Skating Prodigy
How old do you think Australia's under 18 skateboarding champion is? Seventeen? Maybe sixteen? Try 12. Eloise found out more about this insanely talented young kid who's already taking the skateboarding world by storm.
ELOISE FUSS, REPORTER: Imagine having your own personal skateboard ramp, or getting to travel to places like Paris for skating comps, and you've nailed some incredibly moves all by 12 years old.
This is what life's like for this kid, Keegan. He's a skateboarder from the Gold Coast and by just nine-years-old was already the under 18 champion of Australia. So he was beating skaters twice his age, and twice his size too!
FORMER WORLD SKATEBOARDING CHAMP: People know him around the world, he's well known as one of the renowned up and comers. Just recently Keegan skated at a junior championship in Melbourne. He pulled off awesome moves, even though he had a broken arm and a cast on.
KEEGAN: I broke my wrist just when I was coming down here so that was a little bummer, but I'm still skating and I'm still having a lot of fun
Keegan makes it all look super easy, but does he ever get scared going for those big tricks?
KEEGAN: Oh yeah all the time, but just if you get scared of something try it, try something that makes you happy and go for it, and then you feel good afterwards when you land a new trick.
Even though Keegan's a skateboarding superstar, he still has to do school work.
KEEGAN: My Mum always is just, 'do your school work, do your school work' all the time.
Keegan's homeschooled, so he can still train three hours a day, travel to comps all around the world, and not get behind in his school work.
KEEGAN: When I went to normal school I was missing so much school because I just kept travelling the world, going to do contests. And then my mum just said 'oh lets just do homeschooling so I don't miss as much school, so I can bring my work with me on the aeroplane and I can finish it.
In between all that homework and skating, Keegan manages to fit in some surfing as well. He rocks at that too.
KEEGAN: I would like, just love to be a professional surfer and a professional skater, just living life to the fullest.
Older skaters think in a few years he could be the best skateboarder in the world
FORMER SKATEBOARDING WORLD CHAMP: I think what really sets him apart is he's really focussed, and he's keen to make things happen, I mean you just have to watch him skate and you can see he's something special.
And to those of you dreaming of following in Keegan's shoes:
KEEGAN: If you put your mind to it you can learn anything.
But let's be honest, this kid would be a pretty big act to follow!
- Eloise Fuss | Reporter
- Keegan Palmer: Skateboarding Australia | weblink
- Australia Bowl-riding Championships: Organisers say Skateboarding popularity rising in Australia: ABC News | weblink
- Australia:QLD | Map
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