A global gathering of people who believe in skateboarding as a vehicle for social good convened for the first Social Skate Summit in London last month.
Backdropped by a scorching summer weekend some of skateboarding’s most forward-thinking individuals, organisation and academics, as well as Pushing Boarders alumni, journeyed from the University College London’s East Campus to the Southbank undercroft to discuss ideas and share joyous moments along the way.
Story, interviews and photography by Lee Dubin
Audio editing and production by Farran Golding
Listen to this article. Also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The sun is setting over London during an unprecedented May heatwave as a cacophony of whoops and shouts and boards slamming concrete with the fervor of admiration — the sounds of a trick accomplished — carries into the air from the Southbank undercroft.
It’s the audible response one would imagine a “typical” skateboarding session would elicit with outlandish, risky or wildcard tricks being landed. Tonight, however, it is just as likely to follow a kickturn on a bank as it is a switch kickflip, both punctuated by the flashes of photographer Norma Ibarra’s camera.
Some may feel that setting a low barrier for such a massive roar of praise diminishes the value of the reaction. The palpable, incandescent joy and camaraderie gushing beyond the jersey barrier perimeter of Southbank’s smaller basin would prove otherwise. This uncommon Southbank session was the culminating event of the Social Skate Summit held across May 24th and 25th on East Campus of the University College London, organised by a coalition of some of the most impactful activists and academics including Keep Rolling‘s Aurore Roussel and Rachael Sherlock, Goodpush‘s Rhianon Bader, Free Movement’s Ruby Mateja, Dr Esther Sayers of City Mill Skate and Paris Hyman of University College London.
If there is anything that this session and the Social Skate Summit weekend certify, it is that exuding joy is the whole point. As much of it as possible, as often as we can.
Panel host Rhiannon Bader, head of Goodpush at Skatistan, shares some impactful insights from the 2025 edition of the Survey of Social Skateboarding Projects Worldwide, a survey that “aims to better understand and document the goals, activities, impact, and evolution of skateboarding for social change globally.”
What is “social skateboarding”?
The term “social skateboarding” has emerged in recent years to describe the activities of various individuals, collectives and projects that use skateboarding as a platform for creating a positive social impact, many of which operate as non-profits and are set apart from the skateboard industry.
Activities which social skateboarding projects focus on include, but are not limited to: developing progressive skate parks, spots and spaces; offering support for underserved youth and minority communities; increasing access to skateboarding in countries impacted by war, exemplified by the likes of Skatistan in Afghanistan and beyond and SkatePal in Palestine; grassroots organising in arts and culture engagement, and much more.
“It feels like these kinds of gatherings are now an accepted part of skateboarding and they show how we, as skateboarders, collectively shape what skateboarding is”
— Thom Callan-Riley, co-founder of Pushing Boarders
The notion of organising a summit to bring together varied causes operating across culturally and geographically disparate pockets of skateboarding has roots in Pushing Boarders. Billed as the first academic conference on skateboarding, Pushing Boarders convened panels that placed luminaries from the worlds of skate media, academia, architectural study and philanthropy alongside discussions on community, race and gender. Co-organised by, amongst others, Thom Callan-Riley and Dr. Sander Hölsgens — current and former PhD students of Dr. Iain Borden, author of the seminal book Skateboarding And The City — Pushing Boarders first took place in 2018 at The Bartlett, Faculty of the Built Environment and London’s House of Vans followed by a more expansive programme at Bryggeriets Gymnasium high school in Malmö, Sweden.
To Callan-Riley, the Social Skate Summit was a dream to see happen. “From our perspective, we started Pushing Boarders as an experiment, as a kind of intervention into the discourse on skateboarding. It feels like these kinds of gatherings are now an accepted part of skateboarding and they show how we, as skateboarders, collectively shape what skateboarding is,” says Callan-Riley.
“What emerged was a global gathering of people who believe, to varying degrees and in many forms, that skateboarding has the power to change the world.”
— Lee Dubin
The Social Skate Summit is now one of many in a global programme of skateboarding gatherings that offer opportunities for more cerebral discussion, the likes of which include Ryan Lay’s Slow Impact in Tempe, Arizona, Leo Valls’ Connect in Bordeaux, France, the upstart Adjacent in Portland, Oregon or Skate Nottingham’s ‘Skateboarding and the City’ festival to name a few. However, where the aforementioned events tend to be more aligned with “core” skateboarding (and by extension, the skateboarding industry), the Social Skate Summit’s sole aim, as per the organisers, was to “create a space to connect, exchange ideas, and showcase the powerful ways skateboarding transforms communities”. What emerged was a global gathering of people who believe, to varying degrees and in many forms, that skateboarding has the power to change the world.
