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Think back to what you were doing at the age of 14. Struggling with homework? Playing GoldenEye every waking moment? Feeling embarrassed by your parents?
What about training to compete at the Olympics in two different sports off the back of becoming world champion in one of them? That's the reality for Sky Brown, the 14-year-old skateboard prodigy who has already achieved more than most athletes ever will – and still has the world at her wheels.
You'll most likely know her name from the Tokyo Olympics, where at the age of 13 she made history as Team GB's youngest-ever medallist, clinching the women's park bronze on her last run. Stepping onto the Olympic podium with close friends Sakura Yosozumi (19 years old) and Cocona Hiraki (12), the trio symbolised a new generation of girls at the pinnacle of skateboarding. They did the same this year at the World Championships, but this time, Brown stood the highest.
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A keen surfer, Brown has her mind set on Paris 2024, competing – and winning gold – for Team GB in both skateboarding and surfing. As she says, it's a “big dream”: only a handful of Olympians have attempted two different sports at one Olympiad, and vanishingly few have achieved medals (including three Frenchmen in 1900 who won golds in Rugby Union and tug of war). The young Olympian is under no illusion that it's going to be easy: “I've achieved many things that weren't expected,” Brown tells GQ after a morning surf. “It'll obviously be very hard, but I'm going to try my best and if it doesn't happen, we'll try again.”
Brown has confounded expectations with impressive regularity. At 10 years old, the world champion won the first season of Dancing with the Stars: Junior, something she says came with more pressure than competing at the World Championships. Even a significant ramp accident in 2020 – which her father says she was lucky to survive – didn't stop her from jumping back on the board at the earliest opportunity. For the young skateboard champion who sees her arena as a playground, life is simple: “I love skateboarding. I love the feeling of learning new tricks. I love the feeling of being a world champion.”
Between surf training, skateboarding and schoolwork, GQ managed to find time to talk to Brown – one of Team GB's most extraordinary athletes – about winning a world title, skateboarding's Olympic impact and becoming TAG Heuer's youngest-ever ambassador.
GQ: Congratulations on the world title!
Sky Brown: Thank you! It was a blast. Being world champion is really cool, and getting back on the podium again with my buddies, Sakura and Cocona, was amazing, too.
Is it difficult to stay competitive when you have such strong friendships?
Everybody's family, and we really need each other to push. We're very competitive, but we're also best buddies. If they beat me or I beat them, we're really proud of and so happy for each other. We also want to beat each other too, so it's a lot, but we've been doing it for a while now.
How different did it feel to the bronze in Tokyo?
It felt different to the Olympics but still felt like I was back again with everyone. It was fun seeing their progression but also seeing a bunch of new skaters coming up. It's crazy.
Why are so many of the world's best skateboarders are still teenagers? What's the secret?
Skateboarding hurts. You fall a lot, you're going to suffer some slams, so maybe that's why: when we're younger, there hasn't been as much of that. After the Olympics, too, I think a lot of little girls were inspired to start.
You suffered a major fall in 2020 – how did you move past that, and do you get more nervous now?
I know the fall was bad, but honestly, it made me stronger today. I don't think I'd be here if I didn't have that fall. When I was sitting and couldn't do anything, I was just thinking about what I was going to do next, what I really wanted to do. It gave me a big boost – a lot of people get scared but I knew I wasn't going to stop. It's my playground, it's what I love to do, so I was just excited to get back on the board. I had so many new ideas.
You've had an incredible career so far. Do you feel pressure to keep progressing?
I love skateboarding. I love the feeling of learning new tricks. I love the feeling of being a world champion. I don't think it's pressure, but I do feel a responsibility to keep inspiring girls, push boundaries and close the gender gap. I definitely do feel that responsibility, but skateboarding is just what I love to do [laughs].
How exciting is it to be in this generation of women's skateboarding? It seems to have exploded in recent years.
Yeah, it's very popular. It's great how much it's progressed since the Olympics, too, with Sakura, Cocona and all of the girls. We're seeing new tricks, they're getting higher and I'm getting higher. It's really cool to see.
With the World Championships, you've secured your spot at Paris 2024. How important has Olympic recognition been for the sport?
The Olympics was a big boost for skateboarding, and a big boost for girls in skateboarding, too. I now see a lot of girls at the skate park – it wasn't like that before, it was just guys. It's been really cool to see skate culture develop. Everyone's skating everywhere – in the streets I'll always find someone skating. It's great to see what the Olympics has done.
What's the latest with surfing? Are you still looking at 2024 for that as well?
Yeah, my goal is to get into both surfing and skateboarding. I know it's going to be difficult, but I'm surfing quite a lot now, and I'm going try my best to get in for both.
How do you train in skateboarding and surfing? Do you have coaches?
I don't really have a coach, although my dad does help me a lot. He's always helped me since I was little. That's what I love about skateboarding and surfing: if you just keep on doing it, you'll find things to do, fun things you want to learn. It's easy to keep going.
We all help each other. When I show up at a skate park, like Huntington Vans Skatepark, I always see people like Christian Hosoi there, these legend skaters that'll always help me out. They'll say Oh, try this trick or do this and tweak this, extend it. It's so sick. We are one big family.
Do you have a specific fitness routine?
I went to the gym and the surf training group yesterday, and we really work out our arms and legs. Surfing and skateboarding are very similar – we use the same kind of techniques and the same muscles. You also need a lot of cardio, because we need to last 45 seconds in a bowl, pumping and going as high as we can. It's the same thing with surfing. It's good training for both – they help each other.
My mum is very healthy. She's a nutritionist and she makes sure I eat really healthily, especially when I'm at home. But before a contest, I'll probably eat ramen or something. It's not healthy, but it's my comfort food.
So is going to a contest as much about mentality and feeling good as feeling physically ready?
Yeah, definitely. With skateboarding, you can't really know what's going to happen. You can fall on any little trick. You could be really good in practice, but in the competition, you could fall on the easiest trick in your run. It's about having confidence, committing and having a good headspace.
How do you balance all your competitions with schoolwork?
I like to wake up early to go surfing first thing, then go do some schoolwork. After school, I'll probably go skate or if the waves are pumping then I'll probably go surf again, but it's actually pretty chill if you wake up early. I have a good routine.
It makes sense, with such an active day, that you're an ambassador for TAG Heuer. Why does TAG fit so well with you and extreme sports?
In the water, I didn't know the time I had to get out for school, so having the watch with me is really helpful. When you're skating, you have 45 seconds per run, so I like to time it on the watch, too. Time management is really important to me, so having my TAG on me all the time has made me feel way more organised.
What's your go-to piece?
The TAG Heuer Connected. It looks cool.
That does help.
Yeah, it does! It's great to have in the ocean. It's helpful when I have to do mock heats too – we have 20 minutes to catch a certain amount of waves, I can check my calories and it has Spotify on it, too, which is great for me because I love listening to music when I'm working out or training.
What's your aim for next year and Paris 2024?
I definitely want to get there for both surfing and skateboarding. The dream is to get two gold medals for Team GB in surfing and skateboarding – that's a big dream, I know, but I'm going to work hard, push boundaries and hopefully get there.
What you've done so far proves that it's achievable.
Yeah, I mean, I've achieved many things that weren't expected. It'll obviously be very hard, but I'm going try my best and if it doesn't happen, we'll try again.
