Congratulations to Liv Lovelace for taking out the New Gen of the Year award.
Picked from the selection of our four up-and-coming New Gen profiles – printed in the mag in 2025 – Liv crushed it, and she was shown a whole lot of love on the voting poll.
Check out Liv’s full New Gen interview from Issue 247 below.
LIV LOVELACE – NEW GEN INTERVIEW – SPRING EDITION, 2025
AGE: 21
LIVES: Northern Beaches, Sydney
RIDES FOR: New Balance Numeric, Deathwish, Volcom, Sunday Hardware, Ace Trucks, Bones Wheels and Boarders Skate Shop
Photos by Sam Coady.
Roll on frontside five-o, Cook and Phillip.
What was it like growing up at the Northern Beaches?
I live dead bang in the middle of the Beaches. Honestly, it’s pretty biased to say, but I feel like I got to grow up in one of the best places in the entire world. Growing up on the Beaches is a dream; having access to so much nature while still being close to the city is dope. I am very grateful to my parents for raising me here.
Where do you work? Do you like or loathe it?
I work at a little coffee shop near my house called Drip Coffee Traders. I really enjoy working there; it is super mellow, and my boss is always accommodating with me going away.
Is it true that you used to bomb a hill to work at 5.30 am until you took a slam? What happened, and do you plan on getting back into that routine?
Well, it’s not really a hill; it’s more of a mellow downhill. I used to skate to work religiously until that day. When you get to the bottom of my street at that hour of the morning, you can see if a car is coming because of the headlights. So, on that morning, I took the corner as usual, trying to keep my speed. When I went to push on my cruiser, I stepped on the front wheel and got pitched. It would’ve been, like, 5.45 in the morning, and I splattered down the road; my stuff went flying. I remember picking myself up off the concrete on that cold winter’s morning with a bunch of road rash and thinking, Why am I even skating to work? I’m kind of lazy and drive to work at the moment, but when the sun starts to come up around the time I’m going to work, I’ll be back on the skating program.
What’s your current daily routine like, balancing café work and skateboarding?
I’ve got such a good routine going. I either work ’til 10 am or 12 pm. I usually clock out with a juicy wrap in my hand and have an early lunch. At the moment, it depends on the day, but I either head out street skating in the city or to the skatepark for a session with Flic Turner, Danno Woolley, and Beau Mitchell.
What’s involved in your “Skateboard Strength” routine?
I’m currently training in the city with Dan [Skateboard Strength]. I’m enjoying it; it’s pretty fun to go to the gym with other skaters and be trained by someone who has so much knowledge about how to support your body for skating. I’ve done strength stuff for a solid couple of years now, which I’ve always found helpful. Since training with Dan this year, I have developed a deeper understanding of my body and the way it moves, which has been an enjoyable process. Dan Bardallo is your guy if you are looking to improve your skateboarding.
Apparently, your Subaru is the quintessential skate rat’s ride – what’s packed in the back?
Damn, the good old Subaru; I would say my car’s a skate rat car. It’s my first car, so it’s been through it now. A couple of months ago, I had so much random stuff in it, from everyday things to what you need to fix a spot. Pretty much, you name it, I probably had it. I got my good homie Ben Douneen to build me this box for the back. It’s so sick; I got a drawer and a compartment to the right to put all my skateboards and my muzzing chair in. Honestly, it’s so much better; everything now has a little home, and I can keep all my bits and bobs without my car looking like a bomb has hit it.
Crooked grind, Kogarah.
You surf, right? Do skating and surfing complement each other for you?
I surfed a fair bit when I was a kid, but one day, when I was 15, on a trip with my dad and a couple of skate homies in Port Macquarie, my dad took me surfing one morning early, and it was pretty big. I remember I got out the back after what felt like forever of trying. I’m pretty sure I caught one wave and got caught in the impact section, and again, I was getting pretty smashed by all these waves. I spat the dummy, dropping F-bombs about how much I hate surfing and how much I thought it sucked. It ended with me punching the surfboard, saying I’ll never fucking surf again, which lasted a solid five years.
After my travels last year, I rolled both ankles pretty badly, which took me out of skating for a while. During that time, my love for surfing seemed to appear again magically. Honestly, I wouldn’t say I have fully got my confidence back yet, but I’m finding a lot of pleasure in being in the water again.
