A DAY OUT WITH: THE BOARDSTORE GROM TEAM
TEAM TALKS: We hear it again and again. To join a skate team and eventually turn pro is the dream of most young skaters out there - but what exactly does it mean to “be on a team”? Join us as we learn more about the notorious world of being a team skater. First team up is the Boardstore Grom Team from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Boardstore have two teams. Not only do they have the official Boardstore Team, for the past 8 years they’ve also had a grommies team. The Boardstore Grom Team is for the young, talented skaters, who might one day pursue a professional career in skating. It’s their first taste of the skate industry and these riders are keen to learn & skate hard. So, what’s it like being a Boardstore Grom Team rider? What do they do, how does it work? Let’s find out!
Boardstore grommies + friends and Boardstore team rider Lukas Byers
It’s team time for the Boardstore grommies. Every second last Friday of the month they meet up at Alex Head Skatepark for a skate and a sausage sizzle. It’s definitely a highlight of being on the team and tonight we’re lucky enough to join in on the fun.
Grom team manager, Kodan Lynan welcomes us with his arms full of snags and the friendliest smile in town. The groms have already hit the skatepark and boy oh boy, these kids are keen - they rip the bowl and cheer each other on.
The scene is set and photographer David Greenwood gets ready to shoot some action shots while the sun goes down and the vibe goes up on the concrete by the beach in Alex Head.
This is it. Right here, right now. No worries about future sponsorships or potential skate careers. We’re all here in the moment, living the good skateboarding life.
Team talks & group support
Being on the Boardstore grom team is about much more than the perks (which we’ll get back to later). The kids are young and the support and guidance they get is worth so more than a bunch of freebies. Team manager Kodan acts as both a mentor and a friend for the kids. With his bright red socks and old school Adidas shoes he stands out from the crowd but somehow he totally blends in with the kids when they shred and have fun together.
To Kodan it’s important to keep a good balance between fun & games and the more serious part to help prepare the kids for their future in skateboarding.
“We've got a strong value of fun in our team. We don't wanna lose that, but at the same time we understand the competitive side of skateboarding and want to help the kids navigate in the industry and really find out what kind of skater they want to be”, he says.
Photographer David Greenwood @dungaree_Dave doing his thing by the bowl
“We’ve got a strong value of fun in our team. We don’t wanna lose that, but at the same time we understand the competitive side of skateboarding and want to help the kids navigate in the industry and really find out what kind of skater they want to be”
And these kids absolutely love it all. They love pushing themselves and their skateboarding to new levels and they are hungry to learn more. When the team meets up at Alex they step into a space full of encouragement, support and inspiration.
Team rider, 9-year-old Ollie Fresser, lets us in on the Friday routine.
“We sit down and discuss what tricks we’re going to learn and how we want to improve. And then we go SKATE,“ he says enthusiastically.
”We get together at Alex and chat and catch up and encourage each other with our different tricks,” Tully adds.
There is no doubt that the team spirit is high on the Boardstore Grom Team - the kids get help and inspiration from Kodan but just as much from each other.
“I get to see my friends skate and that makes me think of new things to try and learn,” Eli says.
Like, I saw Tully trying kick-flip indy and then I went and learned them out of the quarter at Meridian.”
Every second last Friday of the month, it’s team time for the Boardstore Grom Team.
Boardstore grom team rider Ollie Fresser doing a boardslide rock n roll. Photo: @dungaree_dave
Boardstore grom team rider Eli Waterson with a front side flip. Photo: @dungaree_dave
More about the Boardstore Grom Team
Since its opening back in 2006 Boardstore has supported a team of Sunshine Coast Skaters and offered them pathways and necessary support to pursue skating professionally or a career in the industry. The ‘senior’ riders include established names such as Rhys Schwitter, Lukas Buyers, Taniah Meyers, Jaxon Smith, Jordan Boggis and Tynan Williams. However, for the past 8 years they’ve also supported a team of keen skateboard grommies.
“The Grom Team is essentially a skate team for our skate shops. We define ‘grom’ as technically primary age students. So, it's basically a team of primary age students. Shredders on the coast predominantly, but we've got a couple of sponsored guys regionally or within Australia,” Kodan explains.
Zahra Johns with a frontside smith. Photo: @goopics.org
Zahra Johns is one of the young grom riders who is making a mark beyond the Queensland borders.
“Due to living in Newcastle I don't see the team very often but when I do, we catch up for a skate, see each others’ progression, have fun and encourage each other”, she says.
Zahra recently won “King of Concrete” in Melbourne and we’re sure we’ll see a lot more of her in the future.
