Brown’s ultimate ambition for Paris 2024 was to qualify for the surfing competition, which is held 16,000 kilometers away on the island of Tahiti, in French Polynesia, as well as for skateboarding.
Her dream of a unique double ended earlier this month, when she was eliminated from the repechage rounds at the World Surfing Games, finishing third in her heat, with the top two finishers.
“I was a little discouraged because I was so close to getting in,” she says. “It was one place away. But it lights a bigger fire in my heart. I’m not too far from Los Angeles and I’m going to aim for that. Do it first in Paris, hopefully get a gold and then get two golds in Los Angeles!” !’
Outside of sport, Brown is still interested in pursuing singing, following her 2020 pop single GIRL, which has been viewed 29 million times on YouTube, and dancing, following her reality TV success in 2018. “I also try some hip-hop and I play the guitar. I try to do as much as I can,” he adds.
The truth is that Brown can do (and be) whatever he wants. The sky really is the limit.