In March 2021, during the pandemic, my sister passed away suddenly. Roller skating was something she deeply loved — it was one of her outlets, and the way she felt most free.

While going through old videos, I came across one of her flying down a massive hill on skates, grinning and shouting, “Bring back the roller skates!”

From that moment on, It’s been my mission to spread the joy of roller skating and my sister has been the driving force inside me ever since.

We grew up roller skating together as kids in the 80s. In the 90s, rollerblading took over and I became part of an in-line skate dance group, performing around the beaches and sponsored by Manly’s first skate shop, Inline Action. Eventually, life moved on, and skating faded from my world — until 2021 brought it all back.

During lockdown, while we were grieving my sister, my daughter dislocated her knee and spent weeks on crutches in a brace. She’d stayed optimistic through the pandemic, often saying, “At least I can still surf and skateboard.” Suddenly, she couldn’t do those things either. It felt like a lockdown on top of a lockdown for her.

Roller skating had come up since watching my sister’s video, and I promised my daughter I’d teach her once her knee healed. When the time finally came, we bought two pairs of skates and headed out. We were wobbly at first, but it didn’t take long before she was flying around the courts, doing tricks I’d never even seen before.

What stayed with me wasn’t just how quickly she learned — it was how much skating lifted her spirits. Roller skating had a powerful effect on her wellbeing.

Some days she’d put on her headphones and practise her roller dance moves on her own. Other days, we’d skate together until sunset. No matter what — if we skated, it was always a good day.

Through her, I understood even more why my sister loved skating so deeply. And I wanted others to feel that same sense of freedom — wheels on your feet, wind in your hair, gliding along listening to your favourite music.

This led to Skate Under The Stars in Avalon Beach — an outdoor, family-friendly, pop-upCreated as a tribute to my sister, and a way to bring the community back together, it became a place for fun and connection after the pandemic. Everyone turned up in their skates and a picnic blanket and made a night of it.

In 2024, we moved to the Central Coast. One day, walking past the post office, we noticed it had closed down. We looked through the window and immediately knew — this was our next project.

That old post office is now a retro-inspired roller skate studio, complete with a disco ball, coloured lights, and glitter sprinkled into the floor. My daughter and I have spent three months building it, and we’re still here every day, running it together.

What began as a way of healing slowly turned into a space for skaters and creatives to come together — built from love, community, music, and good vibes.

We named it The Downtown Creative, after the first roller dance move my daughter and I learned together.