Tony Hawk Shares A Girl's First Skateboard Kickflip, And The Joy Is Pure

Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk shared a rare bright spot in these uncertain times: More people are taking up interest in the sport.

“It’s been uplifting to see so many learning to skate in their ‘downtime,’” he wrote on Twitter, sharing a moment of pure, unbridled joy as a girl in Ukraine was caught on video reacting after her very first kickflip:

Action Watch, a market research firm for skateboarding and surfing, said there’s been a surge of interest in the sports.

“As schools and team sports activities were shut down, kids and adults were looking for alternative ways to engage in sports while adhering to social distancing guidelines,” the company’s latest report notes. “Skateboarding not only fits this description, but is inexpensive and can be done just about anywhere.”

Though the pandemic-related shutdowns caused a plunge in sales in March and April, the market recovered completely in June in “an almost perfect V-shaped recovery” with double the pre-pandemic growth rate in skateboarding goods, Action Watch said.