You’ve skated Olympic qualifier comps all over the world. What’s been a highlight?
Honestly, there are a lot of good memories from those trips, but I would say the biggest highlight that stands out for me from those contests was the last night in Shanghai. The majority of the skaters were heading out to this crazy nightclub, and my good friends Poe Pinson and Megan Guy decided that we would just go out to dinner, then go skating.
We skated from street spot to street spot all night long, stopping at any open bars for a quick espresso martini before going and trying to film some more iPhone clips. I remember sitting at one bar; Megan was playing the guitar, and we were all singing along to Jack Johnson. To me, it was so wholesome and a core memory I have with some of my good homies on some fun trips.
What kind of pressure or expectations come with being on the Australian Olympic skate team?
Honestly, I’m probably the wrong person to ask. We are pretty lucky to have some skateboarders working within the program who are helping the people who don’t come from skating to have a better understanding of the culture. Sometimes, you’ve got to make sure you’re not getting up to stupid shit in the public eye, but apart from that, if you’re being a good person and skating hard, opportunities will come your way, which is really enjoyable.
Gap to 50-50, Redfern.
So, you’re from the Northern Beaches, but back South Sydney in the footy – what’s the story?
I used to go to preschool across the road from Erskineville Oval, where the Bunnies used to train. My dad used to take my sister and me to some of their training sessions to watch. It stemmed from there. My dad loves the Bunnies; it’s what I was raised around, and once we moved back to the Beaches everyone paid me out for supporting Souths. It made me double down on it even more and support them even harder.
Do you ever go to the games?
We go to a couple of games a year; it’s been pretty tough this year.
Ever met Russell Crowe?
Not yet, hopefully one day though.
Frontside boardslide, Manly.
Who are your biggest skate or life inspirations at the moment?
I would say I haven’t got one big inspiration. Recently, I’ve been trying to take inspiration from many different people, from my family to the brothers I have been out street skating with. I have always looked up to Kat Williams and Beau Mitchell for inspiration and support. They have helped me to believe in myself and my skateboarding.
What’s been your favourite trip overseas?
In 2023, I spent six weeks in Europe. I did a little bit of solo travelling, staying with my good friend Sam and his family in England before my dad joined me. We were on our way to Switzerland for a contest, but decided to spend some time in a couple of places beforehand, one of them being Barcelona for a couple of days. Those couple of days were special. We spent time at the beach, drank beers, ate such good food, but the best part of the whole thing was that my dad had a skateboard, and we just went out skating to all these famous spots. He stood there and filmed me for hours. I felt bad and was thinking to myself, What a shit type of holiday this is for him? We spoke a bit about how our couple of days exploring Barcelona together were, and I learned that for him, it was super special to experience what we skaters do in everyday life. I thank him for going from skate spot to skate spot in all different parts of the city, which was new and exciting. That trip holds a lot of value in my heart. It was my first time in Barcelona, and all I wanted to do was skate. My dad came with the energy to match that, even though he doesn’t skate.
Kickflip into crust, Sydney CBD.
What’s the story behind your marathon swim from Patonga?
One day, after my friend’s birthday lunch in Patonga, we were on the ferry back to Palm Beach. Long story short, there was a bet going around that if someone jumped off and swam to shore, there was 100 bucks on the table. After a couple of beers, I didn’t even hesitate. The pants came off, I passed my phone and my shoes to a mate, and jumped off within the next minute. Looking back on it, jumping off the moving ferry and swimming a good 500 metres to shore was not my smartest moment, but it created a great memory.
What’s next for you – more travel, more comps, filming a part?
All of the above. My focus is on filming for a part that will come out at the beginning of next year. I want to experience new countries both on and off the board. I’ll continue to skate in contests when the opportunities come, and plan filming trips off the back of the contests.
Do you have a long-term dream for life after skating? Any goals you’d like to share to solidify them in print?
It’s pretty random, but I always thought it would be sick to be a pilot one day down the line. If not, joining the fireys is something I’m interested in. Within skating, I want to keep having fun, making memories, and see what I can make of it.
Cover of our latest edition, Slam Issue 248: Two snapped boards, kicked out by security, a slam that left holes in her hands and grazes over her back, Liv did not back down, and won the war against this 21-stair NBD boardslide in Gladesville, Sydney. Photo: Sam Coady.
