Hannah Bailey As a writer and an award-winning photographer, Hannah works hard to create media coverage opportunities for female skateboarders. She founded the action sports communications agency, Neon Stash, and has applied her expertize in her work with Skateistan. Born in Edinburgh but living around Europe, home is wherever her camera takes her. You have traveled to Afghanistan in your work with Skateistan. What was that experience like? It was an incredible experience to be there and see the little girls skating. I will never forget that. The places Skateistan exist in are really hard places for people, in particular girls, to live. Kabul is an unsettling place, but in the safe space that is Skateistan’s Skate School kids are getting to be kids. They are smiling, playing and having fun. We take that for granted! Going to Afghanistan was definitely a perspective shift in my life. What was your most memorable moment during your time working with Skateistan? There were so many incredible moments working for Skateistan. In my 2.5 years there I managed the launch of two Skate Schools
(Johannesburg and Phnom Penh) where we hosted events with local kids and supporters from around the world. Tony Hawk and the Birdhouse crew came to South Africa. Mimi Knoop and Sky Brown came to Cambodia. But I’d actually say the real highlights were simply seeing the kids having fun in countries which are not so fun to live in. Skating with the Back-to-School students in Mazar (Afghanistan) and celebrating women’s day in Johannesburg with about 40 little skaters. Later this summer a documentary that I have been wanting to make for about 3 years, about the women and girls skating over there, will come to light. We filmed it during the launch of the Skate School in February, and it’s really a dream come true to get to show this story to the world!