The article continues below the team photos
Meet the Boardstore Grom Team
Zahra Johns
Age: 13
Skating since: She was 7 ½ years old
Favourite tricks: f/s smiths, f/s lip slides and b/s feebles
Boardstore grom team rider for: 2 ½ years
Instagram: zahra_johns08
Ollie Fresser
Age: 9
Skating since: He was 6 years old
Favourite trick: Boardslide revert
Boardstore grom team rider for: 2 years
Instagram: olliefress_sk8er
Eli Waterson
Age: 10
Skating since: His 8 year old birthday
Favourite tricks: Tre kickflip front board, f/s flip, front feeble.
Boardstore grom team rider for: 4 months
Instagram: eli_beau_sk8s
Henry Pope
Age: 11
Skating since: He was 5 years old
Favourite tricks: f/s air, kickflip, varial flip, blunt to decker
Boardstore grom team rider for: 3.5 years
Instagram: skatehenryskate
Tully Burke
Age: 12
Skating since: He was 7 years old
Favourite tricks: b/s air, invert and front 50 in the Alex bowl
Boardstore grom team rider for: 4 years
Instagram: curra_crew
Selah Bartlett
Age: 11 years
Skating since: She was 3 years and started pushing along on her big brother’s skateboard
Favourite tricks: 260 and disaster.
Boardstore grom team rider for: 2 years
Instagram: selahlolab
How do I get on the Boardstore Grom Team?
It all sounds pretty rad, but how do you get chosen to be on a team like the Boardstore grom team?
Like everything else in skateboarding, there is no set recipe to follow. Some of the grommies have been spotted and picked up at events, others on social media or while ripping at the Sunny Coast local skateparks.
“Selah was a highlight from one of the interschool skate competitions that were held on the coast. Eli has a strong presence on social media already and is a great technical skater. All kids have come to the team in various ways. They've been spotted and picked up by the store over the years. But they’ve also taken initiative,” Kodan explains.
It’s important that you actually take the initiative, rather than just wait for someone to come and sponsor you. You gotta go and say ‘hey will you support me?’ while also doing the tricks.”
“It’s important that you actually take the initiative, rather than just wait for someone to come and sponsor you. You gotta go and say ‘hey will you support me?’ ”
Boardstore grom team rider Selah Bartle with a 5-o.
Henry Pope with a front indy grab.
Personality and style is key
Skateboarding is not just about the tricks you do. It’s about how you skate, your style and what makes you different from other skateboarders. Finding and developing that special point of difference is one of the ways the Boardstore team support these young rippers. Helping them to express themselves, their personality and style.
“We look at the way you like to skate and help you find ways to bring that into your skateboarding. Find your point of difference,” Kodan says.
Boardstore team rider Tully Burke with a frontside lean at Alex. Photo: @dungaree_dave
Not just glory
Getting insights and experience in the skateboarding industry is one of the benefits of being a young team rider. They get to see that being on a team is more than just having fun with mates until the sun sets. It’s a working relationship.
The requirements for the grom riders is mainly to create content. Each month they have to do two posts on Instagram, tag Boardstore and use the hastag #boardstoregromteam. Whether they want to participate in competitions is up to them, there is no pressure or requirements around that for the grommies. If they love it, sure! But if not, that’s okay too.
“They are still kids and we don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on them”, Kodan explains.
It might not seem like a lot of obligations compared to the ones of paid team riders, but they do get a taste of the work needed. The grommies learn there is quite a lot of work in content creation and that it is not always fun. Most of the time, definitely, but not always.
“Showing the kids that side of the skateboarding sponsorships give them an idea about how the industry works,” Kodan says.
“We try to help them navigate that and still have fun with it.”
In addition to the support and guidance on their skateboarding journey, the grom team riders get 25% off store wide at Boardstore and 50% off Boardstore branded products. They also get exposure on Boardstore’s social media platforms.
“We use Instagram and Facebook to promote them as well. We post most the content they create so they get more media exposure and kind of a pat on the back for being so awesome,” Kodan says cheekily.
“Getting the support to one day live the dream. That’s really what a team is about.”
The smell of the sausage sizzle has brought the young skaters to a halt (and that takes a lot). Skaters, siblings, Boardstore crew and trusty parents are heading towards the barbie. They are all part of making this team happen.
“Getting the support to one day live the dream. That’s really what a team is about”, Kodan grins before heading out for another skate with the grommies.
Photographer David Greenwood and team manager Kodan Lynam checking out the footage
BOARDSTORE INFO
Based on The Sunshine Coast in Queensland – Boardstore has been supplying the Sunshine Coast with the finest quality skate gear, streetwear and Footwear since 2006. Boardstore's three Sunshine Coast Skateshops in Caloundra, Maroochydore and Noosa are wall to wall with only the best skateboarding gear, streetwear and footwear.
Website: boardstore.com.au
Instagram: @boardstoreshop