The programme began with a “speed dating” format where participants could mingle within a multitude of categories like education, researching or marketing, and moved into panel talks on subjects such as building inclusive spaces and communities of care to the impacts of skateboarding on mental wellbeing. Skate sessions were held daily at the City Mill Skate Dot on campus, a successful advocacy project in its own right, and nightly at both BAYSIXTY6 and Southbank.
Over the course of the weekend, people carved out space at parks and in pubs and on public transport to share their most intimate struggles and proudest achievements, building bridges across language barriers and gender identities in a way that is uniquely accelerated by standing on a skateboard.
Joyously Defiant, Overwhelmingly Wholesome
Day 1 of the Social Skate Summit at University College London, City Mill Skate and BaySixty6 Skatepark
University College London, East Campus
Participants begin to arrive outside One Pool Street at University College London’s East campus, proving that the Venn diagram of skateboarders and cyclists is often one big circle. Dr. Esther Sayers, senior lecturer in education at Goldsmiths, University of London (pictured centre), is one of the organisers behind the Social Skate Summit. Its focus on highlighting grassroots organisers and creating practical support structures for those operating in the social skateboarding space was in keeping with the research around the community-led City Mill skatepark project itself.
“Skateboarding’s proximity to social factors like health, politics, equality, learning, excites me. I wanted to be involved in the Summit because it created a space to hear from the people making things happen in the global network of social skateboarding. These are people driven by a sense of equity, often working for low or no pay and I wanted to see them and their work spotlighted,” says Sayers.
Distinguished skate academics and good pals Dr. Harry Meadley and Dr. Paul O’Connor catch up for a laugh. Meadley, a senior lecturer in fine art at Leeds Beckett University completed his PhD last year. His thesis ‘The Art of Skating Institutions’ utilised skateboarding as a form of socially-engaged arts to create more inclusive public spaces aimed at improving safety and uplifting women and gender-diverse skateboarders.
“Social skateboarding is a joyous defiance, it softens the inside of your heart but also hardens the outside,” says Meadley. “The Social Skate Summit felt like a rare moment where that hardened outer layer was no longer needed. Yes, the event itself was also a form of joyous defiance, but was so overwhelmingly wholesome that it seemed to surmount any sense of oppositionality. It felt like a space in which people relinquished themselves of the weight that must be carried when doing incredible community work. A sort of collective unburdening.”
Lucía Cortés of Skatesencia Berlin and Curare Skateboarding checks out a stacked sticker and zine table.
Summit organiser Ruby Mateja and host Sam Bruce kick off the programming with a smile. Mateja is one of the figures behind the Athens-based organisation Free Movement Skateboarding which works with local, refugee and migrant communities. Bruce, a qualified stuntwoman and presenter, was one of the UK’s earliest prominent and sponsored female skateboarders of the 2000s who went on to win a BAFTA for the children’s TV show Milkshake. Below, Thom Callan-Riley pays close attention, starstruck by the impressive resumes above him.
The first of five panels across two days, ‘How to Build a Social Skate Project: Caring for Communities and Creating Inclusive Space,’ begins with a hearty round of applause.
From left to right: Panel host Yusra Alageli (Skate Parlour Leicester and Mama Skate), Houda Ait Lahcen (Tifrkhin Skate and Concrete Jungle Foundation), Daryl Dominguez (Push Philippines and Skate Nepal), Griffin Given (Transkaters), Veronica Zamudio (UCanSkate) and Norma Ibarra (UCanSkate).
Photographer, photojournalist and activist Norma Ibarra and Anveer Mahta, founder of Skate Life Goa, share a giggle before their panel, ‘From Passion to Profession: Creating Sustainable Social Skate Careers.’
Ibarra was especially excited to make it out to the Social Skate Summit this year as her organisation UCanSkate Mexico officially became a nonprofit.
“I saw it as a great opportunity to connect with other social impact organizations from around the world, learn from their experiences, and share our own journey. It also felt incredibly meaningful to contribute my perspective on a panel and be in a space filled with people who are all working toward similar goals and community-driven values through skateboarding.” says Ibarra.
From left to right: Dr. Sander Hölsgens, Theo Krish (SkatePal), Stuart Maclure (Long Live Southbank and Betongpark) and Thom Callan-Riley, four of the six minds behind Pushing Boarders, an event widely agreed to be the origin of the modern skate conference. City Mill Skate, UCL East
Following a successful campaign to retain the Southbank undercroft and have it recognised for its local, national and global value to skateboarding the Long Live Southbank campaign “purposefully went silent,” explains Stuart Maclure.
