Why freestyle?
I love watching all styles of skateboarding, but freestyle is probably the most accessible one for me. I don’t see myself jumping down rails or massive ramps, and I really have to go out of my way to do these styles of skateboarding.
With freestyle, all you need is some flatland, music, and you’re set. I love the freedom, fluidity and flair you can have with freestyle compared with other styles of skating. The way each trick seamlessly transitions into the next compared to street or vert skating. It’s like watching a well-choreographed and technical dance.
What music do you listen to when you skate?
My music tastes range from K-pop to indie rock/pop music. For K-pop, I mainly listen to girl groups like IVE, STAYC, and tripleS. There are also a few solo artists I listen to, like Luli Lee and YOUHA. For my indie artists, these days I’ve been listening to a lot of WHALES•TALK and Dream, Ivory.
If I ever compete in a freestyle competition, I already have one song in mind I’d want to skate to—’Slowly Spilling Out’ by Saint Motel. It has a range of musical swells that I can imagine working nicely with tricks if you execute them at the right time.
Have you been watching much of the overseas competition runs? Seen anything that inspires you?
I don’t actively look for competition runs, but if it comes up on my feed, I’ll definitely watch it. If there’s a skater I enjoy watching most and aspire to be like it’s Kai Tanabe. She’s got such a great flow and interesting ways of transitioning between tricks. Just look at this reel and you’ll see so many insane things that no one else does. She puts the board into a rail stand, one-legged spins it out into a tailstop. Later she caspers the board, falcon stomps to another casper before doing another falcon stomp to rail. IT’S CRAZY. Yeah, basically I think Kai is the best.
Is there something from Kai’s trick bag that you’re trying to emulate? (For me, it’s the falcon stomp to rail.)
I can do neither of them properly yet but I’d like to be able to get into a no-handed truck stand, then step into a casper and flip out. A 360 switchblade is something I also want to be able to do one day.
You recently learned handed truck stand exits from Josh Dunstone. What was it like, learning a freestyle trick in person instead of the usual online tutorial?
The difference between learning a trick in person vs watching footage of people and trying it yourself is night and day. There’s a sense of support and encouragement you get from having people around you and it’s so much…easier to get instant feedback or tips from people who have had prior experiences learning the same trick.
[Also w]hen you’re learning on your own, it’s a lot easier to bail or not commit to a trick and it definitely takes more time for you to feel out the nuances of what is and isn’t working.
Yes, I was amazed by your level of commitment to the trick that night. Peer pressure can be a positive force sometimes.
Hopefully the sesh you had with the Melbourne crew inspires you to find like-minded skaters closer to home.
Is there any message you’d like to give Sydney skaters thinking of trying freestyle?
GIVE FREESTYLE A GO!! Whether you want to dance on the board or just want to try something new, I think freestyle helps you get comfortable with the many ways you can find yourself on the board. So even if you find freestyle is not your thing, you’ll definitely get something out of it.
To persuade the unconverted, can you give us an example of a freestyle skill that translates to other skate disciplines?
I think freestyle helps you get comfortable on the board in a way other styles of skateboarding skip over. Jumping or flipping the board is a terrifying feeling if you don’t feel comfortable on your board.
Freestyle helps you ease into that with some footwork tricks or fingerflips. I think it’s a lot easier to break down freestyle tricks into simpler tricks to learn.
Last random question: if you had to use an ollie kickflip in a line, how would you freestyle it up?
This is my evil scheme of getting a street-skater friend of mine into doing freestyle lines.
I’ve seen some kickflips to caspers so there’s that. I can imagine kickflips to tail or nose stop or even spacewalk. Maybe if we’re feeling daring, kickflip to no-handed truck stand.
Hah! He’d die.
But he’ll proudly die as a freestyler. 😎
Connect: Hillary and other like-minded skaters are in the process of organising Sydney freestyle meet-ups. If you’re keen to join said meet-ups, please let her know via her Instagram (@_c.hilly).