Once seen as more of a hobby than a sport, skateboarding is witnessing a surge in popularity across the world.
Nearly 100 athletes have competed at the New Zealand secondary schools competition on Friday, with many hoping to one day represent their country at the Olympic Games.
School books made way for skateboards, as 80 kids from around the country competed at the event in east Auckland.
All were showing off their moves, after discovering the sport in different ways - from finding their dad's old skateboard in the garage to simply stumbling across clips of skating on YouTube.
These young hopefuls are just the tip of the iceberg. In 2020, skateboarding was introduced to the Olympics for the first time and it took off, causing peoples' perception of the sport to pull a 180.
"Skateboarding is now being taught in schools, it's almost part of the curriculum" said Skateboarding New Zealand's Simon Thorp.
And Kiwi kids are loving it. Skateboarding New Zealand's goal is to have its first representative at the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.
"It would be awesome to travel and do competitions around the world," said senior girls champion Jess Lord. "My dream is to go to the Olympics."
With a few more years to train, New Zealand could have some Kiwis flying high come 2028.
