The skate park can be a pretty intimidating place for newbies, and sometimes even more so if you're a girl.
Amber Clyde knows all about it. As a kid, she was bullied by the boys who reckoned the skate park was their domain.
Now 24, her experience has prompted her to start her own business, teaching girls to skate.
Girls Skate NZ is potentially one of the coolest school holiday programmes around, according to her girl gang.
"I reckon it's pretty sick actually," one attendee told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp, while another said: "I just feel so free, it's like meditating for some people."
But for Clyde, skating didn't always bring joy.
"I was 11 years old when I started skateboarding, I was the shyest little girl ever, I'd come down to the skatepark and wouldn't say a peep to anyone," she said.
"And then I had a few issues with some boys being a bit mean to me, that was just my personal experience. I just didn't want to go back."
It's a feeling some of these girls can relate to.
"I have a lot of bullies at school that bully me," Stella said.
"They stop skating and sit on boards and watch you intently... and whispering to each other. It's not always a great, fun time," Jesslyn added.
But not today - they say the mean boys are scared of Clyde.
"It's a big motivation for me having the girls, I just want them to feel safe and confident and know they can do whatever they want here," Clyde said.
"[The students] come down and say they can't do things, they don't want to do things, I see them look at the big groups of boys on their scooters and don't want to go near them.
"When I was little I was scared. I don't want you to be scared."
At this skate school, they're not just finding their feet on the board.
"It helps with self-esteem because everyone is around you and supporting you," Jesslyn said.
The girls have a message for skaters everywhere: it's not just a boys' sport and everyone should embrace it.
Clyde says she's thrilled to see the girls standing up for themselves.
"To see these girls shine, it's just everything to me."
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