I’m Jack, the founder of The Skate Club, and if you’d told me when I first stepped on a skateboard back in the 90s that I’d one day be running an Ofsted-registered skateboarding school, I probably would’ve just laughed and rolled away.
But here we are.
And this is the story of how a shy kid from Brighton fell in love with skating, and why I built a club to make it accessible to everyone.
Where it all began
It started with a PlayStation game. Yep, the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. A mate introduced me to it around 1999, and pretty soon we were all obsessed. That digital rabbit hole led me to the real thing, and before long I was spending every spare second (and all my pocket money) skating down by the seafront or outside my house with a Christmas tree strapped to my board, true story.
Skating gave me something I didn’t realise I needed: confidence. I was a quiet kid who didn’t always fit in at school, but skating made sense. It wasn’t about teams or trophies, it was about persistence, expression, and community. It was about turning up, falling down, and trying again.
Skateboarding and self-discovery
Fast forward a few years, I got into teaching, travelled a bit, worked in skateparks and taught English. But skating was always there, quietly shaping how I approached life and learning.
Later, I was diagnosed with dyslexia at university, and ADHD as an adult. These labels made a lot of things make sense, especially why skating had helped me so much. It wasn’t just a hobby, it was a lifeline. A place to focus. A way to feel capable.
And that got me thinking… what if more people had access to this?
The turning point
In 2023, I launched The Skate Club. It wasn’t a big shiny launch. No investors. Just a deep belief that skateboarding could do for others what it did for me, especially kids who didn’t quite fit the mould.
I wanted a space that felt welcoming, inclusive and safe, where progress wasn’t measured by how many tricks you could land, but by confidence gained and friendships made.
Today, we’re proud to be an Ofsted-registered skateboarding school offering term-time courses, holiday clubs, after-school sessions, and lessons for adults who are picking it up for the first time (or dusting off the cobwebs).
Why The Skate Club is different
We’re not just about skateboarding, we’re about people.
Our coaches are role models who know every kid by name. We celebrate progress, not perfection. We make space for everyone, including kids who are neurodivergent, have additional needs, or just need a confidence boost.
We’ve had kids who barely said a word on day one leave a term later bursting with pride. Parents who were nervous about their child’s safety come back with huge grins after watching them drop in for the first time. It’s not magic. It’s just what happens when people feel seen, supported, and encouraged.
Final thoughts
Skateboarding changed my life, not because I was amazing at it, but because it taught me to keep going. That falling is part of learning. That everyone belongs somewhere.
The Skate Club is my way of paying that forward.
If you’re curious about what we do, thinking about lessons for your child (or yourself), or just want to follow the journey, we’d love to connect.
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