I first met Josie five years ago when she was 15. I pulled up at The Level skatepark in Brighton and there was another girl and it was a shocker for me. She was cruising the bowl with effortless style. She was just racing around the skatepark looking so natural. I knew she was really young and I talked to her, how long she was skating and stuff. She said she started just recently and used to scooter (she’s not gonna like that). She scootered for a little bit and then she found the light.
Impossible
I said we should go skating together, hit up some street. So we made a plan and kept meeting at The Level. Instagram just hit at that time and I filmed her and put some clips on there. The one day we went out to skate street, we went to Sussex University and there are some really cool spots. She showed me some stuff, some gaps and drops and she hucked herself down there. I haven’t seen anything like that before.
"She was hugely talented. It was so cool to see this girl come from nowhere."
The next time we skated together, I told her that I do these sessions that take place in a little skatepark in Brighton. I asked her to come along. It was for 13 and upwards and she came but unfortunately was under the age and had to wear a helmet. So we regularly met up on these Thursday evenings. She pushed me to do more gnarly stuff. She definitely inspired the whole group of people there who came to the sessions and it was their first time of skateboarding. They were like, “Wow, she is so young and she can do it.”
Wallie
So she definitely led the charge there in Brighton and got a lots of girls into skateboarding. We kept on making little clips for Instagram. She just got better and better and got some reposts by some big accounts, Metro and the Berrics. It was so cool to see how skateboarding was blowing up. She just became one of the young Instagram sensations and got lots of followers. She got some interest from different brands, wanting to flow her and just naturally I wanted to help cause I went through this before. Her parents didn’t know what was going on really, they didn’t know she could hopefully make a career out of it. But she got something a lot of people won’t ever have: the steeze and the style as well as the tricks. So Nike sent an offer and she has been really grateful and stoked for their support and has been traveling with them on trips since then. I’m really proud of her, where she has gotten today and how much more she can achieve through skateboarding. It’s a pleasure to have her as my friend and be constantly inspired by someone who is just on a whole new level of skateboarding. That’s great for us over here because we have someone to look up to and she’s traveling and putting the UK on the map for female skateboarding. I’m proud of her and that I’m able to be a part of her journey. She has struggled with an injury in the past, but she is over her ankle and I think next year will be really crazy for her. Hopefully, we can see a full part. Because that’s what I want to see!
Beanplant
