There are amazingly skilled skaters who fly under the radar – and quite often we wonder why they don’t have a wider audience? With this series we’d like to give space to talents who are enriching the skate world with their creativity. Ava Verhoff aka Pushy Longstocking is one of them. With her talent the teenager already caught the attention of some brands. But what are the plans of Pushy Longstocking?
First off, tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m 14 and I’m from St. Louis, Missouri, USA. I’m a freshman in high school this year and it’s definitely been an interesting year.
When did you start roller skating?
I got into skating in the fall of 2017 but I guess it all really started on the Christmas of 2017. My dad made me a pair of shoe skates but I was off to a pretty slow start because the summer before that I broke my arm swinging on a tree branch in my back yard and I had to wear an arm brace for about eight months.
Tell us a bit about the quad skate scene in St. Louis: how big is it, did it grow in the past year?
The skaters here in St. Louis are pretty cool the scene isn’t too big but it has definitely grown since I started skating.
Does St. Louis offer many skate spots and parks?
There are quite a few parks but I only really skate a couple of them all the time. My favorite parks here are Westhoff, which is probably my favorite. There is a smaller bowl and then mostly street stuff but the vibes there are always the very best, I have learned most of my tricks there. Y.A.P is another one I like and it has everything you could ever imagine from big bowls to long down rails. Sk8 Liborius is a super old church with a skatepark inside. They also have a vert ramp and some cool street obstacles that are super fun. Which if you come here should be your number 1 to visit. Ramp Riders is mainly where I skate in winter because it’s indoors. It is super big and mostly transition, I love the spine ramp there.
What’s your favorite style of skating?
I wouldn’t really label myself a type of skater because I want to learn to skate everything.
Favorite tricks you go for everywhere you show up?
Really it depends on the spot and what kind of mood I’m in really but normally I go for backside stalls and slides.
Who is your biggest influence in roller skating?
A lot of skaters influence me but I get a lot trick inspo from @spicyivey
Do you also practice other sports?
No, roller skating is my thing.
You already have a solid number of sponsors. Who are they and how did you get sponsored by each of them?
My sponsors are: Chaya Skates, Mountainside Skateshop, Wildbones Sliders, TSG pads, and Anabolix Wheels. With Chaya, I skated with Ellie Perez and she offered me a spot on the team. That was really a big decision for me. With Mountainside Skate Shop and Wildbones I reached out to them and got put on the team and through them came TSG. Someone suggested I check out Anabolix and they had a thing on Instagram looking for team members, I filled it out and they put me on. It all seemed to happen so fast and I still feel so lucky and honored that these companies and people were into my skating. Kinda a surreal feeling. I would like to say thanks to all of them for believing in me and giving me the opportunities that comes with all of this.
What’s your biggest dream in terms of roller skating?
My biggest dream would be to skate forever. It would be great just even someday to maybe have a job in the industry or just something to do with it. Skating is my life.
Make sure to give Pushy a follow. More “Under the Radar” with Angel Lopez, Mary Pop Wheels and Anastasija Kukic.