THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY, STEF. IT’S BEEN 3 YEARS SINCE YOU LAST SPOKE WITH SKATEISM FOR OUR 3RD ISSUE. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN HOLDING UP WITH EVERYTHING?
Yeah, I’ve been good, thank you for asking. I had a baby boy since the last time we spoke. That has been crazy. I had Felix and that was obviously really amazing–the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But obviously, a huge challenge. I had an emergency cesarean, where I thought I was gonna not be able to skate for like two months.
WERE YOU ABLE TO SKATE?
I actually could not skate for two years and my fitness was at zero. I had to totally build from scratch to even get back to cruising. Having a son was the best thing that ever happened to me but also the biggest challenge I’ve ever had in terms of being able to enjoy what I do for myself.
HOW IS EVERYTHING GOING WITH SALON
I’ve also been working on Salon more, it’s been really fun. We’re just starting to film some proper stuff now with a couple filmers here in London. It’s been a crazy time because I decided to start studying Access to Medicine. I’m trying to be a dentist.
WAS STUDYING TO BECOME A DENTIST ALWAYS IN THE PLANS?
I want to stay in London with my son but I also had this goal to do that since I was really young but I just never had the confidence or didn’t think it was possible. My schedule was absolutely mental but I also started to enjoy skateboarding in a totally different way and just loving it so much more than ever.
IS SKATEBOARDING DIFFERENT NOW?
I used to really care about what tricks I could do, improving all the time and being self conscious about my level of skating. Now I don’t expect too much but just having a really nice time and enjoying it. Which that’s how skateboarding is meant to be so it’s the best time of my life now as a skateboarder–it’s crazy.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE?
I think so too because there’s so much that goes into skateboarding. I’m worried about how I’m perceived and obviously, just because my account has a lot of followers, you already have a lot of criticism online from strangers. Sometimes you feel like, “I suck,” but now that I’ve just been enjoying it, I don’t feel like that at all anymore. It’s so freeing.