Words by Wren
My name is Wren and I’m a trans skater.
I’d skated for around 10 years before I came out.
When I did, not only did half of my friends disown me, but I also started receiving abuse online from them and also from total strangers too.
It got so bad I ended up quitting skating for a while as every time I posted a clip I was receiving abusive messages. Telling me I didn’t belong in skating, no one wants to see it, and other things I won’t repeat…
Skating is my whole life, I have no idea what to do with myself without it. It was not a decision I made lightly at all, but I can’t explain how heartbreaking it is to suddenly be unwelcome and hated in the thing you’ve dedicated your whole life to.
The queer skate community in the U.K. is relatively small and we still have a lot of work to do to normalise lgbtqia+ within skating in this country.
Even small things like casual homophobic comments you hear at the skatepark are enough to deter you from coming out…
I feel like people seeing things like the experiences that I went through will stop them from coming out too, maybe if we can help skating feel more inclusive and understanding people will feel safer and better supported to come out and the lgbtqia scene will grow!
I actually started an online platform called Angles, set up to focus on queer and female skaters/artists, but I closed it down temporarily whilst I focused on my transition fully.
Being a trans skater adds an extra level of difficulty/alienation as you don’t feel comfortable around men and you also don’t feel welcome at women’s only events either.
I feel like queer acceptance in this country is very much at face value with a lot of people within skating, but when they are actually faced with it or have their dm’s to hide behind, sadly it’s a whole different story..
I honestly long for a change within UK skateboarding and want it to be more accepting and understanding of people.
At the end of the day all the circumstantial stuff doesn’t matter. You skate, I skate, we should support and love each other!
I won’t stop working towards that.
Do you have a story or some words to share? We would love to hear from you!
Use the hashtag #SKATEWITHPRIDE to show your support for our LGBTQIA skateboarders 🏳️⚧️
girlskateuk.com 
thanks for sharing, hopefully, with more people like you sharing these stories it won’t be necessary, but currently it’s helpful to let others know they’re not alone and hopefully educate people.
I remember watching that Louis Theroux documentary about transgender kids, thinking that it’s something that I can’t really understand fully but at least am aware.