The skatepark was once a terrifying place for Amber Clyde, so much so it left her with crippling anxiety.
Not because she didn’t enjoy the sport. In fact, that couldn’t have been further from the truth for the then 12-year-old Auckland school girl who now, as a 26-year-old mum of two, coaches multiple weekly skateboarding classes across Auckland as part of Girls Skate NZ, the girls-only skateboarding school she founded in 2018.
No, Amber found the skatepark unpleasant for another – more devastating – reason.
26-year-old Amber Clyde is passionate about skateboarding. Photo by Jessie Casson.
“I found the space incredibly intimidating because boy skaters would say nasty things to me,” Amber recalls. “It made me so anxious that I couldn’t progress with the sport and lost the motivation to continue.”
So how did Amber come to run her own skate school after abandoning the skatepark and her board for the next six years?
It wasn’t until she fell pregnant at 18 with her eldest daughter Ella, now 8, and overcame post-natal depression that Amber discovered a new-found inner strength and determination.
“I thought ‘man if I can give birth, I should not be scared or intimidated by boys at the skatepark.’”
So, she picked up her board and headed back to Birkenhead Skatepark on Auckland’s North Shore – the park she was once traumatised at – and began perfecting her skills. For a year and a half, she skated as much as she could.
During that time she never once saw another female skater. Then, early one morning, far away from the cliques of male riders, she spotted a young girl of similar age to when Amber had stopped skating due to bullying.
“I introduced myself and invited her to skate with me. She reminded me of how I once felt, and I didn’t want anyone else to have to go through what I did,” Amber says.
Amber Clyde teaching her young students at Girls Skate NZ. Photo by Jessie Casson.
It would seem coaching was engrained in Amber, long before she recognised those skills herself and turned them into a career. She recalls seeing huge improvement in the girl under her guidance, and it didn’t take long before more girls joined in. Soon, there were about ten young women skating with Amber; the bones of Girls Skate NZ had begun to form.
Fast-forward to today and Amber works alongside other coaches – young women she’s recruited from her skateboarding classes – teaching lessons that attract about 25 girls ranging in age and ability. Although most skaters who attend are younger than 16, Amber encourages keen older skaters too. Girls are taught how to skate in an encouraging environment, where they feel safe and can progress with tricks at a level that they’re comfortable with.
Girls Skate NZ helps break down multiple barriers in skateboarding, including social intimidation, gender and financial discriminations (boards, helmets and safety gear are all provided to new skaters), making skateboarding more accessible to those who ordinarily couldn’t participate or who’d find skateparks too intimidating. Students are also taught safety protocols and skatepark etiquette to prevent injury.
Amber has secured funding from Auckland Council and Sport New Zealand, meaning the small class fee is waived and her Girls Skate NZ sessions are for free for a term.
Amber says there’s been a massive shift in the skateboarding scene in recent years, with male skaters showing more encouragement and even coaching their female peers.
26-year-old Amber Clyde has created a skateboarding community through Girls Skate NZ. Photo by Jessie Casson.
When she’s not running Girls Skate NZ, Amber wears other hats. Her most important role is as mum to two daughters (her youngest, two-year-old Kaia whose first word was “board” loves sliding down the ramp on her bum while Ella enjoys skating with her “girl gang”), closely followed by coaching the Olympic development team (skateboarding debuted as a competitive sport at the 2020 Tokyo games) and as a student, set to complete her sports psychology studies later this year.
Amber says it’s a privilege to witness how skating grows confidence and allows friendships to blossom.
“What we offer is a community. That’s what makes me feel the proudest,” she says.
Story by Monica Tischler, photos by Jessie Casson for the Winter 2023 issue of AA Directions magazine.
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