“Our work was done, we wanted the space to go back to being an organic thing that would naturally have groups come and go, and find use for the new area.
“The little banks and expanded area were always meant to be more beginner friendly, to act as a bit of a training ground to get you comfortable on going down the bigger banks, which can be a little intimidating. To see groups like London Skate Mums use the space for regular sessions, it’s amazing, it’s exactly what we had hoped would happen.”
Participants take a break in the shade between programmes at One Pool Street on the UCL East Campus.
The people’s prince, Harry Meadley bravely makes his way to BAYSIXTY6 after a nosebleed on the tube.
BAYSIXTY6, North Kensington, London
“I have attended many skateboarding events over the years and rarely felt like I belonged there entirely. There was always something missing. After years of telling people, ‘Imagine if we did this, imagine if we did that,’ we finally just made it happen,” says Roussel.
“One of our panelists said ‘be the change you want to see,’ and that is exactly what we did. We created a platform for people who are not always represented in traditional skateboarding spaces, and our greatest hope was for them to leave knowing that they are the change.”
Griffin Given, disability inclusion lead and director of Transkaters and WXMC rider, suits up to rip. Transkaters host sessions on the 2nd Friday of every month at BAYSIXTY6.
Winona Wee, a founder of Other Skate Co., is all good vibes as she waits for her go. Other began as “Beginner Bumps” in 2023, aiming to support women and non-binary people in learning how to skate. In April, the organisation registered as a Community Interest Company (CIC) under Other Skate Co.
“Other Skate Company was started as a safe space for anyone who feels othered at the skate park. We have close to 200 members, and have been around for about two years with the ambition to make skateboarding accessible for more people. There are three founders: Lucy [Jordan], Sophie [Piggott], and myself. We’re relatively younger than some of the other skate collectives, so going to the summit really opened our eyes up to the possibilities of how we could shape Other Skate moving forward,” says Wee.
Lifting The Whole Session
Day 2 of the Social Skate Summit at
University College London and Southbank
The second day began with the panel ‘Collective Impact: How to Prove the Positive Impact Skateboarding Can Have.’ From left to right: Alberto Santos (sport psychologist), Dr. Esther Sayers (Goldsmitths, University of London), and Nicole Humphreys (Black Girls Shred). Not pictured: Jay Mandarino (International Skate Certification Program) and Susie Halsell (Bangladesh Street Kids Aid).
Lynsay Holmes is one of the most effervescent and fun people in any given room. Their project From The Ground Up works to build community for FLINTA* skaters (female, lesbian, intersex, nonbinary, trans and/or agender people) and emerged through the ROLL Models program established by GoodPush and Women Win.
Thom Callan-Riley, Theo Krish and Sander Hölgens. Are they so inspired that they are plotting a third Pushing Boarders? We can only dream.
Midday ice cream with a man whose journalistic output goes the distance, from Simple Magic to The Observer. “I’m really interested in how gatherings like these are a form of worldbuilding,” says Thom Callan-Riley, who is currently completing his PhD. “They are shaping what skateboarding is, not just for the people who attend them, but the ripple effects are huge. They can shape people’s relationship with skateboarding, and I’m really interested in how that can impact how people experience public space.” (I’d follow Thom anywhere, but I’m always glad to be led to a sweet treat.)
Skaters take over the tube on our way to hit Southbank and check out the Skate50 exhibition on the hottest day of a heatwave. Nothing binds new friends together like dripping with sweat on public transport.
←← Mat Junge (Rookie Slash) and James Bignell (The Grove DIY).
← Muna Diof (Chill Foundation) and Lynsay Holmes.
Always skate through the tube station. Winona Wee gets it.
Sander Hölgens and queer icon, Lovenskate pro and trailblazer Lucy Adams share a pre-sesh yap sesh at Southbank
“What struck me most was a huge sense of pride for the organising crew. Having spent a few decades working in skateboarding, I know just how much work, risk and emotional energy goes into creating an event like this,” says Adams.
“What made the Social Skate Summit feel special was how brilliantly it was delivered. What I admired most was that the organisers didn’t seem to wait for permission. There wasn’t this kind of reliance on approval from traditional gatekeepers or huge commercial brands to validate what they were doing. They simply recognised a need, brought people together, and created something very meaningful.
“There’s a real lesson in that for skateboarding. The feeling reminded me of being in a skate session when someone lands a trick they’ve been working on. Their success doesn’t diminish anyone else, it lifts the whole session. You feel inspired, motivated and excited about what’s possible. That’s how I left the Summit: feeling proud, but also thinking, ‘What could I create? What could I contribute?’”
