By Rachel Martin | Skateboarding

The real point was the moment between tricks—that half-second of air where nothing held her. No school bell, no teacher saying tone it down , no mother folding laundry at 11 p.m. just to keep the lights on.

On weekends, she taught kids at the community center—helmets too big, boards too small. “Fall forward,” she’d tell them. “Backward hurts worse.” They didn’t know she was talking about more than skateboarding. skateboarding by rachel martin

Rachel skated like she was writing a letter to gravity, asking it to loosen its grip just long enough for her to say: I was here. I was moving. The real point was the moment between tricks—that