From One Board to a Movement

My name is Chantal Challis, but most people call me CC. I’m 28 and live in Dartmoor, Devon, just outside Plymouth. I grew up in Tanzania until I was five, before moving back to the UK.

Creativity has always been part of who I am. I knew from a young age I wanted to be a writer, and I later found a love for photography in school. But like a lot of people, I lost touch with those passions for a while. Life got in the way, and somewhere along the line, I lost a bit of myself too.

Skating was never something I imagined for myself. I was clumsy, lacked confidence, and didn’t grow up around sport. It just wasn’t in my world.

That changed a little over three years ago.

On a bit of a self discovery journey, I had a moment of clarity, a simple fuck it I am going for it. I bought a pintail longboard, took it out onto the quiet country roads, and something just clicked. The fuse was lit, and everything started to shift from there.

More Than Just Skating

Alongside working full time as a nanny for two young girls, skating has become one of the most important parts of my life. It brought me back to myself in a way I did not expect.

Through skating, I found play again. I found healing, strength, and a new way to express myself physically, mentally, and emotionally. It ignited something in me that I cannot imagine living without now.

What started as a solo experience quickly turned into something bigger. The connections you make through skating are unlike anything else. There is something about it that brings people together so naturally, whether it is friends, strangers, or people you would never usually cross paths with.

It feels like being plugged back into something, into the earth, into yourself, into a community.

The Power of Community

One of the most powerful parts of skating is the community around it. The support, the encouragement, the shared experiences, it is something really special.

Through skating, I have met people who have become lifelong friends. There is a sense of openness and acceptance that feels rare, especially in a world that often tries to put people in boxes or pit them against each other.

For women especially, that sense of connection is everything.

That is what has inspired me to start building something in Plymouth. There is not a huge, visible community for women’s skating here yet, but that is exactly why it feels so important to create one.

A few friends and I are starting to bring people together, creating space for beginners, for those who are curious, and for anyone who just wants to give it a go without feeling judged.

We are even planning a skate pop up, just to get people involved and show that this space exists, and that everyone is welcome in it.

Learning Falling Growing

Skating teaches you a lot, not just about the sport itself, but about who you are.

It teaches you to fall and get back up. To try again. And again. And again.

It rewires the way you think about failure and fear. You start to realise that those things are not stopping you, they are part of the process.

And that mindset does not stay on the board. It spills into everything else in your life.

You start to feel freer. More confident. More like the person you have always known you could be.

You give your inner child space to exist again, to play, to explore, to not have everything figured out.

Capturing the Moment

Alongside skating, I have started to reconnect with photography, this time with a focus on capturing women in the skate scene.

There is something really powerful about documenting those moments. The energy, the movement, the emotion, it all tells a story.

Some of the images included here were taken in Taghazout, a place that really shaped my creative perspective. Being surrounded by surf culture, movement, and a slower pace of life gave me a deeper appreciation for capturing people in their element. Whether it is skating, surfing, or simply existing in a moment, I am drawn to that feeling of freedom and expression.

I have been building my portfolio over the past few months, photographing girls skating and beginning to document this growing community.

It feels like everything is starting to come together, writing, photography, and skating all feeding into each other.

Why It Matters

The joy skating has brought me is something I feel driven to share.

It is more than just a hobby. It is a way of reconnecting with yourself and with others. It breaks down barriers, whether that is confidence, fear, or even language and culture.

It is an art form. It is expression. It is freedom.

And most importantly, it is something that anyone can start.

This Is Just the Beginning

Building a community in Plymouth is only the start. There is so much more to come, more connections, more creativity, more people finding their way into skating in their own time.

If you have ever thought about trying it, this is your sign.

You do not have to be fearless. You do not have to be good. You just have to start.

If you want to follow CC’s journey and see more of her photography, you can find her on Instagram at @C_sea__ and @softstop.