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[dropcap style=”dark” color=””]E[/dropcap]veryone On Boards is a shining example of how engagement and organisation, coupled with passion and perseverance, can achieve great things for the surrounding community. It was initially born out of necessity as founder Agnieszka ‘Aga’ Wood recognised some missing infrastructure that would benefit her daughters. It has since grown into an organisation that directly benefits the immediate community through events and beyond. Since lockdown, Everyone On Boards have implemented different incentives to encourage children of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the thing we all love and facilitate their entry into the fold.
We spoke to Agnieszka to find out more about the organisation and the Then & Now book and exhibition which is just about to launch. This project is a celebration of Waltham Forest’s most diverse and welcoming community. It reinforces the positive impact skateboarding has, and continues to have, on so many lives. This exciting next step also furthers the dialogue with the local council. We hope that this milestone will lead to an indoor facility in the borough soon becoming a reality, a possibility that remains a driving force behind the developing organisation. We hope you enjoy the following interview with Agnieszka: an inspiring tale of building momentum to create change, welcome others, and further widen the community.
How did Everyone On Boards first germinate from an idea into an organisation?
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I didn’t reinvent the wheel, it was more a case of responding to the needs of the community. I grew up in the south of Poland around action sports. There was a lot of snowboarding but the skate scene was quite small. We didn’t have a skatepark at the time and there were no girls skateboarding. When I moved to London I was working in fashion and photography after having kids, I wanted to introduce them to the culture that I had enjoyed. Everyone On Boards was a direct response to community needs. I have two daughters and there wasn’t enough support out there for them. We started to discover the girls scene here, Girl Skate UK being a notable and active organisation.
In London, lots of things were happening around 2019. Living in the suburbs though with two girls there wasn’t enough immediate support or spaces for younger kids. I wanted us to enjoy the same things together. I started engaging with the local skate park to see what we could do. Lloyd Park skatepark was our local. Daniel Turner was the main pillar there who organised all the skate jams, together we started putting on more and more events. We worked in partnership with the Barbican and the local council. Everything evolved quite naturally as a community effort. We wanted to encourage young people to get more active in their local urban area. To enjoy life through outdoor activity and celebrate the culture of skateboarding
What did you initially want to achieve?
Firstly, It was a little bit selfish, I wanted to build an inspiring community for my own kids and for our generation to enjoy time in the skatepark with our kids. Then I realised there was a lack of support for local kids and we could do so many more amazing things via the culture of skateboarding. When setting up EOB as an official organisation the main aim was to give early access to skateboarding to the next generation, whatever background they are coming from.
“THE MAIN AIM WAS TO GIVE EARLY ACCESS TO SKATEBOARDING TO THE NEXT GENERATION, WHATEVER BACKGROUND THEY ARE COMING FROM.”
Our goal was to partner with like-minded organisations to promote well-being and share the joy of skateboarding and its culture. Wider opportunity goals were to create somewhere that young people could find a safe space, borrow equipment, take part in workshops, and experience field trips. We wanted to set up a long-term volunteering scheme, extend a wide range of action sports opportunities for the young generation, and create new job opportunities.
When Covid happened we were quite lucky that local the park was still open, we created community meet-ups with free pizzas. Lots of volunteers like Olly Crockford, Zee, Tyrese, and Jennsy were helping us to teach the kids. We had skate jams, it was quite a nice time in a way. My idea was to combine skateboarding with other cultural and creative activities. I started to do more outreach and connect with the communities outside skateparks. I wanted to give visibility, representation, and encouragement to more girls at skate parks.
When the lockdown eased I realised we needed to create a sustainable model for Everyone On Boards to grow and develop. To create a bigger impact you need a good team, this was when Josephin Orving came on board. Local girls like Elena and Hannah helped as well.
“I WANTED TO GIVE VISIBILITY, REPRESENTATION, AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO MORE GIRLS AT SKATE PARKS.”
DROP IN SUPPORT DURING A SKATE SESSION AT LLOYD PARK
Every skatepark evolves its own community. What you have created reinforces that and empowers its members.
Yes, I was observing, to build and celebrarate what was already there. Waltham Forest had the legacy already, from Chase lane in Chingford in the 80s through to Cann Hall. Each skatepark had their own identity and community. You had amazing skaters like Jak Pietryga and the Yes Fam crew. Then you had the Cann Hall crew with Josh Cox, Umar and more..
I was inspired by what House Of Vans were doing, a big brand working with different communities and crews. This was positive but taking place in central London, somewhere visible and good for the brand. When you are in the suburbs though, a local skatepark, a little village, these events are not regularly accessible. I recognised it as a great thing but not enough, I saw the gaps we needed to fill. How could we connect with the community and create opportunities? I realised that if we worked outside of brands we could create something which had more of a legacy. That’s why I set up Everyone On Boards and everything else followed.
Is there a mission that drove everything forward?
To open the first Indoor skatepark in Waltham Forest! Early on we recognised that we need a hub beyond the skatepark. There are skateparks all over the country like Lloyd Park, a focal point with local people coming and going but without a real centre. How do you engage with everyone and how do you create a legacy? Early on we saw the need for an indoor skatepark. We’re in East London and there’s nothing like that around. You see those gaps and try to figure out how to fill them and create a cross-community dialogue with local governing bodies.
“EARLY ON WE SAW THE NEED FOR AN INDOOR SKATEPARK. WE’RE IN EAST LONDON AND THERE’S NOTHING LIKE THAT AROUND.”
We grew the team that we work with. It was originally based on volunteering but we realised that wasn’t sustainable. We needed to create a circular economy, a more sustainable model. We saw ways that volunteers could be enrolled into training programs leading to jobs. One of our first volunteers was Jennsy Tumba, he is now our main coach delivering provisions to youth clubs and at local skateparks. Lots of kids look up to him. We investigated every way we could create a support network. I’m still learning every day, figuring out how to respond to community needs.