Sky Brown: Great Britains Youngest Summer Olympian.
July 15, 2021
Sky Brown: Great Britains Youngest Summer Olympian.
Sky Brown, at just 13 years of age, is heading to Tokyo to show the guys and the grown ups how its done in Skateboarding's Olympic Debut! One of the best female skateboarders in the world, Sky has made her mark in the skating, surfing and dancing world as showcased on her majorly followed social media platforms. Now, she will be performing on arguably the largest stage in the world; the Olympics.
Background:
Sky Brown was born July 12 2008 to her Japanese Mother and British Father in Miyazaki, Japan. Her younger brother, Ocean Brown, is also an avid skater and surfer like his sister, and the two share a close bond which they regularly showcase on their joint YouTube Channel.
Despite being so young, her talent and skills have surpassed skaters around the world; currently sitting as the world number 3 for women park skating. Through this, Sky has obtained many impressive sponsorships and endorsements - including the fact she is Nike's youngest sponsor; with whom she has worked on campaigns with other professional athletes like Serena Williams and Simone Biles. Furthermore Sky has also received endorsements from multiple large companies including GoPro -
Sky is known for not actually having a skate coach, and instead picking up majority of her skills from watching YouTube videos - with a little help from her dad in early years. The only real external coaching she receives is with ex Olympic Snowboard Shaun White who she occasionally works with.
Representing Great Britain as the nations youngest summer Olympian, Sky will be competing in the Women's Park Skating category, where she is ranked a close third behind Japan's Misugu Okamoto (15) and Sakura Yosozumi (19).
The Road to Tokyo:
Sky is admired for not only her elite skate and surf skills, but for her attitude, determination and positive attitude. She is the youngest professional skateboarder in the world and aims to inspire to girls who skate; to show that skating isn't just for boys AND that age isn't an obstacle.
Now a front runner to be a medalist in Tokyo, competing for Team GBR was not always the plan for Sky . Firstly, because the Brown family split their time between Japan and Southern California, competing for Great Britain, where her Father Stu is originally from, was not the obvious choice for Sky. With her home country hosting the Games, you'd think it would be rather obvious that if she were to represent any nation it would be Japan. However, Sky's parents were hesitant - apprehensive about the pressure being too much for her. They were leaning toward not letting her compete at the Olympics at all!
However, the Brown's were approached by Lucy Adams (33) a seasoned professional skater from Britain; who Sky had actually beaten in an open street comp in 2017. Sky was 9 at the time.
Fortunately, Adam's, who is now the chairperson of Skateboarding Great Britain was able to sway the Browns to consider letting Sky compete. She reassured them that if Sky were to join the British Olympic team, she could pull out at any time - even if she made it thorough all the qualifier rounds. This provided them with enough secuirity to support Sky's Olympic trial.
At 12 years old, Sky finished second in the Olympic qualifier round Dew Tour in Iowa, behind Japan's Sakura Yosozumi (current ranked 2nd in the world).
“Everyone around the world will be watching, and I feel like if I'm the little one in there going big, hopefully they (girls) will think, ‘Maybe I can do it,’ and I can show the world how fun and creative skateboarding is,” she told the BBC.
The Fall:
In June of 2020, just over a year ago, Sky suffered the biggest fall of her career. Because the 2020 Olympics had been pushed back a year due to the Global Corona Virus Pandemic, Sky continued to train, using the extra year to get stronger at her craft in preparation for 2021. However one of these trainings at Tony Hawk's skate facility ended in a narrowly escaped tragedy.
At just 11 years old, Sky lost control on a half pipe; where she flew 15 ft in the air between the two vertical ramps and landed on hard concrete. The injuries she sustained were extensive, including skull fractures, broken wrists and fingers, lacerations to her body and damage to her organs - she was also in and out of consciousness until they reached the hospital. Remarkably, such a traumatic experience didn't damage her spirit. From her hospital bed and sporting. hefty black eye, a cast and a smile, Sky released a video to her social media platforms where she shared an inspiring message.
The then 11 year old stated how she doesn't usually share footage of her falls because she wants people to see the fun in what she does - however she need people to know she was okay, its okay to fall, and she couldn't wait to get back up to skate and surf again. Sky stated that Her arm and helmet saved her life.
Her physical survival was one thing, but her mental strength and ability to bounce back was the real miracle.
“I recovered really fast, and getting back on the board, I wasn’t scared at all, I was excited,” she said. “I actually felt stronger after that. I wanted to do more things -- I did the mega-ramp after that.”
This alone is one of the many reasons Sky is such an inspirational figure for not only skaters or your girls, but to everyone.
Video Below:
To add to Sky's growing success, she has also been working on an auto biographical documentary called Reaching the Sky with the discovery channel. Watch the trailer HERE.