POP to the TOP

With Asian skateboarders aceing the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Asian Games, Tatler looks at the rise of skateboarding in the region, and particularly of Asian women in the male-dominated skateboarding world 

- Zabrina Lo

With her straight black hair pulled neatly into a low ponytail, a shy smile and a plain, loose T-shirt hanging off her petite frame, Funa Nakayama came across as as any other quiet teenager as she politely waited her turn at Hysan’s skateboarding rink when she and a few other Japanese skateboarders visited Hong Kong in November last year for Lee Gardens’ Skateboard Fest.

Once she stepped on to her skateboard, however, it was like she flipped a switch. Leaning her body forward, she propelled herself down the slope and flew off a platform with a dexterous command of her board and an air of self-assurance. Then, she popped her board, slid smoothly on a ledge before ending her ride with a powerful flip trick. This was only a warm-up. The unassuming 18-year-old is an Olympic medallist who won bronze at the inaugural women’s street skateboarding category in the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021. The achievement also propelled her to become the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of leading American skateboarding magazine Thrasher, in January 2023.

The athlete says: “2020 and 2021 were the ‘golden era’ of my career.” Not that that signals a plan to end her career: this year, Nakayama will be training hard for the Paris Olympics in July. But first, to qualify as a member of the Japanese team, she will need to stand out at rounds of national selections.