Sporting sunnies, a riding helmet and an adaptive jumper and chinos, Lloyd Pinn stands with his legs apart on the skateboard, with two volunteers running alongside holding a custom-built all-ability skate frame for support, as the wheels glide over the skate park surface, the wind on his face.
Lloyd is eight years old and living with a rare genetic condition that renders him non-mobile, non-verbal, with a severe intellectual disability and reliant on a feeding tube for sustenance. Around 30% of children with such a condition don’t live past the age of five.
Lloyd’s mother Maya Pinn, who designed his skate gear and is also the founder of RareWear Australia, which designs adaptive clothing for children with a disability, says Lloyd has taken to skateboarding as he is a real thrill-seeker who loves hard rock music. She recently took him to see AC/DC at a concert in Melbourne – Hells Bells is his favourite song of all time.
“He lives for risky play – including pretend wrestling with his friends, and now he is learning to love skating,” Pinn says. When she saw the email from the Victorian group Advocating for Children with Disability offering supported skating for children with disabilities, she jumped at the opportunity, not realising they had advertised for kids over 12.
“I called straight away and when I explained Lloyd’s disabilities and that he’s a real daredevil boy who loves risk and fun they were open to Lloyd taking part.”
Pinn says that as a mum she thinks a lot about fairness, but when people use terms like “accessible” or “inclusive” she often just sighs because so many activities still don’t include kids such as Lloyd who have complex needs. “Lloyd wants to have fun just like any other kid. But for him, fun needs to look a little different. And that’s OK ... when people are willing to try.”
The Disability Sport & Recreation festival in Melbourne on Friday, now in its 15th year, is designed to offer people of all abilities the chance to explore and experience a range of accessible and inclusive sport and recreation activities – including a wheelchair rugby match and music from DJ Cooper, a successful DJ and producer with cerebral palsy.
Among those attending this year will be Nigeria-born Peter Ogunyemi, who credits sport with saving his life. After being born with polio and crawling to school, he has become a wheelchair basketballer and AFL player.
According to Matthew Brett, Skate Action Sports manager for the YMCA, the all-ability skate frame came to his attention when it was presented at a Moomba event by Albury-based skateboard designer and coach Al Taylor. The structure allows skaters to safely stand and move on a skateboard with the assistance of trained instructors.
“I immediately knew that this was something big with the potential to provide a whole new type of experience for people who can’t skateboard independently. Delivering the all abilities session at Riverslide Skate Park with Maya and Lloyd has honestly been one of the most heartwarming experiences of my career,” he says.
Brett says skateboarding should be an activity for everyone and that if you have the guts to give it a shot you will find the culture incredibly welcoming. “Having a tool to help people who can’t physically skateboard by themselves get out on to the skate park is an incredible step forward.“
Dave Wells, CEO of festival sponsor Reclink Australia, says the festival aligns closely with Reclink’s aims of helping people with disability find and access local, welcoming sport and active recreation opportunities.
“Ultimately, inclusivity is about removing barriers, not lowering expectations,” says Wells. “It’s making sure people with disabilities can enjoy the same opportunities to move, play and belong as anyone else.
“We see sport and recreation participation as an essential service for our community to connect people to community and to other opportunities.”
Maya says the skate frame has given Lloyd his very first taste of skateboarding – and he is hooked – but he couldn’t have done it without support. “With the right people, the right attitude and a bit of creative thinking, he got to do something we weren’t even sure was possible.
“When we make space for kids like Lloyd to belong, we don’t just include them, we elevate everyone. Skateboarding becomes not just a sport, but a bridge between worlds. Thank you for this magical moment. Let’s keep creating spaces where every child gets to do ‘kid things’, especially the ones who’ve been told they can’t. This is what real inclusion looks like.”
And how does Lloyd feel about skating? “Pure joy,” she says.
