Interview: Tia AKA

Tia is an amazing skater that plays on every field with grace and power: from bowls with chunky pool coping to mini ramps, rails and ledges! Her skating is joyful and explosive, and behind it there's an extremely kind human telling her story through it.

Tia has been up to a lot lately! Recently, Chuffed Skates announced her as their next pro skater, she was part of an award-winning documentary about mental health and skating and she performed at Wollongong Town Hall with a contemporary performance show with her skates...Get to learn more about Tia's projects and how her identity is being showcased in this interview!

Q: Let’s start with an introduction, who are you?

A: I’m Tia, I’m 24 years old. I come from Australia. I’m a proud representative of my Aboriginal heritage.

Q: When and why did you start to roller skate?

A: I started skating in August 2020. My friend Madz sent me a roller skating clip on Insta and asked if I want to learn to skate with her. I couldn’t afford them but I didn’t want to turn down an opportunity to have fun with my friend. Madz picked me up and bought us both a pair. We skated almost every day together for 3 months. I’m so grateful for Madz because without her I probably wouldn’t have started skating <3 Every time I skate it brings me more and more joy. I want to feel happy and joyful as much as I can, so I kept skating every day. My skills and interest are constantly evolving, my joy on roller skates is limitless.

Q: How would you define your skate style?

A: I love going fast and I love airing high! I’d describe my skate style as chaotic and steezy.

Q: Where does your inspo come from?

A: I get inspiration from epic roller skaters on Instagram like Ribby, Silvia and Caro! I also get inspiration from other skaters at the park. Anyone going fast or doing big airs inspires me so much!

Q: Tell us more about the documentary “Skate Or Cry”. How was this experience?

A: “Skate Or Cry” is a short documentary about my journey in life. I talk about my mental health struggles and how skating gets me through those struggles. I also talk about the journey of understanding my culture and where I come from. The experience creating the documentary made me feel vulnerable but excited. The team of people who helped create “Skate Or Cry” held a safe and caring environment for me to share something important.

Skate or Cry was judged and won an award at a local film festival. It’s currently entered into 12 online film competitions internationally.

Q: Congratulations on becoming the next Chuffed Pro Skater! Could you share some more of the design process and inspiration behind it?

A: Thank you so much, it’s been a really fun process! I’d been dreaming about having a signature skate since I got sponsored by Chuffed. So, I’ve had an idea of what I wanted the skate to look like for a while. When I got the first sued sample, I loved the colour immediately. Choosing the sued was the easiest part! The design for the lining took a month or so of playing around with. I had the guidance from Keetz and Aunty Terri. The design is a story about growing up in Darwin/NT.

Keetz is an indigenous artist who created the artwork and Aunty Terri is my mentor and the CEO of the charity SevGen and she helped us with the design. It’s a really special piece of art and it’s unreal that it’s inside of a pair of roller skates getting sold around the world. I also want to mention that Chuffed offer a $10 royalty from every pair of skates sold to go to a non-for-profit organization that I choose. SevGen is a charity that’s been supporting me for 4 years and I feel so grateful that I get to give back to them with this opportunity.