Skateboarding star on the rise

Remember this name: Isla Poa. You might just hear it again at the Olympics in the near future, when Isla's proudly representing the silver fern in skateboarding. 

For now, six-year-old Isla is a Year 2 student at Havelock North Primary. But after school and on weekends, she's flying high – literally. "It feels like I'm flying when I go up the rails and jump off," she says, bubbling with excitement. 

It's more than just a thrill. Skateboarding is teaching Isla valuable life lessons. "If I fall, I just get up and try again," she says. "It's frustrating sometimes, but I just try again." 

Isla's love for skateboarding began when she was a toddler, after her dad, Kaleb, rediscovered his own passion for the sport and bought himself a skateboard. Copying her dad, Isla started rolling around on the board, and at her next birthday got one of her own. Regular visits to the local skatepark followed and that’s where she met 15-year-old Tiara, who became her first coach and best friend. "They have an amazing relationship," says Isla's mum, Chloe. 

Isla's passion also connected the family with Wellness Riders, a non-profit promoting physical and mental wellbeing for tamariki (children) and rangatahi (youth) through skateboarding. Supporting positive mental health is deeply personal to Isla's parents, Chloe and Kaleb, who have experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide. 

It was on a family road trip at Christmas, talking about goals and New Year’s resolutions, when they had the idea of Isla doing a skateboarding fundraiser. The challenge? To skate 100 skatebowls in 100 days and raise funds for the Mental Health Foundation.  

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, Isla was dropping into her first skate bowl. 

The plan for Isla’s 100 bowls in 100 days challenge is to visit as many different skatebowls as possible, so there’s a road trip in the works which will take in Gisborne, Flaxmere, Hastings, Napier, Auckland, Mangawhai, Te Awamutu, Fielding, Wellington, Palmerston North, Chistchurch and Tauranga.  

Isla’s family is happy to support her passion for skateboarding because it’s about fresh air, freedom from devices, resilience, life lessons, and the fact she does it all with a huge smile. "We chose the Mental Health Foundation as the recipient of Isla's challenge because we know mental health is just as important as physical health," says Chloe. "Resilience, confidence, and self-assuredness are all important for a great life." 

By day 10 of her challenge, Isla had already smashed her $1,000 fundraising goal. At the time of writing, her tally was sitting at $2,000. Isla also gained the attention of national media with a story on TVNZ's Seven Sharp.  

"Happy, excited, and proud," is how Isla describes the support she's received. She has a message for everyone: "It's okay to be sad, but if you're sad every day, then you won't have good days."