You’re most likely to have come across this week’s podcast guest through her now infamous challenge of skateboard across the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland to raise awareness of suicide. Whilst this is what made Becky Gilmour insta-famous, she has, in fact, been an adventurer for a long time, hitchhiking the length of New Zealand twice, and travelling solo through Africa.
Her skateboarding challenge was initiated after the tragic loss of two friends to suicide, one of whom she had started her own skateboarding journey with only a few years before. She had actually had a bad skateboarding accident not long prior to the challenge, with concussion from dropping in that lasted six months and involved two burst ear drums.
And yet she still started. Her mum drove her down to the start, and off she went at 5am with a high vis jacket with ‘Wild Atlantic Skate’ scribbled on the back. No fanfare. No audience. Just a big dose of fear and a conviction that she wanted to do something to help her navigate the grief, and make sense of the loss.
“There are so many reasons why you shouldn’t do something, and so many what if’s and what if this goes wrong, and what if that goes wrong, but as soon as I actually got out and started, so much of that disappeared, because I was doing it for something that felt more important and felt greater than those fears. Once you start doing it, the what if’s go away, because they haven’t happened yet and you’re actually doing something about it. All those fears started to disappear and I started to feel ‘this is exactly what I am meant to be doing”
As she documented her journey she found people were coming out to support her, offering her places to stay, or to carry her gear. She spent a chunk of the trip being scared about where to stay and how to navigate the camping solo part, but actually positive experiences dominated her challenge and restored her faith in human nature.
Becky’s audience has now grown significantly, and she has since used this awareness to undertake new challenges, including a 1,000km SUP paddle in aid of an underfunded charity in Uganda; and a more bizarre 24 hr race in circles around a spire in Dublin which saw her accosted by some drunk passers by, as well as more positive interactions with runners who wanted to join her.
She has now turned her attention (alongside ongoing charitable challenges, she’s currently bike packing across Ireland, with 120km under her belt on the first day) to encouraging women to do more of the same. Her confidence in travelling solo is something she believes all women should have, and she wants to create a safe space for that to happen. An invitation for women to join her on a cross-African adventure was sold out in days, and she plans to offer many more experiences.
Her focus is going to be on Africa for much of the year ahead, as she fundraises for a mental health team in Uganda. The plans are still afoot, and she is keen to take her skateboard on the adventure, watch this space.
If you’re in need of some life inspiration, this is the interview for you. We cover:
How the Wild Atlantic Way skateboarding challenge came about
Overcoming fears in challenges & navigating anxiety
Becky’s journey into board sports & what they mean to her
Why she wants to get Women into the outdoors & adventure
Her newest adventures and the charities she is supporting
Let me know what you think! Listen on your favourite podcast platform, whether that’s Spotify here, or Apple here.
Caroline
Board Women Founder
Producer: Selma Chalabi
Host: Caroline Keylock
