Because I find nothing on Earth so delightful as girls who march into firmly entrenched Male Territory and proceed to own the fuck out of the whole scene, I bring you Sky Brown, an 8-year-old Japanese skater and surfer who has already made Tony Hawk look like a damp piece of toast.
I can’t do this, can you do this?
According to the blog Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word, Sky started skating when she was 3 years old, which I think is around the same age I learned to hold up my own head. She’s also been surfing since she was 4, which I think is around the same age my mom had to rescue me from a neighbor’s pool after I gleefully tore off my water wings and started to drown. But Sky, evidently, was simply born a badass:
When I was little I used to hassle my dad to go with him for the morning surfs so I could play on the beach, I would even get into the car and refuse to leave, then one day my dad got me a soft board and pushed me into some small waves, and that was that. I was hooked pretty fast hahaha. Now I get up super early every morning and jump on my dad until he wakes up and takes me surfing.
Being Sky’s dad sounds exhausting. Still, Quartz notes that she comes from a family of skaters, with her mother maintaining a wildly popular Instagram account that documents her and her 4-year-old brother’s boarding prowess.
In August, Sky became the youngest girl to compete at the Vans US Open Pro Series. “She skates bigger than she is,” an admiring commentator said during the heat.
Sky doesn’t really give a shit about approval from her elders, though. Asked by #ShePlaysWeWin how she feels after accomplishing something new on a skateboard, Sky replied:
It’s such a good feeling when I make a new trick or even just getting a super clean Trick or line down.. BUT..My Favorite feeling ever is when there is something new or super scary.. Then I just get in my “superhero princess” mode and I just GO even when I`m scared this is when I feel the most happy..I’m in the Zone and I love it and I wanna do it all day just stay excited and thrilled and a little bit scared hahahaha and it’s soo fun to see the look on all the boys faces..
Live long and shred hard, little Sky.