The 11-Year-Old Girl Taking Skateboarding By Storm

Sky Brown wowed the internet with her jaw-dropping videos before she even hit grade school. Her next trick: earning a spot in the 2020 Olympics.

Photo by Joe Pugliese/OH-SO-CO Skate Magazine, via Sky Brown | Edited by Brendan Spiegel

July 2016. A cloudless Southern California sky looms over the Pro Park Course for the Vans Pro Skate Park Series. Here to compete in the final Global Qualifier competition are some of the top female skaters in the world. There’s Lizzie Armanto, the first female skater ever to complete a full circuit on a 360-degree ramp. Kisa Nakamura, X Games gold medalist. Brighton Zeuner, the youngest champion in X Games history. The past, present and future of women’s skateboarding have assembled at Huntington Beach. At stake is a spot in the Vans Park Series Pro Finals event, skating with the best of the best. The skaters range in age from early adolescence to early 30s, but in a sport that embraces youth, there is one who stands out beyond the fresh-faced potential of her peers. At 8 years old, Sky Brown, half-British half-Japanese phenom, would be the youngest skater, male or female, ever to compete at the V…