↑ Lynsay Holmes shares her From the Ground Up zine about consent with Nytaï Sam Aidlin from Rookie Slash.
→ Perfect light for portraits: Cara, an artist using skateboarding for social change, and Lily Pearson, musician and graphic designer.
↓ The joy is the whole point! Cara and Rotimi Joseph share an embrace at Southbank.
→ Aurore Roussel is not feeling joy at getting clocked by my camera. Although she would like to stay behind the scenes, we (I) will not let her. Whereas Ruby Mateja is much happier being photographed, or at least less inclined to express their dissatisfaction.
Turns out putting Sander Hölgens in proximity is how to get Aurore Roussel smiling! Roussel, who runs Keep Rolling, alongside Rachael Sherlock, was the main organiser of the Social Skateboarding Summit. Her and Sherlock also recently shot a short film on the London Skate Mums (of New York Times fame) which is showing as part of the Southbank Centre’s ‘Skate50’ exhibition.
The pair’s London Skate Mums project began with a brief to create something which represented a contemporary Southbank community that would speak to an audience beyond skateboarding.
“We immediately thought of London Skate Mums,” says Roussel. “They have lessons at Southbank all the time and are such a big part of what makes the spot what it is now. We are really close with Aiwa [Saito, founder of London Skate Mums] and have known her kids since they were learning their first tricks there.
“[Aiwa] felt like the perfect person to anchor the story. She connects so many threads at once, the family side, the skate mums community, the new generation, the international dimension, and the people who have been skating Southbank forever, like their coach Joseph.”
Rosie Archie (Nations Skate Youth) and Joel Pippus (Push to Heal) watch in awe as Houda Ait Lahcen (Tifrkhin Skate) blasts a frontside boneless.
Norma Ibarra captures Esther Sayers who, moments earlier, had watched a clip on her phone of a Channel 4 news feature on the London Skate Mums skating at Southbank.
↑ Heike Boettcher of Hamburg’s Space Invaders has been all smiles all weekend.
→ The vibes are high as Esther Sayers, Nytaï Aidlin, Cara, Rotimi Joseph, Winona Wee and Heike Boettcher wait their turn and spectators gather along the sidewalk to watch.
↓ Some say the cheers from Southbank could be heard from all across London that night.
Lynsay Holmes and Harry Meadley have a moment on the bridge as we trek across to find (more) gelato to end the night. I feel extremely lucky to have experienced such a remarkable environment and share with you a bit of Social Skate Summit’s magic.
Across the weekend there were conversations regarding the language used within skateboarding which determines things to be a “complete” or “definitive” account of a space, time or scene. In that spirit, I would like to acknowledge that this is not an exhaustive documentation of the Social Skate Summit. There are a number of instrumental people, without whom this weekend would not have been possible, that I did not have the pleasure of crossing paths with or photographing.
Thankfully, there were a number of talented photographers and writers present who did a stellar job at documenting and reflecting upon the event for both celebration and posterity within the growing landscape of skateboard conferences. This includes Thom Callan-Riley discussing the Social Skate Summit’s “radical worldbuilding” for Simple Magic or Norma Ibarra’s uncanny ability to capture any notable moment or perspective.
An Epilogue with Esther Sayers
Hackney Bumps
Technically, this hang with Esther Sayers at Hackney Bumps was not a part of the Summit, but it was absolutely one of the most impactful parts of my visit.
The work she has done with City Mill Skate, Hackney Bumps and beyond has deeply inspired my own research regarding the future of community-oriented skateable spaces. To design truly accessible spaces requires ongoing negotiation, and we are at a time where new language must be introduced to facilitate those negotiations.
Drawing upon my experience as a non-binary person, I have discovered that the language used within the context of gender identity can be applied meaningfully to the context of designing public space. I believe the future of creating spaces that are truly inclusive for everybody – from beginner skaters to pros to non-skaters – will be guided by a non-binary framework, or a design process that centres questioning, interrogating and exploring rather than definitive (or “concrete”) solutions.
Lee Dubin (they/them) is a photographer, director and researcher based in Los Angeles, California. Their work explores the intersection of queerness and subculture, often working as a documentarian within the spaces of film, music and skateboarding.
Their ‘Paper Sessions’ presentation at Slow Impact 2026, ‘Non-binary Space: Applying Gender Expansiveness to Skateable Urban Design and Developing Tools for Advocacy’, received a standing ovation (and was a tough act for Skate Bylines to follow. — ed.).
Recordings of panels from the Social Skate Summit are available here. If you attended the event and would like to share your thoughts and experience of the summit itself or our coverage, please get in touch.
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