Episode 126 – Indigo Willing – Skateboarding, Community & Consent

The Make Meaning Podcast

Do you do fun things often? Do you take risks? Are you connected to a community that makes you feel good about who you are?

These are essential elements of a healthy life, according to Dr. Indigo Willing, who started skateboarding in her 40s, after finishing her PhD and becoming a “mum.” It was something she always wanted to do but never thought it was open to her – and now she’s not only great on the board, she’s a global role model for creating access for all who want to hop on.

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Indigo Willing about growing up as an “outsider,” as a Vietnamese orphan adopted into an Australian family, fulfilling her grandmother’s advice (community before cliques and people before popularity), and creating access for all.

In this episode, Lynne and Indigo discuss:

• The importance of consent
• Diversity in skateboarding
• First Nations and Indigenous skateboard companies
• Teaching research methods at Griffith University
• How fun is an essential part of human well-being
• Why skateboarding is “like oxygen”
• Careers in skateboarding
• Connecting to ancestors and culture
• Trying to make skateboarding inclusive across the board

Links and Resources:

• Consent Is Rad
• We Skate Queensland
• Adopted Vietnamese International Network
• Oldster article about Indigo Willing
• Evie Ryder
• Tora Waldren
• Lily Turek
• Millie Miljevic
• Apache Skateboards
• Nation Skate Youth
• Kim Woozy
• Skate Like a Girl
• Billy Elliot
• Tet Festival
• Day of the Dead

Find Indigo Willing:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Coming up next on the Make Meaning Podcast: Lynne interviews Ly Tran, author of the memoir House of Sticks, about being a Vietnamese refugee and American immigrant, working in a sweatshop as a child, and making it to Columbia University while trying to preserve her family’s honor.